How to Deal with Rejection During Your Job Search

How to Deal with Rejection During Your Job SearchHow to Deal with Rejection During Your Job SearchRejected from my dream job and feeling super depressednow what? asks a disappointed job candidate on Reddit. The candidate goes on to explain how he applied for a position, made it through the phone interview, and then welches given a written test, but failed to move through to the in-person interview stage. Now hes trying to deal with rejection.He expresses his confusion about the rejection, pointing to personal reasons that he thought he was well-qualified I cant figure out why I failedI thought I was such a good fit and (almost) everything in the job description pertained to my previous experienceI thought I would be a shoe-in.Clearly, this candidate feels like its his fault that he failed- and perhaps it is, at least in part. But the fact is, while your performance during the job search combined with your professional credentials are certainly major factors in landing a new position, there are outside factors that influence the final results as well.Here are three suggestions on how to deal with rejection during your job search1. Understand the wider context.Theres mora to the interviewing process than meets the eye. As an interviewee, youre aware of how well you think you answered the employers questions, as well as other factors that pertain only to you, like how well-qualified you feel you are, and whether you believe that you established good rapport with the interviewers.But what you dont know are details relating to the hiring manager that may affect her decision, or how many other equally well-qualified people applied for the same job.2. Know what you cant control.While you control how well you do in your interview, theres a lot that you cant control about who gets the job. You might have every requested skill platzset and the perfect work history for a specific position, yet unbeknownst to you, an internal candidate is already favored for the role.You m ay have given the best interview performance of your life, but not realize that seven other strong candidates also knocked it out of the park during their interviews.Or maybe you dont know that the hiring committee has a preference for a particular type of experience or industry background that wasnt specified in the job description. Regardless, its important to know what you can and cant control so that you see that the final decision is not all about you, for better or for worse.3. Recognize the importance of fit.The concept of fit can be a bit nebulous. When it comes to the best person for the job, fit is multifaceted- you might seem like the right fit on paper with a stellar resume, yet when the hiring manager meets you, it becomes clear that you have very different working styles. While these differences may be just what one manager is looking for, another may opt to go with a candidate whose style is more similar to her own.The point is, while you may feel that youre a great f it for a company or job, people on the inside who are evaluating a whole panel of potential hires may find a better fit across the board for their requirements- and fit has as much to do with who gets a job as personality, skills, and other professional credentials.The take-home is while you can control some things about the job search and interview process that may affect the outcome, there are other things you cant control. Thats why its important to avoid taking it too personally if someone else gets the job offer that you wanted. So after allowing yourself to experience the initial letdown, pick yourself back up theres a job out there for which youre the perfect fit.Button Sign Up forFind Your Next Job Opportunity. Sign Up for Today