How Not to Be Discouraged by Failed Interviews
Receiving a rejection letter after what you thought was a great job interview can be discouraging. Even more disheartening is leaving a job interview knowing you failed to provide top notch answers. While not landing a job you really wanted can be disheartening, there are ways to avoid the discouragement and to find the drive needed to continue the job search. The following are a few methods to try.
Assess Your Mistakes
After each job interview, good or bad, review your mistakes. While reliving any awkward answers you gave can be difficult, this review process is essential for avoiding the same mistakes in future interviews. When reviewing your mistakes, consider what you would do differently if given another chance. These changes can then be implemented in future interviews.
Also, consider how you presented yourself during the interview. Review the clothing you wore, the condition of your portfolio or resume and any other factors that may have contributed to the rejection. The assessment of these details will help you find a more appropriate wardrobe for future interviews or improve other details that may have failed to impress the previous interviewer.
Review High Points
While it’s important to assess your interview mistakes, focusing on only what you did wrong can lead to negative feelings regarding your ability to land a job. As such, after each interview, make a list of the meeting’s high points. This is a list you can continue building after each future interview to show that your interview skills are improving over time.
Don’t Blame Others
It’s easy to write off a failed interview as the employer’s fault. However, by making excuses such as that the interviewer simply couldn’t see how qualified you were, you’re only doing yourself a disservice. Rather, think of how you may have contributed to the hiring manager’s misperception of your qualifications so you can adopt more effective interviewing strategies. While you may not be entirely at fault for a failed interview, you can’t change the actions of others. You can only change your own actions to improve future results.
Continue Sending out Resumes
By continuing to apply for other jobs, you’ll focus less on the interviews you recently completed. This will avoid your career’s hopes and dreams being placed primarily on a job opening with only one company. The more resumes you send out, the more likely you’ll be to land a job sooner, even with a few failed interviews along the way.
Job interview rejection letters can cut straight to the heart. However, nearly all job applicants suffer through rejections at one point during their careers. By assessing each interview’s outcome and by continuing to push forward with your job search, you’ll avoid becoming overly discouraged after a rejection and will instead become a better interviewee to land a job sooner.
Do you have additional ideas for avoiding discouragement after failed interviews?
Author Bio: Shayla Ebsen is a full-time freelance writer and graphic designer with more than seven years combined experience from her time in the corporate world and through her freelance work. Shayla’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in News/Editorial Journalism from South Dakota State University and a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Organizational Communication from the University of South Dakota. Learn more about Shayla and her services at shaylaebsen.com.
Andrew G. Rosen
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