There’s nothing like finding your dream job – the scope of the work, the level, the location, the pay, and more are all perfect. You’re impressed with the organization and everyone you’ve met – you’re excited!
After multiple rounds of interviews, you feel really good about how you showed up and the information you presented, and are really hoping to get an offer. You were told you’d find out today so now you wait.
The call comes in and it’s like a punch in the gut – they selected someone else. You’re glad you made it this far in the interview process because most of the time you only apply and then nothing, but you’re still incredibly disappointed.
Each time you’re rejected (or get no response), it becomes harder to overcome feelings of powerlessness and loss of confidence, but the good news is it’s possible!
If you can relate to this struggle, here are 5 ways to deal with the rejection so you can move on more quickly to embrace new and better opportunities.
- Allow yourself to feel the disappointment. Let yourself feel the pain for a short period of time. Afterall, you are still human and can be negatively affected by rejection like everyone else. The key is to allow yourself to feel it for only a short amount of time. You can’t move forward if you’re dragging the weight of the last rejection along with you.
- Don’t take it personal. Remember, as a candidate, you’re only privy to your small slice of the entire interview process. You may have been a fabulous candidate for the role, but the very next day, someone even more fabulous showed up. It doesn’t negate your qualifications; it only means that opportunity is not for you. If you know you meet every qualification, yet your application and resume get no response. It could be the employer received hundreds of applications and never even saw yours.
- Keep track of your daily accomplishments. Writing and reviewing your daily accomplishments is a great way to boost your confidence and morale. Just because an opportunity doesn’t work out doesn’t mean no opportunity will work out. Remember, everything goes in a cycle – what goes down, will eventually go back up!
- Seek out the lesson. If we pay attention, there’s a lesson in everything. As you move through the process, evaluate yourself and how you showed up every step of the way. I bet there’s a lesson in it for you.
- Treat yourself. Balance out the bad news with something good. After a rejection, treat yourself to something small but personal and uplifting for you. It can take away a little bit of the sting, and provide a morale boost.
None of these is a cure-all for rejection, but they can help to soften the blow and give you enough of a boost to continue on another day.
Until next time….