We’ve all had our moments of rejection when on the hunt for a job. It’s not as easy as it seems to get your dream job, especially so early on in your career. Rejection is generally something you would try to avoid but sometimes taking that chance where the odds may be stacked against you is more of a blessing in disguise in the first place.

While the sting of the rejection cannot be cured completely, there are some things that you can do to help yourself for your next interview.

Remind yourself what you did well

Write down the parts of the application/interview process you think were the highlights and showcased why you made it as far as you did. This will set a more positive tone to the foundation of your strong candidacy for future roles.

Think about where you can improve

It’s good to think about improvements from your own perspective, but if the employer is able to provide you with some feedback, that may come in handy when applying for similar positions or companies. This is also an opportunity to seek outside support from a coach, mentor, or someone within the particular field you’re aiming for who might have a good idea of what the ideal candidate might be like to really seal the deal on an offer.

Another way to improve is asking yourself if you communicated what you wanted to, how you wanted to.

  • What kind of research did you do for the role/company? Were you able to incorporate it into the conversation appropriately? 
  • Did you prepare questions for the interviewer related to the role/company/field?
  • What did you do to optimize keywords and understanding of what they’re looking for in an employee?

Trust the process itself

Understand that it’s a two-way street when making a selection from the pool of candidates. There’s always a reason for not being the first choice but that doesn’t take away from the fact that you were a strong candidate to begin with if you made it to the final rounds. The question that needs to be answered is: Who will be the best fit for the role itself, but also the company overall.

Your time will come when the right opportunity rolls around. This is the time to take that rejection and use it as motivation to upgrade your skill set and utilize what you’ve learned from your rejections to stay focused on your overall career goals.