TAMPA, Fla. — As things in the United States start to look more like they did pre-pandemic, people are starting to head back into work. Many workers aren't planning to stay at their current job for long, though. One in four American workers is planning to look for new employment after they feel safer to do so.
The reason for this shift is many factors, ranging from the desire to continue remote working to feelings about how employers handled COVID-19 safety.
As you head into your search for a new job, you may find a lot of competition. You may feel like your skillset is a perfect match for a job or you nailed the interview and feel really disappointed when you don't land the new gig.
Dealing with job rejection is one of the hardest parts of the employment search, so we spoke to Dr. Margie Warrell, who's helped coach many people through career transitions and growth through her writing.
Her first piece of advice, which may be one of the hardest to follow, is to not take rejection personally.
"Dealing with rejection is all about having the right mindset and not personalizing rejection or letting someone else's evaluation of you depreciate the value you put on yourself. So often we over personalize and make it mean something about ourselves that we're inadequate or unworthy in some way and that's not the case," Warrell said.
Instead, remember that rejection is part of the process. Not every job is going to be the right fit for you. If you find a company that you really want to work for, there may be other positions that you're more well suited for than the one you applied to. Maybe the job you thought you wanted doesn't line up with your own goals, so keep searching for the next move.
Another major step in persevering through the job hunt is to use your unsuccessful interviews and applications as learning tools. Do you think you could have done more research about the company before your interview? Do you think you could have marketed your own skills more? Was your application tailored specifically to the job description?
If you really feel like you were a shoo-in for a position, don't overanalyze why you didn't get it. If you want answers, reach out to the hiring manager and ask for advice and how you could improve for future opportunities.
Here are some resources that can help during the search for your next job:
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