Navigating a rejection after an interview or meeting can be disheartening, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the road. How can you leverage a rejection in your job search to unlock significant possibilities? It is possible, but you may have to shift your mindset and build greater resilience. At The Rialto Consultancy, we find that senior-level professionals often encounter rejection in two distinct ways, which can be navigated with strategic and proactive action. Read on for our advice for navigating both situations and turning rejection into a stepping stone towards success.
After investing significant time and effort in the interview process or engaging in a productive meeting with a key decision maker, receiving a rejection can be disheartening and leave you feeling like you’ve reached a dead end in your pursuit of a particular role or organisation. However, it’s important to recognise that a rejection does not have to be the final outcome.
Odds are, you have developed a rapport with one or more people in the organisation throughout the process. If you haven’t already, it is advisable to connect with them on LinkedIn. his enables you to maintain visibility through thought leadership activities and continued online interaction, keeping those relationships alive. By consistently sharing your unique perspective, demonstrating your industry knowledge, and positioning yourself as a valuable asset, you increase the likelihood of being considered for future opportunities through the “grey market.”
While some may perceive this as a tactic more commonly employed at a junior level, Rialto Executive Career Transition Executive Nicholas Story often advises his senior clients not to overlook the significant value of sending a ‘thank you’ note. Regardless of the outcome, sending a follow-up that touches on some of the points made during the process fosters goodwill. It is a small, simple move that helps leave a lasting impression. At the very least, maintaining rapport with those you have connected with throughout your job search offers the benefit of helping you to grow your network.
In situations where you receive a rejection without a clear explanation, seeking feedback can be challenging and may not yield a response. This is especially true if your rejection came in the form of silence. This makes it challenging to ask for feedback, and you may find that even if you do ask, you may not actually receive it. What can you do in this situation, and how can you learn from the experience if you haven’t been told what went wrong?
The simplest way of learning where you might have fallen short is to conduct your own benchmarking after the fact. Since you know what role was to be filled, you can keep an eye on LinkedIn or the company website for updates about who might have been chosen. Once you know this information, you can conduct your own competitive research of their profile to assess how their skills, capabilities, experience, or thought leadership offering differs from yours. This should provide insights into which areas you could strengthen to differentiate.
Executives we support frequently share that they expereince a silent form of rejection when reaching out to recruiters or an executive headhunter. In some circumstances, they may be fortunate and initially receive keen communication and even a recruiter’s undivided attention, only to see it gradually diminish over time. In such circumstances, there’s a need to maintain visibility without being intrusive. So, how should you navigate this situation?
The reality to understand is that a recruiter or headhunter most often engages with a candidate when they have a specific role to fill, no matter how senior they might be.
If you are not the right fit for their current assignments or the organisations they’re working with, then you are unlikely to be their priority. That is not to say that the relationship is futile, because more opportunities could spring up in the future. The key is remaining in their mind as a future option even during those periods when they do not have a suitable role for you.
Rather than bombarding the recruiter with constant updates or inquiries, we recommend focusing on enhancing your personal marketing efforts to maintain visibility. Use this time to work on your personal digital brand if you have not already and to concentrate on your thought leadership activity. By actively participating online, you are remaining visible and staying on their radar without overtly pursuing or hounding them. Ensure that you showcase your expertise and are creating quality outputs to remain a desirable candidate in the eyes of the headhunter, whilst also potentially attracting other promising opportunities as well.
Instead of viewing rejection as a roadblock, it is simply the starting point for the next leg of your journey. When direct communication fades post interview, meeting, or interaction with a headhunter, you will need to focus instead on maintain visibility in order to remain top of mind. The key to achieving this is by nurturing a strong network and maximising your digital presence.
If you require assistance in strengthening your personal digital brand, enhancing your thought leadership, or leveraging your professional network, reach out to our team today to explore the support options available to you. By partnering with us, you can maintain resilience, more effectively navigate your executive career transition and better position yourself for future success.
No matter what our level of accomplishment, professional stature, or past successes might be, we are still not protected from…
As Q3 gets underway, we are entering a critical period that can make or break an organisation’s success for the…
With the new financial year about to begin, businesses will be confirming their budgets and determining where to spend and…
