How to Overcome Rejection and Secure That Perfect Job

Picture this; you’ve been searching for your next office support role for a while but to no avail. Then, suddenly you find a vacancy for an Executive Assistant that sounds amazing. It’s offering everything you want. You’re filled with excitement as you send your tailored cover letter and CV. The day passes. That day quickly turns into a week. Your excitement turns into apprehension when you receive a response. It’s another rejection.

No-one likes being rejected and not getting your hands on the prize can be pretty frustrating. But if you let that rejection quell your positivity and confidence, it could affect your performance in an interview (and your current job if you’re employed) and, before long, that frustration would leave you stuck in a rut. If you’re looking for advice on how to keep yourself together during the hardest of job searches, look no further.

Don’t Lose Sight, Focus on What You Can Control

During your job search, there will be things you simply cannot control or have very little influence over. For example, if you reach out to your network to ask if anyone knows of available career opportunities, you can’t control whether any of your contacts come through. Or, if you’ve already had an interview you can’t force the interviewer to give you feedback. Whenever you feel yourself worrying about something you have little or no control over, focus on something that you can control, such as learning new interview tips and tricks for next time or finding the next great opportunity to apply to.

Set Yourself SMART Goals

Setting yourself goals is paramount to your success. However, the life of an experienced office support professional is a busy one and it can often be difficult to know what tasks to prioritise. SMART goals are a fantastic way to develop yourself or achieve something because they provide you with the opportunity to be clear on what you’re trying to do, how you’re going to do it and when it must be completed by. To help give you a better understanding of how these objectives work, here is our explanation:

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. But what does that mean?

Specific – For your goal to be specific, it needs to identify what it is trying to explicitly achieve. For example, a generic objective would be to find a new job where as a specific goal would be to apply to five new Executive Assistant roles.

Measurable – Your goal will need to be measurable so that you can track its progression and know when it is completed. The previous example is a measurable goal because we have stated that five jobs are our target.

Achievable – SMART objectives should also be realistically achievable. Consider whether you currently have the skills and experiences needed to achieve your objective. If you do not, is attaining them realistic? If the answer is no, then you may need to review your initial goal and return to it once you have closed this gap.

Relevant – Each goal you set needs to be relevant to your overall immediate and long-term career plans. For example, if your objective is to secure a new Executive Assistant position then setting yourself a SMART goal to gain experience in liaising with senior level people would be relevant.

Timely – Setting a time frame for a goal to be completed by can instil a sense of urgency and allow you to prioritise your tasks. 

Celebrate Every Win

As a species, we’re wired for bad news. Which is why during our job search, we tend to focus more on what goes wrong, rather than right. However, letting this negativity take centre stage is a huge mistake. If you fixate on everything that previously went wrong, it can quickly lead you into a never-ending cycle, that gets worse with every job interview.

Employers want to see positivity and enthusiasm. So, instead of fixating on the job you missed out on, celebrate every win no matter how small. Be proud that you got a phone interview or a new connection for your network, if throughout your job search you focus on the positives and learn from the negatives, you’ll be far more confident in yourself.

Take Time to Do Anything Other Than Job Searching

If you’ve committed to finding a new role and the process begins to drag on it can often be easy to find yourself excessively worrying and stressed out. If that stress is left unchecked, then your job search can be taxing on your personal life and current job. With that in mind, don’t let your job search prevent you from enjoying other aspects of your life or get in the way of your current role. Whilst purposely setting time aside each day where you can forget about your job search is a great way to do that, if you’re stuck between applying to new roles as planned or catching up with an old friend, unless it’s crucial you find a new job soon, the applications can wait.

Closing Thoughts

Don’t let frustration from job rejection and dead-ends get the better of you. If you want to be successful in your job search, be SMART with your goals, pick your battles, cut unwanted negativity, celebrate every win and make time for the important things in life. If you need any more advice as you start your job search, email us today, we’re here to help you find your perfect role. Good luck!