In this monthly column with NGEN, the MFA’s training program for media professionals with less than five years’ experience, Spark Foundry’s Shiv Bhardwaj reflects on the thousands of rejections that taught him visibility isn’t about being loud. It’s about showing up when no one expects you to.
In my first full time job in Australia, I knocked on over 8,000 doors. Not metaphorically. Literally.
For almost two years, I worked in door-to-door sales. I was the guy smiling outside your porch at 6:30pm, while the rain poured and your dog barked.
I heard every kind of ‘no’ imaginable – polite, awkward, aggressive, even the kind where people close the door while you’re still mid-sentence.
Today, I work in media. And while I don’t knock on doors anymore, turns out the skillset that helped me survive the sales beat is the same one that’s helping me build a career – the courage to show up, even when no one’s waiting.
Even the most unglamorous jobs can teach us a lesson
When I moved from India to Australia in 2019 to study Master of Commerce at the University of Sydney, I thought hard work alone would be enough to get ahead. I had decent English, a bachelor’s degree, and big dreams. But I was invisible.
At uni, I second-guessed myself. I was scared to ask questions. I didn’t want to sound inexperienced, too ‘new’ or too different. So, I stayed quiet. I waited for someone to give me permission to speak.
That permission never came.
So, in 2021, I took a job no one else wanted: door-to-door sales. It wasn’t glamorous and it wasn’t easy, but it taught me something university never could.
Every day I knocked on 50 doors. Most slammed shut. But every so often, someone would open not just the door, but a real conversation. And I realised something profound. You never know which door will say yes, you just must keep knocking.
That mindset rewired how I see opportunity and rejection. I stopped tying my worth to outcomes and I started tying it to effort, consistency and presence.
The shift to media
Now I work in media – a world of ideas, clients, creativity, and (surprise!) sometimes rejection. I no longer knock-on front doors, but I knock in different ways:
I volunteer to speak in team meetings, even when I feel underqualified.
I raise ideas in brainstorms without overthinking.
I raised my hand to be the MFA NGEN rep for my agency, Spark Foundry Australia.
I MC events for the business, and pitch new concepts even if the answer might be ‘let’s revisit in the future’.
In other words, I show up. Not because I’m fearless, but because I’ve trained that muscle – the one that says you’re allowed to take up space. I’ve been also extremely lucky to work in an environment at Spark Foundry that has a culture that values visibility and celebrates speaking up and trying new things.
Lessons and reflections
The media industry is full of doors. Some are closed initially, some are wide open. Not everyone will say ‘yes’ the first time.
But visibility is a choice, not a reward. You don’t wait for it, you practice it.
So, here’s what I’ve learned:
The best ideas don’t always win. The visible ones do!
You don’t have to shout to be noticed, you just have to consistently show up.
Confidence isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision you make, over and over, until it feels natural.
If you’re early in your career and unsure where you fit in, speak up anyway. Raise your hand. Ask the ‘dumb’ question. Pitch the half-baked idea. Take the mic.
Don’t wait to be discovered. Knock first.
Some doors open because of timing, others open because you asked. But most open because you kept showing up, long after others gave up.
