Great additions to the dialogue. I’ll have to remember the advice: to learn to deal with it, become a recruiter or telemarketer.

And be nice to the cat even on the days he/she won’t sit on your lap (that had me laughing!).

Personally, I like to get excited and start envsioning myself in whatever new endeavor I am looking to join. I would like to say I’m cool, and the outcome is no big deal, but not so. I think by trying to always keep a few irons in the fire, I lessen the blow of rejection if one doesn’t pan out

Carl is dead on about the rejection a recruiter gets. Some days even the cat wouldn’t sit in my lap. Carolyn’s numbers approach is a great way to take yourself out of the equation, make it less personal, and keep up you spirits.

As a recruiter I always told myself and my candidates that every NO gets you closer to a YES. Also, you never know when that YES is going to come. I could have a terrible day, but I always knew that the next phone call or email could be the one.

A job search is difficult. Interviewing and rejection is so personal. You can find yourself asking over and over, “Why don’t they want me? What did I do wrong? Didn’t they like me?” You can’t control who companies hire. You may be the greatest person but just not the right person. Don’t let it get you down.

I always tell people when they have a great interview. “Super, now go out and get another great interview.” Nothing builds success like success and nothing builds confidence more than the feeling of control.

On another note, I think the way companies respond to job seekers sucks and it will come back to bite them.

Any resume submission should get a response, even if it is just an email auto response.
Anyone who is interviewed deserves a personalized response, at least an email for a phone interview and a phone call for a face-to-face.

Regards,
Brad
http://www.myretailcareer.net

I tend to agree with Carolynn, except for her mathematics (j/k). I’m glad you pointed to the link on sensitivity to rejection, because rejection can tie us up so much emotionally.

I think one of the keys to dealing with rejection, along with the numbers, is to work smart.

I love this post.

I think the best way to conquer rejection is to work as a telemarketer or telesurveyer. That was one of my college-student jobs, and it was the best experience of my life. Basically, in a 3-hour shift, you call 300 people, none of which want to talk to you, and only 6 of which you can possibly manipulate into listening for 5-10 minutes.

My philosophy was, “I’m not looking for someone who wants to take the survey. I’m looking for 294 that don’t.” Hey, it made it fun.

That also really solidified the concept that sales & job searching (and many other things) are a numbers game… of 30 jobs I apply for, 15 won’t respond, 7 will reject me outright, 2 will forget to e-mail back, 6 I’ll interview with, 2 will make offers, and finally, I’ll accept 1.

If I want more options than that, then I’d better be approaching more than 30, because that’s the reality of it in a traditional job search. Or, I’d better be extremely awesome in my approach.

It can be tough to keep oneself from getting overly excited about prospects. BUT, if you chart out the process [sometimes you may have to ask what the process of hiring is, multiple times] then it might help you to keep your emmotions in check. -Carl