After leaving an interview, we may feel like we missed something or failed to highlight our strengths.
The anticipation of waiting for a response can led us to evaluate and improve our interviewing skills.
The best thing to do while waiting for a response is to review areas where we need to improve. It’s essential to note the items that were of our best interest during the interview, as well as the areas that need improvement.
But what happens when we receive a rejection letter after an interview? How do we handle it?
Read further to find out.
How to Overcome Being Rejected
1.) Do Not Dwell on Rejection – Receiving a rejection letter can be disappointing, but it’s important not to dwell on it. You are not the first to receive a rejection letter.
Despite feeling like we aced the interview, the rejection of not being chosen as a prospective employee can be devastating. However, failure doesn’t mean you are a failure – it just means you haven’t succeeded yet, as Robert H. Schuller put it.
Never let rejection define you – stay positive and motivated.
2.) Reasons for Rejection – There are several reasons why we may get rejected, some of which may be out of our control.
For instance, the employer may have already had someone else in mind for the position, such as an existing employee or a referral.
It’s important not to dwell on the rejection but instead find out why you didn’t succeed.
Read more about our – interview failure and job interview mistakes articles.
3.) From Rejection to Reflection: How to Learn from a Bad Interview – Some employers follow up a rejection letter with a courtesy call to explain why we didn’t make the cut.
It’s best to take advantage of this opportunity to ask for feedback. Any helpful insights will prepare us for the next interview and leave a good impression on the past prospective employer that we’re willing to improve our skills.
If we haven’t received a rejection letter or a call, it’s best to take the initiative and contact the employer.
Even if we know our mistakes, it’s important to confirm them to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
When making the call, we should remain pleasant and thank the employer for their time and help.
4.) Turn Rejection into Opportunity – Remember that there is an overwhelming number of prospective employees in the job market, making the competition tough.
Although there are more people searching for career opportunities, the job market is shrinking as fewer people are making job changes.
Out of hundreds of applicants, we were chosen for an interview, so it’s essential to keep our chin up and continue trying.
How to Recover from a Bad Interview
How to Keep Going After a Disappointing Interview
“Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes” (Confucius)
Translated, this quote means that you should not be ashamed of your mistakes. Instead of beating yourself up forever, you should learn from those mistakes and move on.
It can be hard to stay positive while you are hunting for a job and receive a rejection letter.
After all, job hunting can be really tough, especially if it has been some time since you were successful. Everyone has a bad interview occasionally. Even if you are interview savvy, you can still have a bad interview.
Then what? Move on and learn from your bad job interview.
Embracing Mistakes: Use a Bad Interview to Your Advantage
“Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.” (Al Franken)
Shake off the bad interview with these quick tips. Look for the silver lining in even the worst interview.
Talk about it – Get the bad interview off your chest by talking about it with someone you trust. You need to vent. Indulge your emotions for a little while.
It will make you feel better. You don’t want the frustration to build and affect the next interview.
“Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.” (Lily Tomlin)
Admit your mistakes then fix them and move on.
If you dressed inappropriately, if you were late, if you forgot the questions to ask – however you flubbed it, use the opportunity to grow and learn from it.
You are in charge of your actions, and you have the power to make changes so that you become a better candidate next time.
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” (George Bernard Shaw)
Review your interview performance.
- What did you not say?
- What did you say?
- Where were you not prepared enough?
Evaluate yourself after both a good and bad interview. It’s to your advantage to adjust your “sales pitch” on an ongoing basis.
“Continually strive to improve yourself.” (Anthony J. D’Angelo)
You should not burn bridges.
You might be tempted to let the interviewer and/or company know exactly how you feel. Nothing positive will ever come from doing this.
Rather, what you should do is follow up with a letter thanking them for the opportunity to interview and expressing your regret that it did not work out, but that you are hopeful for an opportunity in the future.
“The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.” (Dale Carnegie)
Your job hunt is going to have its ups and downs.
In the end, it’s how you recover and learn from the bad moments that matter – The perfect job for you is just around the corner.