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How to deal with an interview rejectionEveryone, no matter how successful, has been there at some point; the sinking feeling as you’re told you’re not right for the role. It’s rarely a happy experience, even if you were ambivalent about the job itself, but it’s particularly disheartening if you’ve had several rejections in the space of one job search.

It’s crucial to remember that during your search for a new job, the way you handle the knocks is just as important as the hard skills on your CV. If you let your confidence diminish, it is very likely to adversely affect future interviews.

It can be easy to lose the faith at this point; here’s some ideas on how to keep positive and productive.

It’s not personal

Try not to assume that the ‘no’ is based on your individual weaknesses, or that the rejection represents some sort of personal failure. Someone else’s background was more appropriate for the role; it doesn’t mean you didn’t do well, and if you prepared as well as you could, and gave it your best shot, there’s nothing else you could have done. Many other things could have been at play – you could have lost out to a strong internal candidate, or the MD’s nephew. Once the interview has finished, there’s little point worrying about things you have no influence over.

 

Being rejected is not constructive feedback

Just because you didn’t get the job, it doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. It is fine to ask the agency or interviewer for details in order to help you improve, but even then, this kind of feedback is frequently unhelpfully bland to the point of meaninglessness. Find better feedback elsewhere. You could talk to a professional CV writing service, or talk to an interview coach about expert interview training. Practice makes perfect; work out what the standard questions are and role play with a friend, or into the mirror.

 

Keep an open mind

Each interview is a new opportunity to blow the target employer away; don’t let past experiences impact the present. Carefully tweak your CV for relevance to a new opportunity – perhaps consider a CV writing service to optimise that process – and fully research and prepare for a new interview. Learn from past mistakes, assuming you’re sure you actually made them, particularly if you went into a meeting undercooked. But stay calm, composed and confident – each employer has a different idea of what makes the best candidates. A lot of it is down to subjective, personal connection; if you and the interviewer instinctively like each other, you’re very likely to do well, so keep meeting as many appropriate people as possible to keep your chances positive.

 

Continually improve

If you’re not working, or you are but you’re in something of a rut, keep yourself fresh by honing your skills and keeping your activity levels high and your personal development  at the forefront of your mind. Perhaps consider some training, or volunteering – this will help with self-confidence and skills enhancement. Work hard on writing a good LinkedIn profile, get some good LinkedIn profile advice, perhaps from professional CV writers, and of course make sure you have a professional CV and cover letter. Most of all, stay positive; the next interview could be the one that sends your career into overdrive.

 

An excellent way to help you improve on any previous interview experience is to utilise the skills of a professional interview coaching service. City CV can provide interview coaching to suit any level from recent graduate to CEO and we can tailor sessions to suit your needs and work on the elements you most need help with. Our extensive hands-on and proven experience can help you with all aspects of interview preparation as well as offering an industry-leading CV writing service, LinkedIn profile writing and all other elements of your job search portfolio. Call us today for more information on +44 20 7100 6656 or email enquiries@citycv.com

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