What You Should Do if You Didn't Get the Job

Almost every time we applied for a job, whether it’s from a small company or a big corporation, we always feel disappointed if we didn’t get the job. That feeling of disappointment is normal. But what must we do after a rejection? How can we improve ourselves? I will recommend you to read this article then. You will see that there are many things to do besides being disappointed of not getting the job that you wanted.

1. First, try not to take it personally

After you've been turned down for a job, it's tempting to think of all the reasons they shouldn't have hired you. But they did hire someone else. So if you didn't get the job, it was probably not your fault.

Objective factors probably played a large role in your rejection. Odds are that if you were rejected, you weren't the only good candidate, other candidates were better than you in some way. There is no need to take it personally, the decision was probably based on information about the other candidates that was never revealed to you. Most decisions about who will be hired are made that way and taken by people who met the candidates for few hours and maybe few minutes.

So don't take rejection personally. But also remember that getting rejected is part of almost everyone's career path; it's not something to worry about too much.

2. Step back and think about what you can learn from this situation

You did not get the job. That is disappointing, and you may be feeling like a failure. But that's not what this is about. This is an event in your life, and like all events in your life, it can be a learning experience; if you choose to see it that way, it will be.

I'll get more to that soon, but first I want to talk about why you didn't get the job. This will be hard to hear, especially since you are already feeling bad about yourself. But if you want to understand what happened, if you want to avoid making the same mistakes next time, then at some point in the next few days or weeks or even years -- when you aren't feeling so raw -- it is important for you to understand exactly why this thing went wrong for you. Let's look at some common reasons for not getting a job after an interview by asking some questions:

- Did you meet the qualifications?

If your reason is that you don't have experience then maybe you haven't been working long enough or you haven't been working in the right position or with the right people who have been able to provide you with enough training and exposure to give you relevant work experience. If your reason is that you lack a degree or a qualification related to this kind of work then it's important for you to follow up on any formal education which will help improve your chances of getting hired as well as improving your performance at work.

- Did you fit with the company culture?

The company wants to hire someone who fits into their culture. The company, like all large organizations, has a culture. And the reason is simple, people are more productive when they work in an environment they like.

The more the candidate talks about how the job sounds interesting or challenging or fun, the more likely it is that they really wants to do it and will do a good job of it. The more the candidate talks about how important it is to them to have work-life balance or be near their families or have time for yoga classes, the less likely it is that they will really want to do the job and will be able to do it well.

That doesn't mean there aren't people who value work-life balance who can also be very productive; some are even more productive than others are. But if the candidate mentions work-life balance too often, you know that what you're hearing is not what you want to hear.

- Are there budget constraints?

If you are not satisfied with the salary being offered, you need to ask yourself if you are undervaluing your own worth or if the company is overvaluing it. If it's the latter, then this is a good time to ask yourself whether you're excited about working at this company anyway.

If you are sure that the employer has misjudged your worth but is unwilling to budge on salary, then there's nothing else for it but to consider other job opportunities. But it is important not to fall into the trap of thinking that every job offers some minimum level of pay that will make you happy. Many people have gotten their first real jobs without immediately feeling thrilled about the salary, and they adapted to what seemed like a lot less money than they might have gotten somewhere else.

- Is there temporary hiring freeze?

The hiring freeze is a completely predictable consequence of the financial meltdown or during hard times. The company is not saying, "We don't like you." They're saying, "We can't afford to hire anyone right now, even though we desperately need new people. We will call you back when we can."

The simple truth is that you weren't hired because the company doesn't have enough money. It may seem like an amazing coincidence that you were not hired at the same time they were laying off hundreds of other people. But it's not a coincidence at all. Hiring has costs. The costs are higher when times are bad, so companies wait until they absolutely have to hire someone.?

So what should you do? The answer depends on your situation. If you are desperate for work, you might consider taking a job where you could be useful to them almost immediately. That will raise your stock with them and make them more likely to offer you something later on. If you are desperate for money or have another offer already, then take it and forget about getting this one job. That way if they decide they want you after all it will be even better for both of you.

- Did they hire internally?

Companies may advertise job postings even if they know someone who already works there is the best fit for the job. Again, this may not have anything to do with you. In some cases, companies may decide to hire internally because of time constraints or because it's easier to promote someone than onboarding and training a new employee.

This practice of advertising a job after an employer has already found someone internally does not mean that your application was never wanted; it just means that the employer needed some time to think over what was best for their business.

- Did someone had a better interview?

If you are being rejected for a job, it's because someone else was better in the interview. It doesn't matter whether you were smarter or more experienced or had better references. Someone was better in the interview, and that's why you are being rejected.

So what should you do if you are being rejected for a job? Not much. You can't change anything now, so all your worrying will be wasted energy. Instead, focus on the next interview, where you will do better.

- Did you show a lack of confidence?

Many people are rejected for jobs because they don't have enough confidence. It doesn't matter how good you are, if you don't believe in yourself, the employer will see it. And if the employer sees it, you won't get the job. You had the skills they were looking for, but you failed some kind of test of character.

The employer will say, "We worry that when the chips are down, when things get tough, when it really matters, when we need someone to step up and take responsibility, we're not sure how much you will care."

If you are being interviewed for a job, it is important to have a firm handshake and make eye contact with the interviewer. Studies have shown that this makes a positive impression on the interviewer. It shows that you are self-confident, not nervous.

- Did you follow up?

After a job interview, if you don't know whether you got the job, the worst thing you can do is nothing. It's better to send a follow-up email or make a brief call than to leave things completely open-ended. If you don't know what happened, there are three possibilities:

1. You got the job: calling or emailing will confirm your appointment and make it more likely that they'll remember you fondly.
2. You didn't get the job: calling or emailing will let you know what went wrong.
3. They aren't ready to decide yet: an inquiry now will prevent your being forgotten when they finally reach a decision.

3. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses from the interview process

If you were rejected, then no matter how much you want to work there, it's a good time to take a step back and ask what else is going on. And even if you did well in the interview or on the test, it can be useful to look at your skills from a different perspective.

You should ask yourself questions about how things played out. What were the mistakes you made? How can you improve based on these mistakes? How did the interviewers react to you? What did they seem to like? What didn't they like? Why do you think you were not offered the job?

4. Think about how to improve your skillset

If you did not get the job, you didn't get it. It's not the end of the world. Odds are, there will be other jobs. But if you really wanted that job and you think you should have gotten it, here's what you should do: Get some help from people who know more than you do about the job and how to get it.

They will tell you what skillsets the company was looking for and what skillsets you lack. Then think about how to improve your skillset. If your problem-solving skills are weak, for example, read some books on how to solve problems in the field you're interested in. If there are particular things they do at that company that seem important, learn them.

Takeaway: Learn from this experience and move on to bigger and better things! Stay positive regardless of the outcome. Think about how you can improve yourself for the next interview. You can now spend your time looking for new opportunities instead of wallowing in self-pity.

Assess why you didn't get the job. Were you lacking in knowledge? Was it because you weren't qualified enough? Were the questions asked out of your depth? Whatever it is, be honest with yourself and analyze where you went wrong so that it won't happen again.

Make a list of all the things you did well in the interview and all the things you could have done better. Spend some time reflecting on what you did well so that you can do them again in future interviews. What could have improved? Did you spend enough time preparing for it? Did you practice answering questions? Did you ask all the right questions? What about your appearance, any mistakes there?

Look at the reasons why they rejected you and try to turn them into positives.

For example, maybe they said they wanted someone with more experience but this means they are looking for someone who is able to pick up new tasks quickly!