Nothing worse than job search rejection

No one – absolutely no one – likes rejection. From playground days on, we want to be with the in-crowd and be accepted. No one wants to have someone say, “No, I don’t want you.” Salespeople are trained to handle rejection because their companies know that they will face much of it.

How to handle job search rejection?

In a job search, you often don’t have a professional sales manager or coach telling you that job search rejection will happen, so you take it all personally. You also make the wrong assumptions.

You assume your résumé or cover letter is at fault. It could be. If you are a savvy job seeker who hired a qualified professional résumé writer and you still get rejection letters, you can assume it is not the résumé.

Competition is stiff. Everyone coaches you on getting the right keywords in your résumé to make sure you get to the interview.

The truth is you will not be “the One” if there are more highly qualified people even when you have the right keywords.

Keywords get you into the pool. If you are up against someone with solid experience in a field and you just graduated, it will be more difficult. It will be even more difficult if you are applying only to the largest organizations.

When a large organization is popular, they only need to hire one “Specialist.” They get 200-500 applicants, then your online application may get the dreaded rejection letter.

What should you do to avoid job search rejection?

Let’s start with the job search process.

1. Again, I am assuming you have a value-filled strategic résumé. If you don’t, go back to hire a professional résumé writer who can deliver an accomplishment-driven résumé to highlight your talents.
2. Then… Don’t make all your applications the “point and click” variety. Although companies increasingly want you to apply online, there are still smaller organizations that don’t work that way. Find companies you want to work for and find ways of connecting with them.
3. Deploying a networking strategy in your job search is critical. I think many people either avoid networking or don’t know that it is an essential part of job search and life in general. A healthy network should follow you throughout your career. You can’t avoid job search rejection, but you can minimize it by creating in-roads that keep you aware of upcoming positions before they are advertised.

Are you struggling? I help job seekers refine their search process, improve their resume and other career marketing strategies, boost visibility on LinkedIn, and stretch beyond their comfort zones. Need help?