It’s happened to all of us: we landed the interview, we think we aced it and then...we see the job rejection email. Ouch. It hurts, there’s no way round that. But it’s important not to let it get to you. Read on for our top tips for dealing with job rejection.
Remember that it’s part of the process
Even someone who seemingly has it all will have been through their fair share of rejection. It’s really not personal! According to this article, the average job seeker faces 24 rejections before landing a job. The right job is out there for you, it’s just a matter of staying motivated and finding it. While rejection hurts in the moment, it will help build your resilience and push you to find the right role for you.
Ask for feedback
One of the silver linings of a job rejection is it offers you a learning experience. With every job rejection, you get better at job interviews because each interview teaches you something new. Ask for feedback from your interviewer so you can find out exactly where both your strengths and weaknesses lie. Hopefully, they will give you detailed feedback that tells you what to keep doing and what to work on.
Reflect on the experience
Reflection is easier when you get that feedback, but even if you never hear back from the interviewer, you can still look back on your experience and reflect on it. Make a note of anything that you felt went wrong and come up with ways to avoid the same mistakes in the future. Did you talk too much and accidentally interrupt the interviewer? Next time, pause for a couple of seconds after the interviewer asks a question to make sure they are done speaking. Did you not talk enough? Next time, plan some key points to bring up so that you don’t find yourself lost for words.
Ask for advice from others
If your interviewer doesn’t give you feedback, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get advice from other sources. Have friends or family members do some practice interviews with you. It may feel weird to have someone you’re close to interview you, but get them to take it as seriously as possible. Create an environment that is as close to a real job interview as possible, block out some time on your schedules so you don’t get interrupted, and try to get as close to the real thing as possible - hopefully, the more you do this, the less nervous you will be in the real thing. They may be able to see what you can’t see yourself, both in terms of what you need to work on and what you’re already doing well! You can reflect on the experience together, which will help you to create an action plan for nailing your next real interview.
Keep a list of your achievements
Ok, we know this might sound a bit self-absorbed, but keep a running list of all the things you’ve done well. Job rejections can reduce your motivation, your self-esteem and your self-confidence. It’s easy to get disheartened and start to lose faith in yourself. This can affect your performance in future interviews, creating a vicious cycle: you get a job rejection, your confidence decreases, you get rejected from the next job because you weren’t confident enough at the interview. It’s important to keep reminding yourself of all the amazing things you’ve pulled off. Seriously, write it down! Nothing is too big or too small: if you’re proud of it, make a note of it. Remind yourself how capable and deserving you are. Maybe you didn’t do your best at the interview, or maybe you did really well and just happened to lose out to someone with slightly more experience...whatever the reason you didn’t get the job, don’t let it trick you into thinking you aren’t good enough. Remind yourself of all the reasons you are good enough, practice your interview skills and persevere. You will find the right job for you!
And make sure to keep an eye on Ruby Magpie’s LinkedIn page, where we regularly post job openings.