{"id":1883,"date":"2020-06-26T09:30:54","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T08:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=1883"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:16:20","slug":"coping-with-career-rejection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2020\/06\/26\/coping-with-career-rejection\/","title":{"rendered":"Coping with career rejection"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At the Careers Service, we\u2019re here to\u00a0support you\u00a0on your journey into the working world.\u00a0A significant part of this journey\u00a0might\u00a0involve coping with rejection, either at the application stage or further along after an interview.\u00a0We want to\u00a0encourage positivity\u00a0and set you up for\u00a0success,\u00a0and\u00a0making the best of\u00a0disappointing outcomes\u00a0can help you improve future applications and build resilience.\u00a0Let\u2019s look at some\u00a0healthy ways to handle\u00a0career rejection.<\/p>\n<h2>Recognise that\u00a0you\u2019re not alone<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s all too easy to take rejection personally, but this really is something that everyone experiences.\u00a0Even the most successful\u00a0businesspeople\u00a0have been\u00a0turned down for something\u00a0\u2013 you might even say\u00a0<i>especially<\/i>\u00a0the most successful.\u00a0There are dozens of\u00a0inspirational stories online\u00a0designed to motivate us, teaching us the fable of\u00a0<i>never giving up.\u00a0<\/i>Yes,\u00a0okay, it\u2019s\u00a0all\u00a0a bit corny.\u00a0Still, I really like Einstein\u2019s famous adage: failure is success in progress.\u00a0Steve Jobs even got fired from his own company, but he continued to enjoy significant professional success.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Application rejection: quality vs. quantity<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Does the phrase\u00a0\u2018due to the high volume of applications\u2026\u2019\u00a0sound familiar?\u00a0Try to take heart in knowing\u00a0the decision wasn\u2019t made lightly.\u00a0It might have been a really close call\u00a0\u2013\u00a0being unsuccessful \u2018on this occasion\u2019 doesn\u2019t mean your application was weak.\u00a0Keep applying and consider how you might widen your job\u00a0search, or\u00a0find alternative routes into your chosen career.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s all very well \u2013 but how do you stand out against\u00a0such stiff\u00a0competition?\u00a0How do you make a\u00a0good application the best it can be?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Check your CV and cover letter for typos \u2013 this really could make or break an application.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you\u2019re using keywords from the job specification. Employers include this for a reason. Some applications are screened by computer software\u00a0before reaching a real-life person.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myfuture\/infoPages\/detail\/36\/cv-tips-watch-your-language\">Use active language<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 \u2018I achieved\u2019, \u2018I\u00a0organised\u2019, etc.\u00a0Anyone can say they\u2019re a team player\u00a0\u2013\u00a0make sure to evidence this with\u00a0relevant examples.<\/li>\n<li>Remember you can book a CV and applications feedback appointment with the Careers Service to get tailored feedback on your CV.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Interview rejection: a<\/b><b>sk for feedback<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Perhaps\u00a0you secured an interview, only to be told further down the line that you\u00a0didn\u2019t get the job. This is the ideal opportunity\u00a0to learn\u00a0where there\u2019s room for improvement, to seek out the\u00a0tools\u00a0for you to\u00a0improve things for next time.\u00a0Be patient \u2013 employers might be dealing with a lot of these requests!<\/p>\n<p>Asking for feedback can be tough, especially\u00a0if\u00a0you didn\u2019t get what you\u2019d hoped for.\u00a0But the danger of avoiding this\u00a0is never knowing how you can improve.\u00a0You send out further unsuccessful applications, feel bad, avoid feedback\u2026 and the cycle continues.<\/p>\n<p>Email the employer to thank them for\u00a0the opportunity,\u00a0ask what\u00a0you\u00a0did well on\u00a0in your interview\u00a0and where you could improve.\u00a0There\u2019s never any harm in asking.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Reframe your thoughts<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If rejection is getting to you,\u00a0challenge\u00a0how you think about it. Instead of\u00a0thinking \u2018I\u2019m not right for this job\u2019,\u00a0try to remember there\u2019s a two-way process at play \u2013\u00a0perhaps the job isn\u2019t right for you?\u00a0Employers\u00a0will\u00a0select those they see fit for the role\u00a0\u2013 but equally,\u00a0it\u2019s a good idea to\u00a0pick\u00a0jobs that appeal to you\u00a0and reflect your\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myfuture\/infoPages\/detail\/118\/how-recognising-your-strengths\">strengths<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myfuture\/infoPages\/detail\/95\/why-you-need-to-consider-value\">values<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With\u00a0the pandemic ongoing\u00a0and a recession looming,\u00a0there seems to be a disheartening implication that we can\u2019t afford to be\u00a0selective. And yet being selective will\u00a0often\u00a0increase your chances of success, if you understand what skills\u00a0you have to\u00a0offer\u00a0and which industries need them.<\/p>\n<p>Try not to lose sight of what you\u2019ve achieved so far\u00a0\u2013 remember,\u00a0we all experience rejection in some shape or form, and it\u2019s not a reflection on you or your worth.\u00a0Contact\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:careers@bath.ac.uk\">careers@bath.ac.uk<\/a>\u00a0to find out\u00a0how we can\u00a0help you\u00a0develop your resilience.\u00a0Our Get Started guides for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myfuture\/links\/detail\/310\">CVs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myfuture\/links\/detail\/311\">interviews<\/a>\u00a0can help you too.\u00a0You can also contact the Wellbeing team for emotional support:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:wellbeingservice@bath.ac.uk\">wellbeingservice@bath.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the Careers Service, we\u2019re here to\u00a0support you\u00a0on your journey into the working world.\u00a0A significant part of this journey\u00a0might\u00a0involve coping with rejection, either at the application stage or further along after an interview.\u00a0We want to\u00a0encourage positivity\u00a0and set you up for\u00a0success,\u00a0and\u00a0making...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1443,"featured_media":1884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[4,16,552,170,44,15,103,586],"class_list":["post-1883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-advice","tag-applications","tag-covid-19","tag-feedback","tag-interviews","tag-job-hunting","tag-rejection","tag-resilience"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2020\/06\/Canva-Crumpled-Paper-on-Gray-Surface.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}