Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Using Rejection to Land Your Next Job

One thing all college students should learn to handle well is rejection. That’s right, whether you are applying for a summer job, internship, or your first job after graduation, rejection is sure to come your way because of the numerous candidates who are also applying. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. That is, you can learn a great deal about yourself from these failed experiences and, then, learn from them to improve for your next interview.   

Matt Black, a freelance content marketer and creator of Matt Black Ink (a blog with insights on leadership, organizational culture, networking and writing), offers the following ways that rejection is actually helpful for attaining your next job, possibly your dream job.

“Ask For Feedback—and Use It!”
Instead of running away after an interview where you didn’t get the job you wanted, ask for feedback.  Most companies, typically managers or the HR department, are more than willing to give it to you. Ask why you weren’t selected and what you can do to improve. Most importantly, after you receive your feedback, make sure to apply it in your next interview!

“Grace Not Growl”
Venting, making excuses, blaming others, or just plain complaining after rejection from a desirable position is quite common. However, avoid this at all costs. This is the time to demonstrate graceful behavior. Handling rejection gracefully demonstrates you are a professional individual. Your interviewer will remember if you handled yourself with grace, and this will certainly make you more desirable for future position vacancies.  

“Dig Deeper… Much Deep”
Sometimes interviews go phenomenally well, but you may still not achieve the position. When this happens, it is usually due to external reasons. Therefore, stay in touch with the interviewer or other people in that company, network, network, network! Continuing the communication with people within the company you interviewed with can be a good thing for attaining a job in the future as well.

“Get Back On the Horse”
Don’t give up. This is the most important aspect of handling rejection like a pro. Even if it seems like you will never find a job, keep trying because you will. Just remember ask for feedback for self-improvement, handle your emotions gracefully and professionally, and network as much as you can.

If you’d like to read additional details on this topic, I encourage you to read Matt Black’s full article.

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