Category: Job Search

How to Deal with Interview Rejections

It can be very frustrating when an interview outcome is not as expected, especially after having prepared well. However, it is essential to remember that how you deal with rejection is just as significant as your resume’s skills.

If you allow rejections to smash your confidence and make you question your abilities, then it could negatively influence your performance in future interviews.

In case a rejection call or email notification pings on your phone, below are some of the few things to remember, which will help you remain motivated, optimistic, and positive.

1. It is Not All About You

It is quite easy to accept rejection by personally blaming yourself or your interview skill when you fail to land the job. This is why we always urge professionals to not read too much into your rejection by putting the whole blame on yourself. Sometimes, the majority of these decisions that resulted in your rejection are rarely based entirely on your performance. If you have prepared fully and tried your best, there is very little you could have done.

The majority of the motives behind hiring decisions will not be made clear to you. You may have performed competently, but there could be other circumstances at play. For example, there could have been a strong internal candidate already familiar with the company’s business policy and activities. It could also be that a candidate who went through the interview slightly had more relevant experience than you. These are some of the things you cannot change; they are beyond your control.

2. Rejection is Not a Final Feedback

Don’t just conclude that everything you are doing is wrong because you did not get the job. It is perfectly reasonable to politely ask the employer or recruiter for more comprehensive feedback regarding your interview to enable you to improve. However, it is essential to note that some interview feedback can sometimes be unhelpful and disturbing. So, ensure you seek out other genuinely helpful feedback where possible. You could seek the advice of an HR professional and try a mock interview to practice and obtain some constructive criticism.

3. Always Leave Room for Plan B

Don’t nail all your hopes on a particular job offer with the belief that it is an exact fit. If you don’t get that job, depression will undoubtedly set in. It is also smart to seek multiple opportunities even when you don’t want to. Having an alternative in place will leave you motivated to try other means when you encounter a job rejection.

4. Don’t Bring Up the Past

Once you are rejected, there are tendencies that you would love to relive the situation by discussing it with others when you shouldn’t. Instead of concentrating on rejections, strive to focus on instances when you have succeeded and when your goals were fulfilled. Recollecting those positive outcomes will boost your morale and provide the feeling that you are meant for something better and bigger.

5. Focus on Your strengths

There will always be areas where everyone can develop but remember that you brought your incredible value proposition and affections to the table. Concentrating on these can provide the momentum and the renewed energy you need to locate the job that’s right for you.

It is recommended to generate a list of your strengths and critical contributions to previous workplaces. This makes you aware of your value as an employee, but it can also come as a valuable tool for your next job interview.

6. A Fresh Approach 

Don’t carry the interview burden around with you. Approach each new job vacancy with a positive attitude and a fresh perspective. Arrange your CV to best match a new chance, thoroughly research, and get ready for a new interview. If you made mistakes or felt incompetent in your last interview, then learn from it. Don’t hold such mistakes at the forefront of your mind; it will only make you anxious. Each company and the hiring manager are different, and they will have several ideas of the ‘ideal candidate.’ So, maintain a new approach while staying true to your experience and personality.

7. Continue Learning and Developing

Your confidence can take a blow when you get a rejection. So, it is very crucial to work hard at protecting your motivation and morale level buoyancy. If you do not have a job, it is an excellent suggestion to keep your skills sharpened and your experience updated. This may be in the form of a part-time training course relevant to the passionate job you wish to secure in a philanthropy project or a position in a company of interest. By being professionally involved, you can assist steady development, increase your confidence, provide yourself a focus outside your job quest, and give a discussion point in your next interview.

8. Build Resilience

In today’s rapidly changing workplace ethics and the force of technological advancement, companies revamp themselves with excellent skills. Hence, building a mindset of resilience and grit is essential for long-term success. Recognize each disappointment as a challenge to develop your understanding and your capacity to bounce back and effectively handle disappointment.

Conclusively, overcoming difficulties on your career path will boost your chances of securing the right role. Make it a point to remain constructive and do all you can to learn from the experience of rejection to enable you to get ready for the next opportunity. 

After all, getting rejected from a job happens to everyone; the most crucial thing is what you learned from the experience.

Why mock interviews are important for professionals 

 Getting a professional job offer isn’t a walk over the water. It comes with some hard work and dedication made in the place of determination and preparation. 

