After the Interview - Dealing with Rejection
When you are rejected, it means you did not get the job you applied / interviewed for. Chances are you are going to experience rejection at some point or another, and likely more than once. Multiple people often apply for the same job, and there may only be one or two positions that can be filled. Almost everyone has experienced rejection at some point or another. While it is reasonable to feel disappointed about not getting a job, you should not be embarrassed or feel too badly. It is part of the job application process.
What to do when you don’t get the job:
- Stay calm. Do not yell or show anger when you are told you did not get the job.
- Apply for multiple jobs. This increases the chances that you will be hired for one of them. If you are not hired by any of them, keep applying.
- Broaden your search. You may need to broaden your job search to other job types if you do not get hired for a specific type of job you were looking for. For example, if you only applied to library jobs, you may need to look for office jobs as well to broaden your search and increase the likelihood of getting a job.
- Get feedback. Ask what you could do to strengthen your application, and what they are looking for in an employee. You should ask someone in charge of hiring. Talk to the manager, supervisor, or the person who interviewed you because they will be able to give you the most knowledgeable information.
- If they say that you lacked experience, consider doing volunteer work in that area to gain more experience.
- If you were not given the job because of social differences (eye contact, difficulty with conversation during the interview, etc.), consider disclosing your diagnosis during the next interview or application process to explain some of your differences and why these differences would not interfere with your job performance.
- If you were not given the job because there were many qualified applicants, don’t be too hard on yourself.
- Be persistent. Many people say that looking for and applying for a job seems like full-time work because there is so much to do and it takes a lot of time. Try not to be discouraged and keep looking.
