Missing out on a job you really want can be tough. Perhaps you were hoping to get into a new industry, land your first job or progress your career.
What happens when you miss out?
Keep it in perspective
Not getting the job can be upsetting but it’s important to keep it in perspective. More often than not there will be several candidates who are going for the same job. This means the employer has the difficult task of finding the best person suited to the role. In this case, it wasn’t you. That doesn’t mean you don’t have great skills, it just means that there was someone better aligned to what the employer was looking for.
Get feedback
Where possible, ask for feedback. This can be useful when working out your skill or experience gaps. Feedback can also be positive. Hearing where you did well is just as useful for your career development and self-confidence. Simply ask the interviewer or recruiter if they can share any feedback on how they thought you went in the interview.
Consider the feedback
If you didn’t get the job because of your skill-set, you can either try to upskill or look at other jobs that may be better suited to you. Or, perhaps you didn’t interview as well as you would have liked. In this case, start practising! Have a friend ask you a range of common interview questions and answer them as you would in an actual interview. The more practise you get before your next interview, the better.
Finally, while you may be disappointed that you missed out this time, stay positive. There very well could be a job that’s even better for you just around the corner.