One of the first steps that must be taken when it comes to securing a job is to find or locate job openings around or in your field of interest or specialization. It is necessary to strategically submit your résumés at the specified locations to have a high chance of being considered for that opportunity. 

 If the first step is successful, you will get to the next level when the day of the appointment is scheduled for your interview. It is important to note that just like you, there are other candidates invited for every interview. Hence, there is a need for you to practice thoroughly to ensure that your interview is a success. 

Therefore, there is a need to conduct some dry runs before you appear for the real interview. This nonetheless means that a mock job interview would be an excellent choice. 

 What is a Mock Interview? 

A mock interview is an organized event made to look like a real-life job interview process, but with the sole purpose of training individuals for a real job interview with an organization or firm. 

 This conversational practice usually looks like a real interview, which is not, but for the core purpose of empowering the candidate with experience. It can assist a job applicant in having a clear understanding of the things expected in a real job interview process. The mock interview can be recorded either as audio or video, which the candidate can view afterward and hear feedback from those who conducted the interview process. 

Reasons Why You Should Consider Mock Interviews  

1. It Helps to Decrease Anxiety and Stress.

Attending a professional interview can be stressful, and it can make you feel anxious. This is because you may be desperately in need of a job; hence, you tend to be conscious that you might not get it at the end of the whole process. Therefore, stress, anxiety, and pressure set in.  

 So, having conducted a mock interview at home or attending anyone held by a firm specializing in mock interviews gives you the finesse and boldness for the challenge, helping you overcome anxiety. 

2. It Helps to Improve Your Confidence

This is related to the first importance mentioned above because you gain more confidence when you master how to overcome your anxiety. When there is confidence, there is a high possibility to remember all the experiences and skills you have been able to obtain over the years. This is one of the reasons why you need confidence when attending an interview. 

3. It Helps You to Get Constructive Feedback

It is essential to know that no one is perfect. Therefore, mock interviews enable you to clarify responses to some questions, and it also assists you in working on specific areas that you might be weak at. However, for a real interview, you rarely get feedback based on your performance or overall journey through the interview process. Therefore, to find out and assess your interviewing abilities more, it is always advisable to attend or conduct a mock interview for yourself so that you can maximize your landing the job by performing at the top of your performance in the upcoming interview. 

4. It Prepares You for Behavioral Based Interview Questions

Some corporations and firms seem to use this behavioral-based type of interview. So, if you are not familiar with this kind of interview technique, this is where a mock interview can be of tremendous benefit. Under this interviewing system, it is speculated that your past performance based on a specific job is the best way to predict your future performance. 

5. It Is a Practice That Makes You Perfect.

The expression that practice makes perfect can be very accurate when it comes to interviewing skills. You must learn and master the craft of taking full advantage of a mock interview to be perfect at comporting yourself in an interview. Even if you believe that your interview skills are top-notch, you still see them as a feature that can still be improved when making a tremendous impression on a prospective employer. 

6. It Helps You, Master, The Acceptable Body Languages.

Mock interviews prepare you well in terms of professional etiquette and body language. It will train you on how you greet in an interview and how you depart from it. 

7. It Helps You Have the General Knowledge of Interviews

General Knowledge of basic questions the interviewing panel will ask you are some of the things mock interviews will teach you. 

General or common interview questions like; 

Can we meet you? 

Where do you see yourself in the next ten years? 

Summarize your resume. 

8. It Familiarizes You with The Situation.

Mock interviews assist you in getting familiar with the situation of what to expect in a real job. It makes you know how intensified your interview will be; hence, it prepares you ahead. 

 Most importantly, once you through with the mock interviews, it is crucial that you instantly implement the feedback given to you. Ensure that you learn to receive the feedback in a constructive attitude to perform better in your interview. 

5 Incredible Ways to Make Your Job Application Stand Out

Go to grad school! If you do so, you’ll get a job immediately you graduate- they’ll say. 

Due to this, you spend tons of money paying huge grad tuition. After grad school, you slowly realize that it was all a lie. You begin to realize that if you did not network or build the necessary skills for your career, then, that degree doesn’t automatically guarantee you a job.

Now, it’s time to apply for a job.

