How to deal with Job Rejection & Keep Moving

Written by Jake O'Regan

During the current situation of lockdown I have personally used this time to reflect and one thing I wanted to do was to share my own experiences and pass on any advice I can to assist job seekers who have previously been rejected from an opportunity and it has knocked their confidence.

As you can imagine, being a recruitment consultant for over 4 years, I have seen many people rejected from opportunities at various points of an interview process, including the final hurdle. To be honest, it is probably the worst part of my job having to tell a candidate that they have been unsuccessful and ultimately rejected by the client.

Rejection is tough, and there is no sugar coating that fact, but it’s part of the job searching cycle. Everyone gets rejected during a job search at some point in their lifetime. In an ideal world, it would be nice to be able to take your pick out of several positions which you applied too but in reality something like that is rare when the position/ market is more competitive.

It is important that instead of letting the feeling of rejection get the best of you, you use it to your advantage as fuel to continue your pursuit. I have seen it first hand on countless occasions when a candidate gets rejected from one opportunity, only to go on to bigger and better things with a company who gave them a chance. – The old saying “One person’s coal is another person’s GOLD!”

A few key points to remember are:

Never take it personally – It is not a personal witch hunt against you as an individual. The company has its own best interests at heart and have to make the right decision from the business’s perspective.
A good interview is never a guarantee for a job offer – Do not jump the gun and think that you are guaranteed the position, if for whatever reason the offer does not come, you do not want to set yourself up for further disappointment. Always be mentally prepared for the offer not to be made.
Always ask for detailed feedback – It is important to understand the reasons of being unsuccessful. Do not be embarrassed of asking the recruiter or the company why!
Learn from unsuccessful interviews – Use previous feedback constructively. Was their something that you previously fell down on which you can improve the next time around? Like anything in life – Practice makes perfect!

For further advice, feel free to reach out to me directly at jake.oregan@amicusjobs.com