We all hate rejection. It makes us feel bad that someone doesn’t really like or want us. When you see you’ve been rejected in black and white it’s can take the wind out of our sail as a job seeker.
After we get a rejection letter and recover our balance the tendency is to shy away from that company, those people and maybe even that type of job. It can and often does, change our behavior and often not in a way that serves us well. Don’t let that be you.
Let’s look at a rejection letter first and then what your actions and behavior should be following a rejection letter.
What does a rejection letter really mean?
If you made it through all of the screening process as a candidate, you are obviously well qualified for the position you pursued.
It also means you’re doing a lot of things right in your job search to get this far. Keep doing the right things.
A rejection doesn’t mean you were a poor candidate, it means they felt more aligned with someone else.
You never know how difficult the decision may have been between you and someone else. They had to make a decision and it could have come to something like a coin toss simply so they could move forward. They had to pick someone.
It means they thought well of you and despite any negative thoughts you might have about them, they’re feeling just fine about you.
The door on future opportunities is not closed. In fact, now that they know you so well, you could be considered for other openings. It’s more productive to utilize the applicant flow you have rather than dumping all the resumes and interview information than to start over again the next time.
The fact that the company went so far as to send you a rejection letter is a sign of a well run company.
So often these days, the job search is a black hole of communications. If they thought enough of their candidates to do this level of follow up, you want to keep them on your radar.
What should your behavior be?
If you loved the position, hiring manager, and company then keep working at getting hired for a position.
Just because they rejected you for this position doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be perfect for the next one. It’s not a door closer.
You now have a list of “insider” contacts that you can use to your advantage.
After you let the dust settle for a while, circle back around with your contacts and let them know you want to be considered for other positions now or in the future. Showing some spunk and confidence is alluring and memorable.
Keep your perspective about what this means.
A rejection letter shouldn’t cause you to change what you are doing unless this letter makes it a cool dozen you’ve received. If you have repeatedly got to the final round of interviews and not chosen, then rethink how you might be presenting yourself.
Sure, you’re going to feel rejected for a while after you get a rejection letter. Go indulge and yourself today then get over it and keep doing all the right things that got you this far.
Rejection letter image from Shutterstock
About Dorothy Tannahill-Moran
I always advise my career counseling clients to send a thank you letter after being rejected. No one does that. It’s an additional way to differentiate yourself. And the employer will definitely remember. You have shown yourself to be a professional and a class act. Professionals and class acts get job offers…eventually!
Good article. And I agree that sometimes the final selection is tough.
More than once in the past, we couldn’t decide which one to hire… it was so close. Usually the head honcho got the final word! Then, having signed off from the runner up in the most positive way possible, we’ve later gone back and hired them.
And occasionally we had situations where the candidate who was offered the job got a better offer elsewhere and dropped out of the equation.
I agree that getting to final interview is an achievement in itself and there’s no shame in being runner up. Let the company know that you remain interested in working for them should the new appointee not work out or if there are other vacancies within the organisation.