Facing rejection in the pursuit of new career opportunities can be a bitter pill to swallow. This blog focuses on coping strategies and turning set backs into stepping stones. Delve into the emotional challenges individuals experience when their job applications are declined, and learn valuable insights on how to handle these situations. Emphasising the need to avoid taking rejection personally, explore the importance of resilience and the art of learning from setbacks. Learn how to face rejection head-on, seek constructive feedback from interviews, and use these insights to fuel personal and professional development. In this blog we also encourage readers to view rejection as an opportunity for growth, rather than a failure, highlighting the significance of maintaining a positive attitude and creating actionable plans based on the feedback you receive. Through offering practical advice and a proactive perspective, set the tone to transform rejection into a positive opportunity to learn.
Missing out on the job after spending a lot of time and effort in preparing can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially if you had your hopes up. While you can expect to run into roadblocks and disappointment on your career journey, in these situations it can be difficult to deal with and to pick yourself up and try again. However, there’s always an opportunity to learn and grow.
People who take things too personally or take every thing to heart. Often it comes down to you didn’t get the job because someone else was a better fit, or you were missing experience in a core area that another candidate provided, yet you might have the perceived mindset that it’s because you weren’t good enough or they had some issue with you. People often take things personally when something hits a nerve, and because it’s common to romanticise the fantasy of the company you’re excited to work for, you’re feeling extra sensitive when it doesn’t go your way.
In these situations, it’s important to keep your emotions in check, avoid making assumptions, and turn criticism into constructive feedback. When you’re feeling the sting of rejection it can go two ways; either let it hinder your progression, or use it as an opportunity to improve.
Some people bounce back from rejection, while other people give up. Everyone experiences the unpleasant sting of rejection in their life, however it’s important that you develop the resilience and fortitude to bounce back, and spin that negative situation into fuel to try again. Rather than suppressing your emotions, lean into them, admit that you’ve been discouraged or embarrassed and have the confidence to deal with your emotions head on.
You need to get out of your comfort zone to improve, and rejection is evidence that you’re pushing your limits, so you need to be turned down here and there to show that you are indeed pushing yourself. Don’t make sweeping generalisations about yourself when facing rejection. Instead spin it into a proper perspective, and recognise that a single incident shouldn’t define who you are.
Rejection stings, especially when you don’t know the reason. Often, people don’t end up going back to the hiring manager/recruitment consultant to request feedback, when the best thing you can do in these situations is actually find out what happened and why.
Ina situation like this, self-reflection is often not going to tell you what went wrong in the eyes of the interviewer, so make sure to find out why you missed the mark, and why they thought you weren’t the right person for the job. Getting feedback from the interviewer gives you some valuable, actionable info to apply to your next interview, from a neutral party’s perspective.
It might not be as bad as you thought, maybe someone else had a slight edge on you with their experience or had a connection with the company.
-Maintain A Positive attitude. Understanding the interviewer’s perspective provides valuable insights for self-improvement. Actively seek feedback and use it as a tool for growth, focusing on how you can use it to enhance your skill and presentation for future opportunities.
- Identify areas for improvement. Analyse the feedback you received and identify specific areas where you perhaps fell short. Whether it’s a skills, communication, or cultural fit issue, use their feedback to target your areas of improvement.
- Create an action plan. Develop a plan to address the areas where you fell short, you might need to find a course or training to help develop specific skills, practice your interviewing skills, or network to enhance relevant social skills and build confidence.
Getting rejected for a position can be disheartening and might make you give up on looking for new opportunities altogether. While it’s understandable to feel this way it’s important to not let this feeling stop you from pushing on in your search and finding the next opportunity. It’s important to remember that something prompted you to take this next step in your career journey, and giving up at the first sign of failure will not solve the lingering issues.
In this online world there are constantly new jobs being listed by businesses and recruitment agencies (you can click here to find our listings), and while not all of them will be right for you there will undoubtedly be some worthy of your consideration; plus, you won’t have a shot unless you go through the process. ‘You’ve gotta be in it, to win it’ as they say!
The process of looking for new employment will always come with factors out of your control. Job markets fluctuate, company requirements change, and sometimes the most qualified professionals are rejected due to factors outside of their control. By focusing on what you do have control over you’ll have a better chance of improving and turning setbacks into stepping-stones for success.
Thanks for your interest in what we do here at FIND. We love meeting and helping amazing kiwis every day and will always do our best for our clients and candidates. We've been simplifying the recruitment game since 2008, so don't hesitate to get in touch if you need our help!
