At some point or another, every single person is going to be passed over for a job they want. It’s just the way the world works. But what separates the successful from the less-than-successful is what they do after the rejection. Want to be successful? Read on…
Today’s question comes from Margo L. who asks, “I interviewed for my dream copywriting job last month…and I just heard that I didn’t get it. I’m really disappointed. Is there anything I can do??”
The first thing to remember after you get passed over for a job is that no decision is irreversible and nothing is permanent. The hiring manager may change his or her mind and/or the candidate they choose might not work out.
Of course, neither of these things are in your control, but your reaction to the situation is. Even when you’ve been passed over for a job, you want to be the peak of professionalism and gratitude. After all, if the job does become open again in the future, you want them to already be thinking highly of you.
Now, back to how to actually deal with that rejection. Sure, it’s disappointing and maybe even painful, but it can also be very useful. They didn’t hire you for a reason. Put a different way, there was something about your portfolio, your experience or your skill level that kept them from hiring you.
So what do you want to do? Find out what that reason is!
Once you find out what was missing from your portfolio/experience/skill level, you can work on it and be better prepared for similar opportunities in the future. One job rejection is just an opportunity to improve yourself for the next one!
Get in touch with your main contact at the company—probably the HR person. First, genuinely thank them for the opportunity. Then, let them know that you’d like to continue improving and ask, based on their impressions, what you could improve on in the future.
If you don’t get a satisfactory answer from the HR person (something like, “Oh, we just decided to go in a different direction”), you can get in touch with the main person you interviewed with. Again, be polite, grateful and brief—you are hoping for some feedback, but you don’t want to annoy him/her.
The worst case scenario is that you don’t get any real feedback. The best case scenario is you get some solid feedback to work with and improve yourself/your skills/your portfolio for the next dream job you come across.
Your turn! How do you cope with interview rejection? Let us know in the comments below!
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