Is the rejection due to something beyond my control?

Did I do something to cause the rejection?

Am I applying for the right positions?

When you are not offered a position an interview that you think went very well, don’t take it personally. There could be many reasons that have nothing to do with your qualifications. To avoid guessing, ask.
You probably will not hear any of the following as an answer to your question:

The job was advertised and you were interviewed because company policy required it, but an internal candidate was already selected for the position.

You are neither white or not white; male or female; homosexual or heterosexual; six feet tall or 5′ 7″ tall; blonde or red haired; under 40 or over 40; or some other stereotype that the hiring manager considers suitable for the position.

The hiring manager has no training or experience in conducting interviews and making hiring decisions, and made a bad decision.

Some event happened after or during the interview and they changed their mind. Perhaps the incumbent decided not to move to Fiji or the guy who held the job three years ago called and said he wanted to come back.

Hopefully your question will be answered honestly and you will learn something that you can use to improve your chances at the next interview. The placement director at a University called 153 companies who had interviewed university candidates and asked why the candidates were rejected. The companies’ answers are a list of ways to fail in job hunting:

Lack of career planning

Inability to express themselves clearly - poor diction, poor grammar, poor voice.

Poor personal appearance overdressed or underdressed.

Lack of confidence and poise - nervousness, failure to look the interviewer in the eye, ill at ease.

Poor scholastic record showing no improvement over time.

Narrow interests or failure to participate in school or community activities.

Makes excuses - evasive, blames others, condemns past employers, hedges on unfavorable factors in record.

Unwilling to start at the bottom.

Late to interview without a good reason.

Ask no or poor questions about the company.

Not prepared for the interview; did not research the company or the job.

Little interest or enthusiasm

Overemphasis on money or status.

Lack of tact or courtesy.

Lack of maturity.

Lack of experience.

Intolerant, unaccepting of others.

Poor handling of personal finances (garnishments on salary, bankruptcy).

Unclear on salary range.

Limp handshake, not assertive.

Marked dislike for school work.

Overbearing, aggressive, conceited.

Sloppy application form or resume.

Only wants a short-term job.

Unwilling to travel or relocate.

Can you honestly say that you did not commit any of these mistakes? If you have doubt about your own behavior, take some time to review your behavior or materials and do whatever must be done to fix it.
Lastly, if several employers tell you that you do not have enough experience for the position, that you lack the training or education needed for the position, or that you seem unwilling to accept conditions such as shift work or travel that are a normal part of this job, then you may be applying for the wrong jobs.

“Thank you so much for the chance to interview for this position. Your news is disappointing, of course. Can you tell me why I was not selected?”

The news that you did not get the job may come through a recruiter. How you react in front of this person could result in not being sent out for other positions. At the same time, passively accepting the decision as though you were expecting it or don’t really care also reveals a lot about your character.

An employer does not acknowledge receipt of a resume.

An employer responds to your resume with a form letter and says they will keep your resume “on file.”

A contact never returns your telephone call.

The ten companies you cold called on Tuesday all said they had nothing for you.

You post your resume on 31 job Web sites and receive zero responses.

You stand in line for six hours to get into a packed career fair, visit 17 tables, leave 12 resumes, and none of the recruiters contact you.

After three interviews with staff and supervisors, and a lunch with the department manager, the HR clerk calls to tell you the selection committee decided to hire someone else.

Exactly what is stress? Stress is both a physiological condition - the production of adrenaline by the body to prepare it for “flight” from perceived danger - and a perception that one is facing extreme or unrelenting pressure to accomplish a task. A certain amount of stress in life is helpful; the adrenaline “rush” you experience skiing down a mountain or feeling “psyched up” to get through a test are signs that you have put yourself on a high-level of alertness and attention in order to face a challenge.

The short-term stress created by sport or a challenging task seldom has long-term negative affects. When the stressful event is over, your body lowers its adrenaline level, you slow down your activity level, and both your mind and body return to its normal level of alertness.

Stress becomes a problem when you cannot or will not work at a “normal” level of alertness. Your body never gets a chance to relax and restore itself. Sleep deprivation and built up physical stress begin to impact your emotional well-being and your interactions with others.

Making hundreds of contacts with employers and getting no interviews is discouraging, and the longer it goes on and the lower the bank account gets, the more discouraged we feel. And even if you get interviews, most of these interviews end with a “We’re sorry to inform you…” letter or telephone call. Not exactly anyone’s idea of a good time.

The reality of the job search - being in a competition to get a job and losing most of the time - produces stress in most of us. This stress may be exhibit itself as an increased motivation to succeed or lessened motivation to continue. For some people, this pressure results in feelings of low self-esteem or futility.

How you handle the pressure of the job search is probably no different than how you reaction to other pressure situations. By adulthood, most of us have developed patterns of behavior for all of life’s common occurrences. If you were a basket case during the 12-months you spent applying to colleges and then waiting for acceptance letters, you may be a basket case during the job search. If you approached the choosing of a college and the application process as an exciting opportunity that could only have a positive outcome, you may think job hunting is great fun.