My Reverse CV

Photo by Dylan Collette on Unsplash

If you've watched me from a distance, it might look like things come easily for me or that everything works in my favor. It's simply not true. 

As academics we usually don't advertise our failures -- rejections, unsuccessful applications, awards we didn't win, discouragements -- at least not publicly. But failure is par for the course. 

Academics just getting started need to know this. It's demoralizing to be rejected if you're assuming that your career is over before it even gets started.

So here's a select list of my academic disappointments spanning the past 10 years (at least those I could recall today):

• article rejected by JETS
• article rejected by Tyndale Bulletin
• did horribly on my first Hebrew exam in seminary (after trying to teach myself)
• PhD application rejected by Princeton
• PhD application accepted provisionally (with deficiencies) by Asbury Theological Seminary
• barely passed my Theological German exam
• did not score well on the written portion of the GRE
• a whole chapter of my dissertation, representing months of work, hit the cutting floor
• first dissertation submission was unsuccessful (18 more months of work to do before resubmission)
• 7 unsuccessful teaching job applications (Ambrose University, George Fox University [3x], Palm Beach Atlantic University, Regent College, Biola University [withdrew due to dissertation delay])
• article rejected by New Man Magazine
• article rejected by Christianity Today
• grant application rejected by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning
• dissertation rejected for publication in the Siphrut series (Eisenbrauns)
• ETS paper proposal rejected (Psalms)
• SBL paper proposal rejected (Biblical Law)
• did not win the SBL Regional Scholar Award for the Pacific NW after being nominated
• unsuccessful book proposal with Zondervan
• unsuccessful book ideas with Eerdmans and IVP
• Bearing God's Name did not win the following awards for which it was entered: Word Guild, Alberta Book Award, Foundations (Midwestern), IVP Reader's Choice Award, Christianity Today

When I received my first rejection letter, I shared the sad news with one of my mentors. He told me he could wallpaper a whole room of his house with rejection letters. (I was surprised to hear that!) Not every idea is a good one. Not every application is the right timing. Sometimes the rejection has very little to do with you. Sometimes the reviewer is just having a bad day.

That failed Hebrew exam? I went back to the books, tried again, and passed.

Those discouraging PhD applications don't tell the whole story, either. I ended up with a full-ride scholarship to Wheaton College with a stipend, in spite of my mediocre score on the written portion of the GRE.

That dissertation that didn't make it to the defense the first time? Two years later I defended successfully with only minor revisions (a committee member said "flying colors"). And although the first series I pitched it to rejected it, the second one (with the SAME publisher!) said "yes" and the book went on to win a prestigious award from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.

That dissertation chapter that hit the cutting floor? It became the basis for Bearing God's Name, which is in its 7th printing in just 13 months (and has almost won several awards).

Those failed job applications? They have led to some wonderful friendships with people who were on hiring committees as well as those who landed the jobs. Those applications have led to other opportunities as well -- speaking and writing and podcast interviews and collaboration. In short, I learned a lot and gained new friends in the process. Just today I spoke at Regent College, a connection facilitated by my unsuccessful job interview there.

Remembering these "failures" reminds me that no rejection spells the end of God's calling on my life, or of yours. In some seasons, it takes creativity to find ways to be faithful to God's calling. I landed a job here on the frozen prairies of Alberta at a small school where I am the whole Old Testament department. Not everyone is that lucky. 

If you're still waiting for good news, hang in there. Keep plugging away at your work. Rejection is not a dead end. It's simply a step on the journey. I can't promise that your hard work will turn into a tenure-track position, but in my experience, none of gets wasted. Your day will come.