How To Handle Job Rejection

How To Handle Job Rejection Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels Do Not Take It Personally The best thing a college student can do when being rejected for job after job after job is not to take the rejection personally. A student cannot blame themselves or think that something is wrong with themselves or that they were not good enough for a particular job. Odds are, they were good enough. But there are always so many other factors at play in these kinds of situations that a student cannot predict or plan ahead for that affect these decisions. Perhaps you had all the requisite skills needed, but your schedule was not the best match. Maybe one of your references never returned the potential employer’s calls. Maybe after they opened up the position to applications, they discovered they had someone working for them already that was suited for the job. Maybe they decided to hire no one for the position. Maybe someone applied that got vouched for by someone who already worked at the company. The list could go on and on. There are so many reasons why someone might not get hired that have absolutely nothing to do with their application, their skills, or anything that actually has to do with them and what they have to offer. Nothing they have personally done affected the final outcome, so in turn, college students should not take these rejections personally either. Just keep powering on and applying for those jobsâ€"you will get one of them as long as you keep trying and do not allow yourself to get discouraged! Photo by Moose Photos from Pexels Avoid Burning Bridges Another important aspect of handling job rejections is to avoid burning any bridges through your rejection. How could I be the one to burn a bridge? They are the ones who rejected me. They have burned their bridge with me rather than the other way around! You might be thinking. However, not accepting your rejection with grace could lead to you burning your bridge with this company. You could burn a bridge with a company by being rude or belligerent when rejected; by refusing to accept the no you received; by insulting the company or calling out employees. There are a lot of ways you could burn the bridge with a company. And you might not intend to (or maybe you do because you are so, so mad). But burning your bridge with a company is not going to help you get a job. It is only going to stop you from ever getting a job with that company ever. And why shouldn’t you burn your bridges? They rejected you, they did not want you, they did not see worth in youâ€"actually, stop right there. While it is true that they may have rejected you, unless they have told you otherwise, you cannot prove the rest. And as discussed in the previous point, there are many reasons why an applicant may be rejected that have nothing to do with them as a person or applicant. Why burn your bridge when instead you might like to apply to work for that company again in the future or perhaps another slot will open up and they might invite you to take that position? You never know what the future will hold, so stay positive, strong, and most of all, motivated.