Job seeking can be tough. In most instances, only one role is available, no matter how many suitable candidates there are. Applying for a job often involves investing a lot of your time, energy and effort. Putting this effort into your job search only to hear ‘no’ can feel discouraging and sometimes it’s not actually about you. Roles can get flooded with applications fast, budgets freeze, timelines drag, decision makers change their minds.
At the beginning of a job search, you are full of energy and optimism, applying daily, saying yes to everything, taking calls, networking. Doing all the ‘right things’. You might have a few interviews, and have your heart set on a position, and find out that unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
While rejection can be disheartening, it’s also a part of the process that can be reframed as an opportunity for growth and learning. In this week’s blog, I want to explore some ways that you can overcome this and turn setbacks into a way to see rejection as a redirection.
Emotional Resilience
Job rejection is disappointing and knowing how to deal with it requires emotional resilience. Emotional resilience is an important personal quality to develop, especially when you’re job hunting. It’s all about the ability to bounce back from tough situations, with a positive attitude. It’s about working through negative emotions and trying to see the positives. Was the role you applied for the next step in your career, and you got an interview? Awesome! Maybe you didn’t get the position, but the experience and knowledge you have gained from going through the recruitment process, answering questions and forging new connections in your industry, are things you can add to your toolbelt.
Self Assessment and Improvement
One productive way to come to terms with an unsuccessful job application is to see your ‘failures’ as an opportunity to be proactive and improve. Think about what you can refine about your resume, cover letter or interview style for your next job application. In most cases, you will be able to ask the hiring manager or recruiter for feedback on why your application was unsuccessful. In which case, you’ll be in a better position to know what to work on and which direction any self-improvement might take. The key element here is implementing that feedback.
Staying Motivated
Another obstacle to overcome might include demotivation, self doubt and lack of confidence. You may start to doubt yourself, which is a fast tracked way to lose motivation in your job search. If you have been job seeking for a little while, unsuccessful applications can start to affect your confidence. However, it’s important to remember that this is common and will happen to almost anyone who has applied for a job – even highly skilled and experienced people. The key is to try and remain open minded and learn from each experience.
Pivoting your plan
Something else to think about are the types of opportunities you are willing to consider. If you are trying to break into a new industry or change roles and have received feedback that you’re lacking experience in a certain field, looking at temp or short term contracts can be a great way to get a foot in the door to gain experience. Temping offers professional growth and affords fantastic pathways that traditional full time ongoing roles might not. It can provide you with the platform to expand your skillset and gain experience across different industries, and in some cases offer the opportunity to then step into permanent employment.
Applying for a new position and going through a recruitment process takes courage. Be kind to yourself, make time for reflection, ask questions and take on challenges and opportunities that might present themselves, even if that path is not the one you started out on in the first place…
