What to do when you get a painful rejection letter
What you need to know:
- When your application is rejected, control your emotions. Do not vent in a professional email or conversation with potential employers.
- Don't take any actions that could jeopardise future opportunities. Be polite, thank the prospective employer for their time, and request feedback on what you could have done more effectively.
- Most of the time, you won't hear anything specific, but a hiring manager might offer advice that will help you stand out in your upcoming applications or interviews.
The number of rejections a candidate encounters before receiving a job offer is unknown. But, it doesn’t matter how many times you've been turned down, a rejection still hurts. However, that doesn’t mean you should curl up on the floor and cry. You can transform a "No" into opportunity. Here is how.
Self-control
When your application is rejected, control your emotions. Do not vent in a professional email or conversation with potential employers. Don't take any actions that could jeopardise future opportunities. Be polite, thank the prospective employer for their time, and request feedback on what you could have done more effectively. Most of the time, you won't hear anything specific, but a hiring manager might offer advice that will help you stand out in your upcoming applications or interviews.
Redirect the negative energy
After being rejected, anger, disappointment, grief and frustration often follow. Try to channel these feelings into something positive. You could pursue new opportunities, go to the gym, or take up a new hobby.
Take note of what happened
To ease the sting, do some self-analysis. Reread your resume and cover letter and find ways of making them more appropriate for the position. If there was an interview, take note of ways to improve. You may have appeared stiff and uncertain of yourself because of the tension from a hurried and busy morning, or you were taken aback by a question.
Consider what would make each day wonderful
A fantastic offer from your ideal employer would undoubtedly be on the list, but consider additional opportunities, both large and small, that could enable you to incorporate happiness and pleasant interactions into each day. Choose an action to take at the beginning of each day and follow through with it, especially during the stressful interview periods. You could meet friends for happy hour after work, go to the gym, cook a beautiful supper or catch up on a TV show. This can help relieve stress.
Accept and move on
Successful candidates take time to reflect on their momentary setback and pick lessons from it. They also take note of the pleasant experiences in their daily lives.
This doesn’t mean you become unrealistically happy. We are inclined to make comparisons between ourselves and our role models. As we do that, we tend to forget that they may have formerly faced rejection. When successful people reflect on their paths, they often view rejections and failure as crucial and indispensable stepping stones on their path to success.
