By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Job hunting is like dating. You go on dates and get rejection from people you care about. You try to get jobs and you get rejected, too.
3 Effective Ways to Handle Rejection During An Executive Job Search
in the times that we’re living in now, it is going to be much more prevalent. After all, millions are looking for work. There could be a limited number of jobs.
Let’s be smart. Let’s be proactive in preparing yourself for dealing what will be inevitable. You’re going to get turned down at certain places.
I hope you find this show helpful. I hope you don’t need this show. But you’re always better to be prepared rather than unprepared.
And with that, let’s get going. I wanted to talk with you about dealing with rejection in your job search. And I’ve said many times that interviewing, looking for work is very much like going on blind dates.
You talk to people, you engage in conversation, your heart opens up, and at times, you’re going to get squashed. Unfortunately, the same thing is true in job search, whether that’s your resume doesn’t get a response from an employer, whether you’re dealing with someone who, shall we say, the recruiter who doesn’t submit your resume, whether you go on an interview and you think you’ve nailed it, and nothing comes back, or, you know, you get the feedback, too late. Whatever it is, it’s very much like a dating situation where you’ve opened up, you really, really care.
Getting Past the No’s
And now, rejection. How do you deal with Now, the first thing is to remember that, like life in general, there’s going to be rejection in the process. Not everyone likes you, right? And I’ll simply say that if you’re in a situation where, you know, you suddenly get a rejection where you think you’ve done great, and suddenly, you’re getting the turndown, the first thing to remember is to do a quick mental review.
Were there any signals that you received in the interview? Were there any signals from the recruiter to suggest that you didn’t do well, or that there was some deficiency? So with that mental scan, because that’s really going to be your learning starts off with that. Then from there, I would suggest reaching out to the organization, could be a recruiter, which is the ideal situation. You contact the recruiter and say, hey, look, you’ve made the decision not to submit me.
You’ve made the decision that I’m not right for this job. Any feedback that you can give me, I want to be clear, I’m not here to get into an argument with you. I want to learn how you evaluate.
I want to learn what you looked at that made you say no. And then you listen casually. You don’t get into arguments.
You listen. And you learn from that. Because what it tells you tells me is that if you got turned down and you had the actual experience, maybe it didn’t really make a strong case that you didn’t present your knowledge around that subject well.
And that you really need to practice your interviewing, because if you legitimately had the expertise, then you could have sold it better. So I’m putting the onus back on you, again, to learn from this. Now, this may hurt to hear.
But it’s really part of your growth, professionally, is to learn how others are receiving the information that you’re sharing. Got it? Then from there, if you have to lick your wounds, go lick your wounds. And one of the things that you can do in doing that is reach out to people.
Review situations where you have people who love and support you, who really care about you and say, you know, I’m hurting today. I got turned down for a job I really wanted to get. Matter of fact, they wouldn’t even submit me.
Or I got turned down for a job today. I interviewed with them four times, and they chose someone else. Help and take in the support.
Let them buy you lunch. Let them take you for coffee. Let them listen and give you some some words of support.
3 Effective Ways to Handle Rejection During An Executive Job Search
Next thing I’ll suggest is put yourself in the situation of reviewing your successes. Because you got to get out there and you got to do it fast. Being in the cave, being in your home or apartment, you know, going, oh, woe is me, isn’t going to help you get to the next role.
You have to get out there as quickly as you can, having licked your wounds, having obtained support, having looked for stuff that will nurture you again. And then get out there and start networking some more, talking to more recruiters, reaching out to friends for suggestions of organizations that you ought to be in contact with, doing all the things that you’ve been doing up until this point successfully, while at the same time, improving the way you present yourself so that if you were in a situation where you got turned down, despite having the experience, you’re able to tell your story more effectively. So that’s today’s show.
I hope you found it helpful. And if you did, here are a few more ways to get information and advice from me. First of all, there’s my website, which is TheBigGameHunter.us. I have more than 8,000 blog posts there that you can watch, listen to or read that will help you find your next job.
In addition, if you’re interested in my coaching you, at the site, there’s a button there that says schedule. Schedule time for a free discovery call. Schedule yourself in for coaching, interview preparation coaching, salary negotiation advice, coaching related to hiring more effectively, managing and leading, helping you to be a better executive in your organization, and overall being a better employee of your firm.
If you have questions for me, you can ask them at wisio.com forward slash TheBigGameHunter. That’s wisio.com forward slash TheBigGameHunter. The price at Wizio is less than one third of what I’m charging my website.
And I’m doing this because I want to benefit my subscribers here and on YouTube and only you’re going to know about. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com forward slash IN forward slash TheBigGameHunter. Mention that you watched or listened to my content.
I like knowing I’m helping folks. Once we’re connected, you know, it’s nice to hear from you. I’d love to hear from you from time to time about how I’m helping.
You can also watch me on TV. Did you know that? If you have a Fire TV or a Fire Stick, download the Job Search TV app for Apple TV, Roku, Sony, Samsung, like 90 different TV platforms. You can watch me on either ZingoTV or Bingenetworks.tv. On YouTube, subscribe at JobSearchTV.com and have access to thousands of videos I’ve created.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more. And in the meantime, I hope you have a great day. Be great!
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search
and succeeding in your career easier.
Career Coach Office Hours: May 21 2024
You will find great info and job search coaching to help with your job search at JobSearch.Community
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Schedule a discovery call to speak with me about one-on-one or group coaching during your job search at www.TheBigGameHunter.us.
Should I Connect With People on LinkedIn Who Rejected Me for a Job?
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2900 episodes over 13+ years.
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