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| Matthew Pastorius got a job he was initially rejected from after contacting the hiring manager. Courtesy Matthew Pastorius |
After receiving an automated rejection email, Matthew Pastorius didn’t walk away. Instead, he contacted the hiring manager directly and ended up landing the job he was initially denied.
When 34-year-old Matthew Pastorius applied for what he described as his “dream role” in brand partnerships, he thought he was a perfect fit. So when he received an almost immediate rejection a seemingly automated email he didn’t just shrug and move on. He decided to fight back the only way he knew how: persistence.
“I was just like, ‘Wait a second. That is not possible,’” Pastorius told Truth Sider. “You can’t tell me that you looked at my résumé and decided I wasn’t even close to what you were looking for.”
Refusing to Take ‘No’ for an Answer
Rather than give up, Pastorius turned to LinkedIn. He reached out to several employees at the company who might be able to connect him with the hiring manager. One of them responded and that’s when things started to shift.
“I was so passionate about the opportunity that I wasn’t willing to accept a cold rejection without being seen,” he said.
The contact gave him the hiring manager’s email. Pastorius then sent a message reintroducing himself, explaining his deep interest in the position, and reaffirming his enthusiasm for the company.
“I wrote something along the lines of, ‘As anyone in sales would do, I can’t take no for an answer and I’m hoping you’ll understand that,’” he recalled. “I also said I’d be honored to join the team and was attaching my résumé for any future opportunities.”
From Rejection to Interview and Offer
The response? Immediate and positive. “Thanks for connecting,” the hiring manager wrote back. “I’m putting you in contact with the recruiter.”
What followed was a complete shift in tone. The recruiter treated him like a top candidate from the start, and there was no mention of the earlier rejection.
“We spoke as if none of that had happened as if she had found my résumé herself and decided I was a standout candidate,” Pastorius said. “It was a seamless process from there.”
Eventually, he met with the company’s president in his final round of interviews. When Pastorius explained how he’d initially been rejected and decided to reach out, the president was shocked.
“He told me, ‘Looking at your résumé, you’re exactly the kind of person we’d want in this role. I’ll have to look into how you were passed over.’”
That response, while validating, also raised a concerning question for Pastorius: How many qualified candidates are being filtered out by automated systems before anyone even sees their résumé?
The Hidden Weight Behind a Cold Outreach
To Pastorius, what made all the difference was the one employee who showed empathy who responded to a cold LinkedIn message and provided a name and an email.
“The graciousness of that person really changed everything,” he said. “They probably didn’t realize it at the time, but that one small act helped someone who genuinely needed it.”
Job seekers often carry invisible burdens, Pastorius emphasized family pressure, financial stress, or simply the emotional toll of long-term unemployment. “There’s so much gravity behind those cold messages,” he said. “It’s never just someone casually reaching out.”
The Harsh Reality of Today’s Job Market
Pastorius has tried similar outreach tactics since and hasn’t been as successful.
“I’ve been ignored more times than I can count,” he admitted. “I don’t know if it’s the state of the job market or if hiring managers are getting overwhelmed by outreach messages, but it feels harder than ever.”
He’s found that connections alone aren’t always enough in today’s landscape.
“It used to be that you had to know someone to get in the door,” he said. “Now, it feels like that’s not even enough anymore. Honestly, I don’t have an answer. I still don’t have a job.”
Even so, he doesn’t regret advocating for himself.
“If you really believe in a role and you know you’re qualified you have to be your own biggest champion,” he said. “Because sometimes, that’s the only way you’ll get seen.”
