There’s nothing more frustrating in a job search than the feeling that you’ve done everything right, and yet you receive word that you didn’t get the job. It can be tough to absorb while remaining productive in your job search. Here are three tips to help you move forward after rejection. This is part 1 of a three-part series focused on the “unsuccessful” candidate experience. Watch for our next blog that provides do’s and don’ts when seeking feedback.
Tip 1: Process
Logic will tell you that you’re not going to get every role you go after based on pure numbers. However, logic is not usually in play when you first find out you didn’t get the job. Give yourself some time to process through the range of emotions relative to rejection. You may feel frustrated, disappointed or even speculate about your market value. Remind yourself that a person who is currently better qualified does not mean that you are somehow a failure.
Frame the setback in a manner that fuels your learning. For example, seek an assignment on a project at your current company to help you gain needed experience. Be careful about blaming the process – it’s too easy and can be a significant roadblock to your growth. Consider there are other factors you cannot see – internal matters that make the selection process more complex than you realize. There is a lot going on behind the scenes at companies that factor into hiring process that we cannot possibly know.
Tip 2: Reflect
Presuming you have processed through your range of thoughts and feelings in step 1, you are now ready to more clearly reflect. Consider the role and your background, training and experience. Ask yourself a number of questions:
- Strengths: Where do you see clear strengths that would be obvious to the interviewer? Where might you have “transferrable skills” that are not readily obvious to the role? How effective were you at highlighting those during the interview?
- Development: What would have been a stretch for you? What do you think the interviewer felt would have been a stretch for you? His/her interview questions may provide some hints.
- Curiosity: If you were granted time to ask questions about the role, culture, company – how curious were you? What impression might the interviewer have had based on the types of questions you asked?
Tip 3: Seek Feedback
This is absolutely easier said than done. Hiring managers and HR recruiters are busy and may not take the time to look backward when they’re ready to move forward. However, if you were really keen on the role and/or organization then it can only benefit you to try to get some direct feedback. Reach out to the employer thanking them for their consideration and ask if you could receive some feedback. Sometimes it helps to provide some insights of your own such as where you think you aligned well with the role and potential areas for you to gain more experience. This makes it easier for the contact to engage with you and it signals to the contact that you are self-aware and truly open to feedback. If you do not get a response, consider speaking with someone in your network who has candidate selection experience and get his/her views of your background and the stated job description.
This is a 3-part series addressing how to gain the most out of an “unsuccessful" candidate experience for both candidates and hiring companies. This first blog provides tips for the unsuccessful candidate. Blog two touches on seeking feedback. The final blog will provide rationale and guidance to the hiring company and its approach to providing feedback to an unsuccessful candidate. Visit http://avantleadership.com to access these blogs and more.