What To Avoid When You Don’t Get The Job
Opening your email inbox to find a rejection letter is every job seeker’s nightmare. This can be especially frustrating after feeling like you nailed your interview. Many job seekers don’t even get to receive their rejection in the form of a concise email; it often comes in the form of silence.
Of all job search frustrations, getting rejected from a position certainly tops the list. Learning to handle rejection during your job search is an art — without the proper approach, job seekers are likely to be faced with a variety of consequences.
Learn from these terrible ways of handling job search rejection to overcome disappointment and find success in your hunt for employment:
1. Forget Perspective. One sure-fire way to mishandle a rejection is to overlook the big picture. Getting turned down from a few positions during your job search is inevitable. Rather than getting hung up on the glaring details of the situation, look to the overall perspective of your job search, career and life. This is just one small bump in the road.
2. Let Your Emotions Take Over. With rejection comes a wide variety of internalized emotions. It’s important not to take this rejection personally. While you may be angry with yourself for not performing better in the interview or at the potential employer for not seeing how great you truly are, try your best to remain level. Allowing your emotions to consume you will only make the job search harder as you put yourself under unnecessary stress.
3. Forget To Ask For Feedback. Simply ignoring a rejection letter and not looking back might feel right at the time, but you could be missing a valuable opportunity for feedback. Instead of wondering where you went wrong, consider reaching out to the employer and asking for feedback. While they might not always be able to give you details, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Be sure your request is respectful and optimistic.
4. Refuse To Improve. Rejection during your job search can act as a driving force for improvement. Instead of cursing the employer for their inability to recognize your match for the position, break down the hiring process and see if there’s room for growth. The job search is often a learning process.
5. Don’t Stay Connected. The hiring manager may not have chosen you for the position, but you should still keep in touch with them. Focus on maintaining a relationship with this person by connecting with them on LinkedIn, shooting them an email in regard to relevant information, and even applying to another position when it arises. Never let a connection with a hiring manager go to waste.
6. Avoid Sharing Your Experience. Utilizing your support system will help ease many of the challenges you experience during the job search. Sharing your rejection with others might feel embarrassing at first, but speaking about your experiences and emotions will get it off your chest. Everyone has experienced some form of rejection, and this will allow you to receive a variety of advice and guidance.
7. Give Up. Rejection pushes many individuals to give up on the things they’re seeking to accomplish. Mishandling rejection during your job search may lead you to giving up on your search for employment — even if it’s only temporarily. Briefly quitting your job search might force you to miss out on a variety of opportunities. Keep applying for positions, customizing your resume, and working your network.
Successfully handling rejection can have a positive effect on your job search. Your ability to grow from the experience, remain optimistic, and drive connections might put you at the top of the list for the next opening.
What To Avoid When You Don’t Get The Job is a post from: Glassdoor Blog
Related posts:
- 5 Tips To Avoid Fake Job Postings
- 8 Do’s & Don’ts After Your Job Interview
- After The Recruiter Says No: How To Handle Job-Search Rejections
The Inaugural UK Candidate Experience Awards
The first UK Candidate Experience Awards took place at a special ceremony held at The Brewery in London on the 26th February, 2013. Those companies who were identified as providing exceptional candidate experiences were named “With Distinction” honourees and were celebrated, along with all CandE winners. Open to organisations that recruit in the British employment marketplace, the UK CandE Awards follows the success of its North American counterpart. The U.K. programme recognises that candidate experience varies between companies and aims to enable companies to benchmark and improve the experience. Using a survey-based evaluation process, the UK CandE Awards consists of three rounds of review designed to identify organisations that provide a good candidate experience. The process includes surveying the candidates that applied to the organisations to verify how well they think they are doing. All participating organisations receive a report allowing them to compare their candidate experience against an aggregate of all the entrants.
All of the winners were evidenced as doing some great things to improve their candidate experience. They all focus on recruiting processes to create environments for better feedback, communication and transparency.
