Planning Your Next Steps After Job Rejection
It can be difficult to pick yourself up again and keep going when you fail to get the job you had your heart set on, but it is essential to remember that this is just a temporary setback. You will find something else soon, and there is every chance it will be better than the job you were passed over for. Sometimes there is the temptation to make a job sound better in your head than it would have been because it suits your current life.
Ask for Detailed Interview Feedback
It can be hard to know where to go from there, but you must pick yourself up again and start applying for other jobs in your field as soon as possible. Before you do that, though, there are some essential things you should do, and the first one is to ask for detailed feedback from the job interview.
It is harder to succeed in the future if you don’t know where you fell down in the past. Identifying the shortcomings in either your interview technique or experience can make the difference the next time you go through the process. It may be a presentational issue, so you may have to work on sounding more confident and convincing about your skills and knowledge if you are to win over future interview panels.
Your Attitude Matters - Protect Your Reputation
Try to take on board the feedback as dispassionately as possible, and don’t get angry if what they say doesn’t chime with your feelings about the interview. They are not saying anything to hurt your feelings; they are merely trying to help you improve for the future. With this in mind, try to accept what they have to say, in the spirit that it is intended and wish them well for the future.
Your attitude at this time of rejection can either reflect well or poorly on you within your chosen industry, and it is crucial not to burn bridges with people you may be interviewed by again in the future. Keep this in mind and curate your reaction appropriately. Thank them for the feedback, and remain scrupulously polite during the exchange. They are doing you a favour by giving you feedback, it is by no means a compulsory part of the process.
If you receive the feedback via email rather than telephone, send a polite email back thanking them for taking the time to compile it for you and for the opportunity to interview with them.
Reflect on Interview Feedback
After receiving the feedback on your interview, the best thing you can do is reflect on it and what you can learn from the interviewers' perceptions. Identify action points you can take forward and figure out how to address the issues they raised with you. This may involve some soul-searching and the admission of some hard truths to yourself. You may be lacking in experience in some areas that are required for this level of opportunity.
Try to be as intellectually honest as possible and admit your shortcomings. There is no point in receiving interview feedback if you just dismiss the results as they aren’t what you would like to hear. Try to imagine the interview through the eyes of the interviewers and think about the boxes that you weren’t quite able to tick for them. Look at the job advert again and examine all the requirements listed. Now be completely honest, did you meet each of them? If that is a no, that is a good starting point for the work you need to do next.
Identify Learning Opportunities
Once you are confident that you have identified your principal shortcomings, it is time to look at solutions. How do we get from where we are to where we want to be? The answer often lies in learning opportunities that can help bridge the individual skills gap that may have prevented you from getting the job you wanted.
Consider the skills areas you lack and identify some courses, whether online or at a local further education college, that can help you develop these. This will allow you to address the concerns raised systematically. Many of the courses will give an accreditation at the end that you can refer to in your CV, cover letters and future interviews.
Revamp Your CV
Ensure that your CV is well-suited to the roles you are currently applying for and list any recent accreditations you have picked up as a result of the interview feedback and period of reflection you undertook. If you have earned extra qualifications, be sure to include them, as they can be a valuable way to demonstrate that you have the requisite skills for the job role.
Read through your CV or perhaps ask for a review from an online CV reviewing service that can help you correctly optimise your CV to appeal more to your target audience. Many of these services cost some money but are generally worth it for the high standard of help. Presenting yourself in the best possible light is the goal, which should help you get as far as the interview process again next time.
Interview Preparation
Before you undertake any more interviews in the real world, it may be an idea to try some dummy interviews with questions that are used in many job interviews. You can find common interview questions online and detailed information on how you should be answering the to give yourself the best chance of success. It is essential to know what the interviewers are expecting so that you can tailor your responses to fit what they are looking for.
Having some interview practice can help the answers to come more naturally on the day of the interview, they will feel like second nature once you have been over them a few times. Once you start looking at the standard interview questions and answers, you will usually immediately see how you could have answered some questions better.
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