Comments on: How To Deal With Job Rejection

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:11:55 +0000

That’s great insight, thank you for sharing it. I think that after a certain level of competence and skill fit, the qualitative factors of a candidate come into play. If you want a passive workhorse, then the go-getter isn’t going to get the job even though it appears that the go-getter is a stronger candidate. Sometimes you just have to fit.

By: 3v3n

3v3n — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:20:32 +0000

Good post. I work abroad so I end up interviewing a lot of people (for language review) although I’m not very senior. I’ve learned a huge amount about what happens ‘behind the scenes’ after the candidate leaves the room and your point 1 is totally right — the smartest, most highly qualified applicant isn’t always the person we pick. It depends on personality factors (who would blend well with the other staff), experience on specific tasks (who already knows how to deal with the weird software we use) and it depends on whether we think they are actually interested and excited about working at our foundation(or whether they just want a cool position on their resume so they can job-jump for better pay). It’s also influenced by the personality quirks and needs of the immediate manager (maybe they want a passive workhorse with no creativity — maybe they want someone to replace them at meetings they hate — etc)

By: jim

jim — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:59:20 +0000

Yeah it’s very difficult to keep your head up when you’re looking for a job, especially if you were recently let go.

By: Eric N.

Eric N. — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:44:41 +0000

I can seriously think of at least 20 people I know who are going through all of this right now. It’s saddening especially since it’s hard to stay positive in an economic disaster like now. Recruiters like saying how new graduates are always in demand but the reality doesn’t seem to match that. Then of course many opt to go to graduate school (for all the WRONG reasons might I add) and end up feeling worse over their situation. I honestly admit that not finding a job ranks as one of my greatest worries lately.

By: over the hill

over the hill — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:59:15 +0000

I don’t think there’s much I can do at this point.

Self-employment appears to be my only option, but without money, even that is doubtful.

By: thomas

thomas — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:35:04 +0000

It’s only going to get tougher as this economy shakes out. Find a way to excel and rise above the competition.

By: graphire

graphire — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:13:56 +0000

Great post. Best line is take rejections as lessons learned.

By: Jess

Jess — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:34:51 +0000

Great and timely article. I find younger people do not spend enough time networking. They rely too much on the faceless internet. The other interesting part of your article to me is that you really are taking about sales management. And when you think about it, finding a new job is really just a matter of selling something: your skills.
Good luck.

By: carla

carla — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:25:57 +0000

I meant to say “thats NOT uncommon”.

By: carla

carla — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:25:23 +0000

I had 20 rejection letters when I was unemployed for about six months last year. Many of them were from second interviews. I live in a pretty competitive area (San Francisco) so that’s uncommon.

By: Miss M

Miss M — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:06:11 +0000

I’m pretty lucky, I’ve only had one rejection letter. It left me feeling really low, but in hindsight it was a blessing. A friend later worked for the company and told nightmarish tales of backstabbing co-workers and incompetent managers. Mr M is experiencing the other phenomenon you mention, complete silence. He sends out resumes and never hears anything back, he is definitely feeling frustrated. I don’t know how to help him, he works in a very different industry (Hollywood movies) and the traditional resume tips don’t apply.

By: Aya @ Thrive

Aya @ Thrive — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:07:26 +0000

I took a class for 2 credits in the last semester of my senior year in college that prep-ed us for job interviewing and such. I remember our professor (who was a part-time consultant) had told us that we should ask employers that rejected us for their feedback.

Surely some places won’t respond, but many people are willing to give you advice or some points on why they didn’t see you fit for the position. Often times, they’ll respond because they did genuinely consider you, but they might have rejected you for reasons beyond their control.

So it’s a good way to prepare for the next one by hearing from the other employers you wanted to work for. But don’t press to hard or try to resell yourself entirely, that will just turn them away completely from talking to you.

By: philip

philip — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:57:32 +0000

I was lucky and graduated just in time to be in with a great time for hiring so it was fairly easy and just had to choose amongst some offers. However one of the jobs that I wanted most never heard back after an initial on campus interview, it was one position that I was really wanting. A rejection letter or description would have been nice to explain why, I still look at their site and think about reapplying for the positions but dont know why I didn’t get it to begin with.