Overcoming Interview Rejections

August 5, 2010

Handling Interview Rejections

Rejections at interviews are not uncommon. But your success at every subsequent interviews depend upon how you handle your failure in the previous one.

How easy is it to overcome an interview rejection?

It took me 12 interviews to get my first job. With every failed interview, I kept loosing my confidence. Every subsequent interview seemed as if it was even more difficult than the previous one. It was later that I realized that it was not that the interview was difficult. Instead I was loosing confidence.

It was an uphill task for me to regain my confidence and keep appearing for interviews until I could get through.

Before we even discuss how to overcome interview rejections, a question to ask is – Why should your loose your confidence when you get rejected in an interview? What you need to understand is the fact that they have not rejected you. Rather they have lost you.

The best approach to take is to look at rejection as a loss to the organization and not a loss to yourself.

It is often seen that even after so many interview rounds and screenings, organization often make the wrong decision and hire the wrong person. The consequence is a disaster. In doing so they often reject much more and better skilled talent, only to loose them to another organization who has a better form of interviewing and screening.

7 Things to do to overcome Interview Rejections –

As soon as you are through with and interview and you get to know that you have not been selected, don’t be disappointed. Follow this 7 step method to overcome the disappointment and to gear up for your next interview.

  1. As soon as the news of you not getting selected is conveyed to you by the interviewer, thank them for the time and effort they invested in you and ask them if there is a feedback.
  2. Don’t leave the interview venue immediately. Sit there for some more time and jot down 5 things that you think that the company lost by not hiring you. Read that for about 10 minutes and then leave.
  3. Go out with your friends for a cup of coffee or, a dinner or, to watch a movie. Prefer not to go to pubs or, discotheques.
  4. Read about 2-3 chapters of your favorite book, preferably a non-fiction book. I recommend, “The Magic of Thinking Big” or, “Tough Times never last but Tough People do”.
  5. Prefer not to use terms like “rejected” or, “not selected” when telling people about your interview result. Rather say, “I was over-qualified or, over talented for their organization”. It might sound odd, but it will make you feel good from the inside.
  6. Prefer not to schedule any interview the very next day. Set up your next interview at a gap of at least a day and leave everything alone and take some rest for the entire day.
  7. Jot down 5 things you thought did not go well in the previous interview and what their ideal responses would have been. Practice them for about 15 minutes. Then proceed for your interview

These are simple things to do and you might feel awkward with doing a few of them. But these give good results and help you rejuvenate for the next interview.


Tags

interview rejections, Motivational Tips, overcoming interview rejections


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  1. Hello Dilip!
    Your article is really very impressive and useful.
    According to me rejection also depends on the ability of payment of the organization. Sometimes the organization were not in position to offer the desired salary asked by the candidate,so they simply reject the candidate. So the candidate should not be in any type of bad thinking of rejection. Candidate should think that the organization was not able to hire you.

  2. You are right in every sense. To a great extent the organization tries to see if they can afford you at your expected salary package and if they find they cannot they reject you.
    Having said that it is also important to say that these days organizations gives you a chance to negotiate on the package, if they find that the candidate is exceeding their expectations.

  3. Hey Dilip,

    I think you ve done really a piece of art, and you know wat, i too ve faced such things like, one can say “rejection” or “not selected” but i never went so deeply or never mind those defeats in negative way or something, but the 7 rules you ve mentioned to overcome of tat bad feeling of not get selected, i really appreciate and thankful towards you, coz you had done something good for those who loose hopes so soon. Thanks once again!!!

  4. Hey Dilip,

    Thanks for those 7 rules those are helpful to overcome of Rejection in Interviews!

    I would like to take as 7 Tools or 7 Armaments which gonna help you out in the “Interview War” and the Salary Factor also matters, in the case if the work satisfies you, but not the salary, then Wat one should do???

  5. Hey Dilip,
    Thanks for the seven steps u gave . Well I hope I wont have to put them into practice. I gave an interview about 14 days ago, the HR executive said she ll get back to me after discussing the profile with her senior. I have not heard from the organisation till date. Should I mail them about the result? could u please help me in drafting the mail, so that I sound polite and professional in asking so ..

  6. Nice tips, i’m agree with you. We need such a good preparation and also learned from previous experience. We don’t want to fail anymore. 😀

  7. Nice tips, i\’m agree with you. We need such a good preparation and also learned from previous experience. We don\’t want to fail anymore. 😀

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