Some of the main research findings:
- 50% of candidates surveyed said they had a neutral overall experience that was neither negative nor positive. 39% said they had a positive experience.
- 49% of candidates claimed some relationship with the company they applied to including nearly 1 in 5 being an existing customer and 12% had family and friends working there.
- 73% of candidates surveyed would definitely tell their inner circle about a positive experience (62% would share a negative experience) and 28% would share a positive experience on Social Media (17% would share if it was negative.)
- A number of candidates were frustrated by the “black hole”, with 30% citing receiving a “do not reply” automated response and 31% receiving no response at all.
The 2012 U.K. Winners
Overall there were ten winners out of 24 total company entries. Of this ten, three of the companies were recognised “With Distinction” for what they are doing with their candidate experience. The 2012 With Distinction winners include business technology solutions provider, Avanade; GE Capital, one of the country’s most successful consumer finance lenders; and Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a world leader in catastrophic risk modeling.
2012 winners ‘With Distinction’
- GE Capital
- RMS
- Avanade
2012 winners
- Intel Corporation
- CA Technologies
- Empiric Recruitment
- The Carphone Warehouse
- Eaton Corporation
- Jones Lang LaSalle
- Utopia Resourcing
Following are some of their stories and innovative ways the With Distinction, winning companies, in the U.K. and North America, are improving the experience of their candidates.
Walk in the Candidates Shoes
Avanade, a business technology solutions provider, understands the needs of candidates and regularly test their own systems and recruitment processes and walk in the candidates shoes. Based on feedback from candidates about their application process they adopted a three click rule and shortened the process. It shouldn’t be difficult for employers to review their own recruitment process. Doing so may include searching for one of the company’s jobs on the web and following all the steps required to apply. Like 2012 winner, Avanade, companies can capture the number of page changes and number of times the candidate has to create an account or log in. Employers should also consider how long it takes to apply to the position. Would they be willing to do all of those tasks, all of the time? Employers can then create a list of changes that would simplify and enhance the process for candidates, positively impacting the impression they make on potential hires.
Avanade also focuses on open communication with candidates. The company provides contact details of recruiters in automated emails generated via the applicant tracking system (ATS) and encourage candidates to contract them. Two years of CandE research confirms that two-way communication is key to any successful relationship, but a high volume of response will significantly reduce the time available and opportunity for recruiters to do this. Full transparency in public channels reduces applications, because people choose to opt out or identify themselves as unqualified to apply. This creates the time needed to give a great candidate experience to those who remain in the process.
Hiring Managers are Accountable Too
GE Capital recognises the importance of hiring manager involvement in all stages of the recruitment process. Internally, the organisation awards a Candidate Experience Award to two hiring managers each year based on candidate feedback. The company has found that the more hiring managers are involved in the process in all areas including feedback and communication, the better the experience for the candidate. Without abdicating all responsibility, hiring managers are required to sometimes provide specific feedback, and in some cases to facilitate communication with candidates directly, or to be available for follow up.
High Touch Candidate Experience
RMS, a risk management solutions company, is a first year U.K. awards winner, but has also claimed a coveted With Distinction CandE Award in North America for two years running. The company understands that its business and the jobs for which it recruits are not for everyone. As a result, RMS seeks to find and engage with a targeted group of individuals that really fit what it is looking for.
Once RMS attracts these candidates, it’s important for them to make sure it remains engaged in the recruiting process. This has resulted in a recruiting process that is very high touch with candidates. RMS recruiters listen and provide a two hour daily chatter facility for all potential candidates to speak to a recruiter. Fifty percent of candidates using the chatter tool make it to the pre-screen interview with the hiring manager or recruiter. In addition, sponsoring social games that fit the skills and interests they are looking for in candidates, RMS strives to ensure that once the right candidates find the organisation, there should be few reasons for these candidates to fall off in the recruiting process.
