When undertaking your job search, it’s inevitable that you may encounter rejections from many jobs you thought were perfect for you. It’s all part of the process and you shouldn’t let rejection hinder your determination to finding the perfect job for you. Job searching is like finding a date; where you want to know if you will like the company and the company wants to know if you’ll be a good fit; and sometimes rejection is a part of this process to determine that. Here are some ways on how to recover from rejection during your job search.
It’s not personal
Rejection can happen at any stage of the hiring process from submitting your application to even being rejected after your final interview. The key is to not take it personally and understand that the employer is looking for a specific set of skills and if you don’t fit that they will go with someone with maybe some additional or different qualities.
Also, sometimes job roles are different to how they are advertised so you may think your skills and experience are perfect for the role you are applying for; whereas, the employer might be looking for something different entirely not necessarily based on whether you have the right skills for a job in the field you are looking to pursue.
Get feedback
After rejection, ask for feedback if possible; some employers are more likely to give feedback after you have had a face-to-face interview rather than after submitting your application. And other employers are more than happy to give some feedback in the early stages of the hiring process, after rejecting your application. Regardless of when you get this feedback, take it on board and research ways you can improve what you might have done wrong. This could be not highlighting the relevant skills you have on your CV or even writing a cover letter that doesn’t demonstrate your suitability for the role.
You can also learn how to interview well from rejections; because each time you are rejected after an interview stage, you will get more comfortable with the process and develop excellent communication skills to showcase your skills well from what you have learnt from previous interviews. It’s a great idea to get the feedback you receive from interviews and maybe do mock interviews to get yourself more used to the process and boost your success in future interviews.
Review your CV and cover letter
Double and triple check your CV and cover letter; sometimes if you don’t get feedback from your application, you can find why they rejected you if you made a mistake somewhere. Especially if you are submitting many applications at a time, you are more likely to make some mistakes such as addressing the wrong company or even sending the worn type of CV to a different job you intended to.
You can also get in touch with careers advice centers to go through you CV and cover letters and get some feedback from them as to why you haven’t been successful and how you can update your CV and cover letter structure. Regardless of which industry or job role you are applying for; the key is to always cater your CV to the job role with all the relevant and transferable skills from your previous experiences showcased in your CV so employers can instantly see if you are suitable or not.
Work on your interview skills
As previously mentioned, an issue might be how you interview. If you have made it to the interview stage then you have the opportunity to show your personality and see if you would be a great fit for the company. Interviews can be nerve-racking for anyone however, if you are applying for a role that is client-facing you do want to show that you are able to communicate well in meetings and get your ideas across.
If you do find yourself getting nervous or not asking the right questions, you can book in mock interviews at careers advice centres and practice your communication skills until you are comfortable and confident in what you want to say. A great method to get more confident in how you answer interview questions is by applying the STAR technique for questions that require you to demonstrate your skills with specific examples.
Focus on your strengths
After being rejected from a job you thought you were perfect for, it’s easy to look at your weaknesses only and work on those. But also, don’t forget to look at your strengths and the unique set of skills and expertise you can bring to future roles; this can be a unique hobby you have had growing up that can help in your role or even having an interest in a particular area in the industry you are applying for and demonstrating that interest in interviews.
Stay positive
In the end, you want to work somewhere that values your skills and personality and is a great fit; in order for you to grow and develop your skills in the company. The last thing you want to get a job that isn’t a good fit at all which you end up hating so in this sense, rejections
Review your job search
If you are getting rejected even after making some changes to your job searching approach; start looking at the types of jobs you are applying for and reviewing if you have the right requirements for them. For example, if you are applying for different types of jobs in the same industry, each role may different requirements that you may not have even if you have other transferable skills that you think are suited for the role. Research the skills you have and jot down your interests to see with job roles in the industry you want to pursue are better suited for you, and hopefully you will find more success in your job applications.
We hope these tips helped you learn how to recover from rejection. Remember, every rejection is just getting you closer to your perfect job as you can learn from each experience and develop key skills to help you succeed.
