How we deal with the dreaded “Unfortunately on this occasion, you’ve not been successful…” email from a job opportunity or the call from a hiring manager delivering bad news after an interview is a personal topic to each of us, but understanding what to do in those moments is vital to making a success of the next move in our career or job searching.

The fear of failure itself can be a big barrier for many of us, but there are thankfully a few ways we can take the sting out of the bad news and move forward. Career paths are very rarely linear and accepting that rejections from applications- and often multiple rejections- is an inevitable part of the process throughout your career. Its important to recognise this and step back from the emotional impact wherever possible.

Furthermore, we may not always know the full picture after an application didn’t go our way, and the reasons for this are often varied- many companies’ available recruitment resources may simply not allow for detailed personalised feedback.

The Careers service can help you look objectively and what you may need to improve with your approach with you. Some ways to take positive meaningful action after any job rejection include:

• Re-evaluate Your Strategies - Ask yourself the following questions: Are you targeting the right positions and companies? Is your CV engaging and focused? Are you effectively networking on and offline? When you have these answers, make adjustments to ensure you are aligning your efforts with your career goals
• Mock Interviews - If you are finding interviews especially challenging, book a mock interview with us. We can give you impartial feedback to how you answer and perform. These are always great before an interview, but can be equally insightful if you’ve not been successful recently. It can help reveal where your approach may need work!
• Don’t give up! – I regularly help students who have faced multiple setbacks, only to find themselves trying to juggle 3 interviews or multiple job offers at once when they least expect it. Remember, success is rarely down to ‘luck’ – so keep in mind ‘luck’ is when preparation meets opportunity! There is always something to learn from any previous attempt and evolve.

Resilience has become a bit of a recruitment buzzword in recent years and its meaning is different and personal to all of us. Like all skills, it can be learned but look at developing courage to keep going too! Resilience says “deal with it” (which isn’t always helpful!) but with some practical Careers support, ‘courage’ says “it is hard, but we’ll help you do it”

If you need any support, contact Careers through CareersConnect, where you can book appointments, submit queries, or explore job and internship listings. If you don’t have an account yet, you can register using your Lancaster University student log in details.

______________________________________

Nick Morrice has had a really varied career within Higher Education over some 18 years, working in recruitment, creative, and technical services. Building an authentic rapport with students allows Nick to offer real-world insight, perspective and reassurance to empower our students to improve their employability.

Related Blogs

• 

  Capital Connections Programme: The Career Boost I Didn’t Know I Needed in First Year

• 

  From Science to Strategy: Discovering Transferable Skills with Capital Connections

• 

  Maximising Your Employability: Building Essential Skills During University

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.