Handling job rejection and planning your next step

A rejection can be disappointing after time spent preparing documents or attending interviews. Give yourself time before deciding whether to change your approach. Save the employer's message so you can refer to its wording when you are ready to review the application.

Augsburg University's career guidance encourages applicants to allow space for their feelings and draw on support. It advises against treating one rejection as a measure of personal worth. The employer may provide limited information about its decision, leaving parts of the outcome unexplained.

If it helps, update the application status and leave a detailed review for another day. You can decide later whether to ask for feedback or revise your documents. This is an optional way to organise the tasks after a rejection; choose the timing that fits your circumstances.

Make three short notes: the employer's words, your observations and what remains unknown. Put specific feedback about missing experience in the first group. Record an interview answer you found difficult in the second. Leave the reason for a brief, unexplained rejection in the third.

In a fictional example, an employer says it selected someone with experience of the team's stock-management system. The applicant could check whether similar vacancies require that system and assess their experience. Another applicant receives a rejection with no explanation. Their reason for rejection remains unknown unless the employer supplies more detail.

Review requirements and feedback across several opportunities. If repeated adverts require the same qualification, research it. If a particular interview question catches you unprepared, practise explaining the relevant example. Where you have little feedback, keep recording outcomes before deciding whether a change to your documents is warranted.

The National Careers Service suggests reflecting on difficult interview questions and asking for feedback after an unsuccessful interview. Keep the request brief; the employer may be unable to provide it. Consider any response alongside your interview notes and the requirements of the role.

For the fictional stock-management interview, a request could read: 'Thank you for letting me know. In the interview we discussed how I checked discrepancies between delivery notes and stock records. If you can share feedback on that example, I would appreciate knowing which part needed more detail.' Adapt the request to a topic you discussed and the feedback you need.

Use specific feedback to define a task. If the employer asks for a clearer account of your part in a project, practise explaining your contribution and who else was involved. A general comment about other candidates gives you less to act on. A careers adviser or someone familiar with the work may help you review the example.

Keep the project examples and interview notes you prepared. Review them for details you can use in another application. If you clarified your contribution to a project or found a record supporting a result, save that information with your professional background.

Choose one next step based on the information you have. You could rewrite a project example, practise an interview answer or research a recurring requirement. You can also take a break before returning to applications. Record the task if you want to pick it up in a later session.

Keep some support outside the search. Tell a trusted person whether you want advice, company or someone to listen. If low mood is persistent or difficult to manage, consider a qualified healthcare professional. The NHS page linked here describes support routes in England; readers elsewhere should use local health services.

Save the application, outcome and feedback in your tracker. Close the record when no action remains, and move any preparation task to the next session. Keep the completed record available so you can refer to the documents or feedback when applying for a similar role.