05 Feb Rejection

There is no doubt that at this stage in the year, and this point in our international economy, jobs are a little harder to come by and there are more people out there completing for the job you have your eye on.

So, how do you cope with the competition and how do you cope with the inevitable rejection when it comes your way?

Competition

Competition is good.  It makes us put more effort into a process and show what we are really made of!  If you want to beat the competition, keep the following points in mind:

• Show attention to detail.  All the little things add up like a neat CV, being on time, being well presented, remembering your manners, etc
• Show you are interested and eager.  When you are offered an interview, make every effort to get to the interview as soon as possible, before someone else does.  If additional information is requested from you in the interview, like a referee’s phone number or a job description, get back to the interviewer ASAP with the details and show you are eager.
• Be professional at all times.  If you are running late, cannot make an interview or don’t want to accept a position, be professional and discuss your concerns with the employer upfront.  This is not a time to play games and make enemies. It’s a small world, and you never know when you will run into that person that you stood up!
• Remember- when looking for a job, you are selling yourself as the best possible person for the job!  Make sure your brochure (CV) says everything that there is to say about you; your packaging is appealing (your presentation) and the salesman (you) who is selling the product is punctual, friendly and wants the sale (job).  If not, they will give it to the next sales person who goes the extra mile!
• Make sure that as many people as possible have your CV.  The more people who see your CV, the interviews you will get, the more offers you will get.  Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
• Basically, give the job seeking process 100%, and WOW your future employer!!

Rejection

Rejection is not always bad.  Sure we all want the first job that we apply for, and want to feel valued and welcomed, but in reality this is not always possible.  Rejection often happens for a reason- sometimes a job is just not meant for you and there is a better one out there.  Things have a way of unfolding the way that they are meant to, and as long as you keep positive and actively looking for a job, there is the perfect job out there for everyone!  When rejection does come your way, keep the following things in mind:

• Firstly, don’t take things personally.  There are numerous people applying for the same job, and often after the employer spends less than an hour, on average, with each candidate, they have to make a decision.  It is often not about how good you are as a candidate, but how good the competition is.
• Don’t set yourself up for failure and then blame everyone else.  The biggest ways that candidates discredit themselves with our Vacancy Alert Data Base is by applying for every job that goes out, whether they are remotely suitable or not.  They may be an office administrator but they are applying for bookkeeping, sales, management and IT positions, and in industries that they know nothing about.  They are rejected time and time again, and then come back to us a year down the line completely disheartened by the rejection.
• Don’t look for excuses why you do not have a job, look for reason why you are going to find that perfect job!  See the positive in situations.  It is always the person who cries the loudest that there are no jobs out there, who is the one who does not arrive for interviews!
• Keep professional at all times- it is often tempting to get angry and demand answers.  No one wants to employ someone like this, as it gives the impression that you would be a difficult employee, and confirms their decision not to employ you anyway.
• Ask for constructive criticism and again, don’t take it personally.  Ask the interview if it was a simply a matter of the other candidate was better, and if so how.  Or is there something you did in the interview that ruined your chances.  You never know- you may have unknowingly make  discriminatory remark, commented about personal problems, gave the impression that you were unreliable… a hundred different reasons.  Armed with the information of what you have don’t wrong, you can do better next time.
• Interviews take practice!  The more interviews you go for, the more relaxed you feel and the better you get at them.  (but don’t get bored, complacent and come across uninterested if you have been for too many).
• The really great candidates that I see, generally blow things with their lack of professionalism after I have “sold” them to the client as being a fantastic candidate.  They either don’t arrive for interviews with the client, walk out on temp assignments, accept positions and then accept counter offers and play games.  In all these cases, I write the candidates off.  There is a professional way to turn down a job offer, end a temp assignment and negotiate an offer of employment.

Don’t let anyone fool you- there are jobs out there- you just need to keep up the recruitment process and make sure that you stand out above the rest.

And above all, remember:- THERE IS THE PERFECT JOB FOR EVERY CANDIDATE, AND THE PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR EVERY JOB!!!!