My take away: It is a journey. Don’t be affraid to push for what you believe in and I can say that as I applied to more than 500jobs in the last 10 years… But I am now down to narrowing a handful applications with nearly 80-90percent success rate (Sr Manager and Director level positions).
I was at a friend’s place that morning and I excused myself to go home in the afternoon. They understood that I needed time alone. While at home, I tried to not distract myself with any kind of work.
While surfing through YouTube, I stopped, switched off the TV and just stayed with myself for a few moments. Tears ensued. I started grieving the loss just like one would grieve any other.
10 minutes later, I felt much better. A day later, I didn’t think about it nearly as much.
Find out how you like to grieve and make yourself the space to do so. It helps immeasurably. Lightens the burden.
Not academia, but of the 40 job applications I've sent out in the last couple months, 7 rejected me outright, 4 moved to interviews, and all of those have ended in rejections or ghosting. Finding the energy to keep going every day is hard enough, not to mention maintaining self-worth and happiness.
The fourth or fifth time, you cuss when it happens, shake your hand off and keep at it.
By the tenth time, you start using a pair of pliers to hold the nail in place.