When a Sydney teenager was rejected after a job application, she was – understandably – confused.
She knew she had the right skills to be a retail assistant for discount supermarket ALDI and believed she at least deserved a job interview.
But nevertheless, the 18-year-old’s application was rejected with a standard response by the recruitment team: “Thank you for taking the time to submit your application for the position of Retail Assistant at ALDI. After careful consideration we regret to advise that you have not proceeded to the next stage in this instance.”
Jessica felt upset, but also inspired to send another email in response to their rejection.
"Although my application was rejected, I have been applying for jobs over a year now with no success," she began her email to ALDI.
“My skills are on par with your store, with the ability to be exceptionally fast paced to scan items like every ALDI Team Member does.
“I pride myself on my impressive sale skills and can describe myself to be very persuasive and show effectiveness.
She continued: "So persuasive in fact, that I would like to confidentially reject your rejection. Thank you for letting me be a part of the team, I won’t let you down. See you on Monday for my 9-5 shift."
And her confidence in herself paid off. The ALDI recruitment team responded, inviting her for a job interview at her convenience.
Posting the exchange to her Facebook page on Tuesday, Jessica's post has gone viral with many praising the 18-year-old for her respectable persistence.
In just 24 hours, Jessica received over 10,000 reactions and nearly 1,000 comments.
Speaking to Mamamia, Jessica says when she was initially rejected from the job "I was just upset by the response given as I carefully checked the job description and my cover letter to make sure everything was perfect and I’d be a strong candidate, to get rejected after the dedication I had already given was rough.
"It happens to everyone of course, but I wasn’t going to let it happen to me and took matters into my own hands."
Jessica adds that despite her confident email, she was "thoroughly surprised" to have received the job interview request.
As for it going viral, she's just as surprised, but also feels proud of herself.
"I feel like I’ve inspired many and it’s a great feeling!"
Top Comments
oh bloody hell .. I just replaced my BS metre last month after an overload (it was toast - I mean crisp, dried and fried) and now I have to buy a new one?
Maybe, I think people in work should be so so careful what they post on their social media these days. Not sure how ALDI would feel reading this. Still, maybe it’s a stoke of brilliance because now ALDI has to hire her or look mean.
"Careful consideration" for a retail assistant position - how many people must ALDI have in their HR team if they're doing that sort of work for every application they get for these positions?
It would be automated to some extent. The two likely outcomes would be an incorrect answer on the compulsory questions or the position was already filled, or close to, by the time her application went in. Either way, good luck to her.