Candidates Are Also Customers
Adidas, one With Distinction winner from the 2012 North American programme, sees candidate experience not only as a recruiting goal but one that’s integral to the company’s entire organisation as a whole. Adidas understands the fact that any candidate that applies for a position is probably a potential or active customer too. A negative experience in the recruiting process could reflect poorly on the brand and negatively impact its core business.
For every candidate that applies, it is mandated that the recruiting team must follow up with every single individual with a final response to their application. While some of those responses are unpleasant or uncomfortable, candidate feedback confirms that by closing the loop on every application, it results in a much better experience for them to at least know where they stand with the organisation.
Create a Better Referral Process
Deloitte, one of the North American winners, stood out from the pack with its focus on referrals. This is not a new strategy by any means for companies, but Deloitte takes typical referral strategies a step further. With nearly 50 percent of its hires coming from referrals, Deloitte have made it a priority to make submitting referrals as easy and transparent as possible. Every referral that comes into the organisation will know their status within 48 hours of the submission. In addition, Deloitte’s recruiting team informs both the referral candidate and the referee of the individual’s status to ensure they are in tune with the process.
This is also something on which fellow winner, RMS focuses. The organisation receives referrals from external candidates including those who were not successful in their application, which, for RMS is a true sign of how well the company manages its candidate relationships. This is an excellent example of how candidates leaving the process with a positive experience can still play an important role in an employer’s attraction strategies and recruiting results.
Delivering a Better Candidate Experience
Candidate experience has been a hot topic for many years and will be important for most organisations, the way that it is best structured will change and differ based on the inherent goals and challenges of the business.
For example, GE Capital feels that understanding a candidate’s journey through the recruitment process enables the delivery of an exceptional experience. Through regularly surveying candidates, including those who were not hired, they have developed systems and processes based on feedback, focusing on honesty, transparency and timeliness of communications.
Avanade strongly believe it is essential that the candidate experience doesn’t end as soon as they walk through the door on their first day – in their eyes there is no finish line. The recruitment team is actively involved in the post-hire experience and works in partnership with HR generalists and the business to ensure that they deliver upon the career promises that were made.
As an industry, human resources and recruitment professionals have some way to go to figure out the best ways to ensure a positive or neutral candidate experience. While the 2012 CandEs research (to be available at www.ukcandes.org) outlines areas within communication, expectations and process that leave room for improvement, the year-over-year North American data suggests that communication trends are heading in the right direction.
Candidates who participated in the survey were asked what they really want from the recruitment process. Overwhelmingly they said they wanted a straight forward process. Other main comments below:
- Be honest and transparent
- Treat me with respect – Call Me
- Remove the long winded application process
- Can I please get some feedback
Some organisations have really grasped candidate experience and understand its greater importance to the business as a whole. Starting with the basics and getting it right shouldn’t be difficult for any hiring organisation. We hope the CandEs, with its research data and benchmarking opportunities, will demystify some of the perceived challenges and help any organisation on its journey to improve its candidate experience.
The CandEs Awards and benchmarking programme is completely free to enter for all participants and is funded by donations from third-party sponsors. Support for the 2012 U.K. CandE Awards programme came from global sponsor, Monster; principal sponsor, Talent Collective; gold sponsors, ChangeBoard, KellyOCG, and Peer Group; plus silver sponsor, HireRight. The CandEs movement has enjoyed and appreciates their ongoing support.
The CandEs U.K. white paper contains the results of the 2012 research data and can be accessed on the Candidate Experience Awards website. The document aims to help organisations benchmark their candidate experience initiatives against the aggregate of those that took part. Those interested in accessing the research can register for a complimentary copy at www.ukcandes.org. There they can also access details on the upcoming programme, which will be announced in the United Kingdom and North America this spring. Organisations can register to participate in the 2013 programme on the website or contact Leigh Carpenter directly leigh@thecandes.org
Leigh Carpenter – The UK Candidate Experience Awards
