Rejection is something that is an inevitable part of the job search process. That said, we all know how painful and anxiety-inducing it can be when your potential dream job turns out not to be right for you or your preparation wasn’t enough. Let’s agree. It’s arduous and agonising.
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I get a typical response when dealing with rejection is “I wasn’t good enough”. While it is true that not everyone is a fit for every job, other factors may come into play when things don’t fare up well. So take the rejection as the learning and use it as fuel for the upcoming interviews
The grounds of Denial
1) You were rejected because they don’t need your skillset right now. There aren’t many jobs in the world that can’t be made better by having one more awesome person on the team.
2) You were rejected because they are not hiring. Remember that this is a little world, and there may not be enough positions for everyone at any given time.
3) You may have been rejected because you were a low priority (the Company has many candidates already). It can happen at companies taking on numerous process improvement projects, even if they appear to be hiring at times.
4) The interviewer simply did not like your style or your answers, but they do like you as a person. In this case, it is better to get over the rejection and move on since they may be open to speaking with you later on if a position opens up.
5) They feel that you are not a good fit for the Company’s culture, and they see potential in your skillset elsewhere.
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What to do after being rejected
1) Do not go looking for excuses. Just because you may fit in with the Company’s culture doesn’t mean that there aren’t other candidates who are a better fit than you.
2) Keep learning. It is by far the most important thing to do. Never stop pushing yourself to learn new things, and never stop trying to get ahead of the curve in the tech industry/ any other industry for the matter. There are always going to be things that change or evolve regularly, and if you cannot keep up with this pace, you will be left behind.
3) Keep your emotions in check before applying for a position. Many people will use it without reading over their resume first or letting someone else read over their resume for them (usually a family member).
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One important thing, never ever compare yourself with others during your interview process, Compare yourself with the day you started and what you’re today.
There are a ton of resources available out in the wild to help you prepare for the interview, Most importantly, Sooner or later, you will be hitting the home run.