How to recover after an unsuccessful interview

We’ve all been there, you spend hours of your valuable time off prepping for an interview and becoming invested in the prospect of the role, only to be rejected. Learning to deal with rejection and how to pick yourself back up is an important part of modern job hunting, and it’s a skill that’ll serve you in other areas of your life too!

Rather than letting the rejection get the better of you and spending a week on the sofa, here are 7 ways to help you feel better quicker, and bounce back to your usual, go-getting self.

Take a break

Give yourself a day or two off from job-hunting. Burying the pain of rejection in a pile of hastily filled-in job applications isn’t actually going to make you feel better. Take a pause and a deep breath, and give yourself a day off to rest and reset.

Ask for feedback

It’s important to try and find out why you didn’t get the job, and it could be something small, or something that’s fixable. It may be that another candidate had a higher qualification, an extra year of experience or a few extra points on a test. Once you have this information, you can rest a little easier knowing what you’ll need next time you apply.

Talk to your recruiter

Your recruiter should be well placed to give you a little bit of extra insight and feedback after your interview, as they’ll know who did get the role and why. Give them a ring and ask for their help and advice, letting them know you’re willing to put the effort in to succeed next time.

They may advise you to take a course to give you an edge, practise a test a particular firm may give, or brush up on your answers to technical questions. It might just be a case or reapplying when you have a little more experience under your belt.

Feel your feelings

Rejection is never a nice feeling, but ignoring it isn’t going to help it pass. Let it out in a phone call with a friend, talk to your partner about how you’re feeling or express yourself in your private journal. You might be surprised at how much better you’ll feel!

Focus on self-care

It’s important to step up your self-care immediately after an unsuccessful interview, and you could even have a plan in place in advance if you’re job hunting. Schedule in some activities that you know are good for your soul, such as reading, writing, walking, yoga, drawing, painting or sewing. Enjoy some social time with your friends, and indulge in some relaxation such as a bubble bath.

Reassess your goals

Take a moment to think about the interview and the things you learnt about the role and the firm you met with. Assess whether these things still align with what you want, and whether it’s definitely what’s best for you. If not, spend some time researching what roles and firms might be better suited to you, and aim towards those instead. If you are already on the right path, don’t give up. Keep trying, keep learning, and you’ll get there.

Practise gratitude

While your job-hunting hasn’t succeeded in getting you a new job yet, don’t forget to be grateful for the job you’re currently doing, and all the security, learning and progression it has given you. Even once you’ve decided to move on, it’s still important to give your best to your current role and not let your performance slip. After all, it’s still paying your bills for now!

If you’d like some more support or advice about job-hunting, please feel free to call us on 0207 117 2542 or email info@ajfoxcompliance.com.

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