You would be lucky to get through your entire career without an email or call to tell you you haven’t got the job. It’s as common as day turning to night, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. It’s important however to know how to deal with job rejection, and we’re here to show you how to pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and get back to applying!
Expect it
This sounds obvious, but if you just assume that you’ll get the job you want then you may end up disappointed. There are lots of reasons why you might not quite be the right fit for the role, or another candidate might just have caught the hiring manager’s eye. If you prepare for the worst then you’ll either save yourself from upset and anger, or be pleasantly surprised.
Ask for feedback
Don’t let the job rejection just happen and disappear, use it as a learning opportunity. This is particularly applicable if you made it to the interview stage before being turned down, rather than your CV just being rejected. If you get a phone-call to inform you about the bad news politely ask if there’s any particular reason you missed out on the opportunity or send an email back if that’s how you find out. Be gracious and say you would appreciate any feedback, and if you’re dealing directly with the person who interviewed you, thank them anyway for the opportunity.
Work on your weaknesses
If you do get feedback, set yourself the goal of working on any areas they might have mentioned. You’ll never be the ‘perfect’ candidate as every hiring manager’s idea of this is different, but if they said that maybe your CV was disorganised, or you didn’t discuss why you wanted THAT job over any job, or you came across as lacking in confidence, these could be things to consider. Try checking out our other articles for more advice on upping your skills, writing a great CV or presenting yourself well in an interview, and congratulate yourself when you achieve something new or improve a skill.
Acknowledge it then move on
Getting a job rejection is never a pleasant experience, but if you start trying to pick apart absolutely everything that could have gone wrong and wallow in your sadness this will only cause more suffering. Understand that things happen for a reason and just because you didn’t get this job, it doesn’t mean there aren’t other fantastic roles that you’d be perfect for. You’re allowed to feel down at first, but then take a deep breath, write it off as experience and pick yourself back up.
Take a break then keep applying
If you’ve had a couple of rejections in a short space of time you may be losing faith in the search, but don’t let it put you off completely. Instead, take a day off to refresh yourself, get into a better frame of mind and then pick it back up and try again. This is an important tip as it’s no good writing unenthusiastic cover letters that scream ‘just give me any job’ when you’re in a bad mood. You need to be in a positive mind-set to show companies your best self and why they should take you on.
If you’re ready to start again, save yourself the searching hassle and let us help!