How To Turn Job Rejection Into Success

More people experience it than you think. A job rejection will happen to the majority of us at some point in our lives. But whilst it might be soul-destroying, disappointing and feel completely unfair; it isn’t a waste of your time.

If you’ve gotten to the point where every post-interview call is eroding your self-esteem or you feel like you’re worthless, you need to either alter your mind-set or modify your tactics.

It must be understood that usually, a job rejection is not a personal dig at you. As tempting as it is to let your mind wander back to your school days when the others would choose everyone else and no one would pick you, you can’t let it happen.

If you do this, it becomes bigger than a concern; it becomes a psychological fear. You’ve come to associate that phone call with anxiety and an expectation of disappointment. Perhaps it’s not phone calls. Maybe it’s when you go to your email and expect bad news and disappointment. Or you’re still in a job, but you’re just waiting for the message that spells out the end of your term there. Whatever form it shows up in, this kind of anxiety and waiting taps directly into an underlying fear of rejection.

Ultimately, positivity is the answer to the doom and gloom that a job rejection brings. Going into a situation with a positive attitude sets the baseline for a fresh start. If there is a solid foundation of optimism for the present and the future, it is hard for rejection to enter your positive mind-set. The trick is to maintain a positive outlook on your future career so that the negativity of rejection will turn into your future opportunity.

From the moment you learn that you didn't quite get the job, you have to make good choices. First of all, it's always worthwhile to contact the hiring department or the employee who interviewed you to make some enquiries.

By asking for some pointers on what you did that didn't quite work for them, you can develop your interview skills and give yourself more of a chance to improve your future prospects. This also shows initiative and strength; and proves that you don't shy away easily even though you've been shunned.

It's essential to take the advice the hirer gives you and work on it further. Odds are, it isn't your CV or skillset holding you back. Usually, these have already been analysed before you're called for an interview. But perhaps you weren't culturally fit for a particular company, or the team you'd be working with are looking for someone with a different approach.

In other words, not every issue relevant to the rejection is a fault of yours. A lot of factors can pop up throughout an interview process that result in a change of heart; so the most important thing is to not blame yourself. If anything, you should take it as a blessing in disguise. If the company believed that you didn't belong there for whatever reason, you probably wouldn't have enjoyed turning up to work every day anyway.

It's all about perspective, and learning not to dwell for too long over things beyond your control. Yes, you didn't quite manage to land the job. So pick yourself up, figure out what went wrong and take it with you through the next application process.

Tailor your CV to each specific job, write a killer cover letter to attach to your application, dress the part, maintain your optimism and stay positive. If you follow these five golden rules of job-hunting, you'll be rewarded with a job offer in no time.