Everyone experiences rejection at some point in their lives. Facing rejection from a job is tough and has the potential to discourage us from seeking another job. If you handle it like a champ you’ll be able to pick yourself back up and move full speed ahead on your job search. The worst thing you can do is take it personally and beat yourself up over it. Move away from the personal attacks and look it at objectively. Chances are you weren’t the only one rejected for the job. In this economy, many qualified applicants like you are stacking hiring managers’ desks with stellar resumes, but they can only hire one person.
When you receive a rejection letter don’t feel offended. The employer is trying to be as polite and fair as possible so don’t take it personally. You were a good a candidate, but amongst the others you just didn’t fit their needs. This is OK. Erase that negative voice in your head that is telling you all the bad things you did wrong during the hiring process because it isn’t going to help. Instead, turn that negativity into positivity. Tell yourself that you did the best you could. It could be that there were certain qualifications that you didn’t meet or certain questions that stumped you that you could’ve been more direct about. Turn the bad into good and take this as an experience you can learn from.
Take this time to avoid dwelling on the rejection and work towards making you a better candidate. Look at your resume and see if there are any skills you can work on. If the career you’re looking to work in requires more aptitude in certain skills then think about investing in an online class or night class. Think about the way you handled your interview. If you chocked up, think about working on your interviewing skills. This doesn’t necessarily require you to take a class. Ask a friend to perform a mock interview with you.
Ultimately, you didn’t get the job not solely based on your skills. Hiring managers are looking for someone to fit into the particular work culture and fit in with the manager as well. The hiring manager has probably saved you from a particular work culture that just doesn’t go well with you personality and how you work. As much as you need a job, you don’t need a job that you’ll be miserable or dissatisfied with. You could have also saved yourself from a job that you might not be able to excel in. So, look at the bigger picture when it comes to facing rejection. There are a number of factors that hiring managers consider and many of them have an impact on your career potential and personal happiness.
View rejection as a challenge to overcome instead of a personal defeat. This is only a small set back in the scope of your entire career. As long as you keep on pushing forward with your career in terms of seeking out a new job and doing more interviews, you’ll eventually find the right job for you.
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