To be told that you have not been accepted for a job can be disheartening.
Clearly, it’s never a pleasant experience, but with the right mindset, you can recover from a job rejection.
The key here is to do things that help change your perception of the experience so that you can still stay focused and motivated.
Don’t take it personally
When you find yourself being rejected for a job, it’s hard not to blame yourself by thinking that you’re not good enough or there is something wrong with your personality.
If you’ve come fully prepared for the interview and you’ve tried your best, then really there’s very little that you could have done.
Try not to take it personally because sometimes there are other reasons they did not select you. For instance, there could have been a stronger candidate with a more relevant background or more experience.
The point here is to remember that being rejected for a job doesn’t mean that you’re not qualified.
Focus on your strengths
If you ever feel like a failure, stop. Instead, try creating a list of the strengths, accomplishments, and contributions that you’ve achieved throughout your life.
You can also remember your best moments such as when you were able to accomplish a certain task or project or when you successfully overcame a challenging obstacle in the past.
This practice might sound weird at first, but it helps give you a constant reminder of your strengths and accomplishments whenever you are feeling down.
Don’t overanalyse
Overanalysing something you can’t change or control is a waste of time. If you keep on reanalysing what went wrong, you won’t be able to move forward.
Instead, give yourself a pat on the back for landing an interview with a great company. Knowing that you have done it once, you’ll surely be able to do it again because chances are that won’t be your last interview.
Review and reset
Once you have such a bad experience, you might be tempted to brush it off, never to think of it again.
The truth, however, is that forgetting about the experience would be a waste of opportunity to learn something new.
Approach each new job opportunity with a fresh perspective and a positive attitude. If you have made mistakes or felt unprepared in your last interview, learn from it and re-strategise for the next interview while remaining true to your personality and experience.
This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
First published in the Borneo Post online on 25th July 2020: https://bit.ly/30I0al0
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.
