You found a job you wanted and knew you’d be great for. You prepared as much as you could, polished up your resume, had what you thought was a great interview…and didn’t get the job. Or they never call back. Or you never even get to the interview stage. If you’re reading this, you probably know that feeling; a knot in your stomach that somehow manages to travel its way to your heart and constrict it when the news comes. After you go through your range of emotions (disbelief, anger, sadness), it’s time to take what you can from it and move on, using it as a way to set yourself up for success next time.
- Don’t set your heart on one job. While you may find this advice difficult to follow, don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to job hunting. The job you simply have to have may not be the right one for you anyway. And it makes sense to cast a somewhat wide net to give yourself options and choices (and a better chance at landing one of them). If you get your hopes up thinking of one job as THE job, possible rejection will slam into you that much harder. Protect your emotions and, more practically, your success rate by looking into different options.
- Remember that we instinctively feel rejection. Take a step back and think about it from a broader perspective. The reason you didn’t get the job may not be because you didn’t have a good enough resume/interview. The company could have hired internally or had a candidate in mind. They may have changed what they needed or even frozen the position due to lack of funding. It’s rarely personal on their end; don’t take it personally on yours.
- Ask for feedback. If you had a great interview but didn’t get hired, it never hurts to ask why you did not get the position. If, after some feedback, you discover you didn’t have all of the skills they needed, you may want to either find a way to fill in the gaps or tailor your search to a position that would better fit what you have to offer. If you choose the former option, you may also want to inform that employer that you’ve taken steps to improve your candidacy if you still want to work for the company — this shows you take and respond to criticism well.
- Accentuate the positive. While it’s tempting to over analyze every sentence, either written or spoken, that “caused” you not to get the job, this may send you into a negative spiral. Take a positive spin: See how you can better prepare next time and focus on the skills/background that got you the interview in the first place. You have a great deal to offer someone; the right fit will come.
Keep your chin up when dealing with job rejection…it’s not the easiest position to take, but it will serve you well in the long run, especially when that next position pops up. For help finding it, work with the expert recruiting professionals at PrideStaff Thousand Oaks.