You apply for the job and then, you find out that several people are applying for that same job. This leaves you with the question of how do you get your application to be noticed? Well, you might have submitted your resume and cover letter, but have you ever thought of how tiring it is for recruiters to sit down and skim through hundreds of resumes? To make it worse, these resumes are boring enough to wear out a recruiter.

So, what do you do?

In this case, your best option is to go the extra mile when applying for jobs. Consider using creative ways to get your application noticed. Nonetheless, in this post, we have compiled five ways to make your application get noticed.

These include

1. Your resume should be tailored to the job
2. Consider using brief and concise videos
3. Utilize the power of LinkedIn
4. Consider working closely with a career coach
5. Always follow-up after applying

• Your resume should be tailored to the job

It can be tempting to apply for various jobs using a generic resume to apply to as many jobs as possible. However, what you don’t know is that by sending off generic resumes, you’re killing your chances of your application being noticed. If you think that applying to jobs using a generic resume will help you save time then, its best to not apply at all.

It is vital to understand that recruiters only take a few minutes to skim through the resumes of candidates. Most times, they’re only interested in paying adequate attention to a resume if it attracts them. Hence, this is where personalization or tailoring your resume to the job is essential. This is because if you can tailor your resume to fit the job description, it goes a long way to show that you’re a serious candidate who should be considered. Also, by taking just 5-10 minutes of your time to do this, it makes it easier for you to tailor your resume in a way that it automatically hooks the recruiter. Therefore, increasing your chance of being called for an interview.

• Consider adding brief videos to your application

Now, when it comes to applying for jobs, almost every job seeker sends in their resume and cover letter. Hence, when you send your resume, you’re just contributing to the number of resumes and cover letters that the recruiter must skim through. In such a case, getting the recruiter to pay more attention to your application becomes essential.

To do this, you might want to consider creating short videos of around 30-60 seconds that briefly explain who you are, why you applied for the job, how you can positively impact the organization if chosen and why you think you’re the best candidate for the job. This shows that you are willing to go the extra mile to prove your worth to the employer.

Unfortunately, most job seekers fail to realize that utilizing video applications can help to further boost their chances of being noticed. Therefore, this is your chance to use this to distinguish your application from all other ‘regular’ applications.

• Utilize the Power of LinkedIn

If you are not making good use of LinkedIn, then, you are no doubt missing out on a very important tool in the professional world. LinkedIn when used appropriately, can help secure jobs faster than you could ever imagine. To enable you to do this effectively, it is essential to have a well-optimized LinkedIn profile that shows off your skills, achievements and why you are the best candidate for any job in your field.

It is essential to know that LinkedIn as a professional tool gives you access to potential employers who you can easily connect with and engage. It opens you up to numerous opportunities for getting various job offers if used appropriately. For example, at Global Career Advisors, we once helped an amazing client get SIX job interviews scheduled within a week. All thanks to LinkedIn. Therefore, if you have a LinkedIn profile that is not optimized or you perhaps, do not know how to use LinkedIn to boost your career, then, simply reach out to us.

• Consider working with a career coach

If you’ve never thought of working with a career coach during your job hunt, then, it’s time for you to consider it as an option. We often recommend that you work closely with a career coach before you are even ready. This is to enable you to have a stress-free journey.

Now, when you work with an experienced Career Coach, it makes your job hunt easier because they can help you get your desired job quicker than you would – if you handled your job hunt yourself. Also, when you work with a career coach, they help you create solid job search plans that position you as an authority hence, giving you an edge over other applicants. Plus, there’s nothing better than having a career expert hold your hand down your career journey. In such a case, you are most likely not to make those costly mistakes that other candidates make.

Need a Career Coach? Contact us at [email protected]

• Always Follow-up After Submitting Your Application

When you apply for a job, it is important to follow-up with your application after some days. This is because when you apply for jobs, the chances are that other applicants are applying for that same job. Hence, it is essential to regularly follow-up with your application to boost your chances of getting noticed. When you consistently follow-up with your application, there’s a huge chance that your application might get noticed.

Lastly, when applying for jobs, there are other tips you must remember, and these are – avoid using generic templates at all costs because they are often ineffective. Always take your time to personalize your resume to the job description, don’t forget to write an engaging cover letter that hooks the recruiter, and utilize the use of relevant keywords.