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It鈥檚 hard not to feel discouraged when you鈥檙e hoping for 鈥榶es鈥� but hear 鈥榥o鈥� . Whether you鈥檙e an interview veteran or a relative novice, rejection can be a bruising experience. It can also feel personal and strike at the very core of your confidence. Anger, frustration and resentment are all normal responses; there is no rule book for how to handle disappointment. Give yourself permission to wallow for a day or two, lick your wounds and then move on. Whilst it鈥檚 tempting to dissolve into self-pity (and we鈥檝e all been there鈥�) it certainly won鈥檛 move you closer to interview success.

Don鈥檛 take it personally

Easy to say, hard to do. We鈥檙e all programmed 鈥� or perhaps conditioned 鈥� to seek approval, and the interview process can make you feel really exposed. After all, it鈥檚 an opportunity to project your 鈥榖est face鈥�. Stop yourself at this point. The job interview is not a measure of your professional or personal worth. Start with the positives: you were invited to interview, others weren鈥檛. You鈥� re already grabbing the attention of employers in a crowded, competitive job market. Yes, you may have fallen at the final hurdle, but you have to accept this is part of the process. Interviews are designed to eliminate the majority of candidates. Some you win, some you lose.

Don鈥檛 blame others

It鈥檚 easy to write off your interview failure as the employer鈥檚 fault. On paper you were clearly good enough, so what went wrong? Sometimes, nothing. The other candidate may just have been a better 鈥榝it鈥�. Recruiters are assessing candidates against job criteria, but they are also looking for individuals to complement their team. Often this is an undefinable quality and employers themselves can鈥檛 always describe what 鈥榠t鈥� is.

You also need to be really honest with yourself and try to separate your emotional response to rejection from a detached, objective analysis of your performance. You may simply have interviewed below par. Feedback can be helpful, but don鈥檛 feel too despondent if an employer says no 鈥� you can always talk it through with us. Maybe a would help you to address any shortcomings and refine your technique?

鈥淚f you blame others for your failures, do you credit them with your success?鈥�

Focus on the positives

Acknowledge and 鈥榦wn鈥� your mistakes but don鈥檛 ignore the positives. You may have felt the interview was a disaster, but this is often a heightened perception of events. If you dwell on the negatives, you can create a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. Once you鈥檝e had time to digest the outcome, make a list of the things that went well. Perhaps you established a good rapport (a definite plus!) or the mental agility to think on your feet. Unless you鈥檙e incredibly lucky (or phenomenally good鈥�) you鈥檒l probably be interviewed many times throughout your career; draw on your past experiences to help you shape a job winning formula.

Keep it in perspective

Yes, it can be a crushing blow particularly if you鈥檝e had a number of rejections in quick succession, but try to see it as a normal feature of your job search. If you are applying for graduate positions, then chances are you鈥檙e competing against people with a broadly similar profile. There鈥檚 a limited pool of 鈥榞raduate track鈥� jobs for bright, ambitious individuals, so most of you will face initial disappointment. Make sure you have other applications in the pipeline and don鈥檛 invest too much in one application or interview.

And finally, plan a great comeback 鈥� don鈥檛 let the fear of rejection stop you!

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