With the newest round of vacation scheme and training contract applications on the horizon, there is a certain level of excitement across professional social media. I have noticed numerous LinkedIn posts over the past few weeks from successful training contract and vacation scheme applicants passing on their advice to this years prospective candidates. As someone who will be applying to firms this autumn, I have found the words of wisdom from these individuals extremely helpful and cannot thank them enough for taking the time to share their success.
However, after seeing so many successes, I couldn't help but think - what about those that haven't made it? Given the amount of training contracts available and the high influx of applicants, there surely must be must plenty of people that are unsuccessful? In my opinion, there is a stigma in our society around talking about being rejected, both professionally and personally. As a result, I wanted to look into both why rejection can often be so hard to talk about and provide some advice from my own personal experience on how to move forward from unsucessful applications.
My Personal Experience
Since I am preaching about how important it is that we as a society become more open about rejection, I think it is only right that I share my own experiences and explain to you why I feel 'qualified' enough to give others advice on the subject.
At the end of year 13, I applied for a solicitors apprenticeship at a large commercial firm in my hometown. I made it all the way through the application process to the final partner interview, however I was unfortunately unsuccessful at this stage. It really was hard to come so close to something and then be rejected, however I now feel the experience has really changed the way I view rejection and how best to deal with it. I hope that my outlook can help you if you have been/might in the future be in a similar position and feel unsure on how to move forward.
Why should the subject be discussed more?
With the competitiveness of the modern job market, rejection is not a rare occurence no matter which industry you are looking for work in. In fact, according to Orville Pearson, the average job seeker is rejected 24 times before they are successfully selected. To myself, this statistic was higher than I anticipated, and really put things into perspective. It demonstrates just how common rejection is in society today, and suggests that the majority of people have/will experience it at some point in their careers. As a result, I think it's important to open up a dialogue and encourage more people to talk openly about the subject, with the aim of normalising rejection and better preparing people on how to deal with unsuccessful applications moving forward.
The Science Behind Rejection
You'll be interested to know that there is science behind why it can often hurt so much to be rejected. Studies have found that the feeling of rejection activate the same areas of the brain as when we feel physical pain, meaning that there is a proven link that social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain. This explains why many people cry and describe feeling 'hurt' after rejection.
Dealing with Rejection in the First Instance
This is not going to be fun, but let's picture it; you've applied for a position that you were really interested in. You made it through a few stages of the application process, however you receieve an email that your application cannot be taken forward. What should you do next?
- If you can, get feedback. It is true that, unfortunately, sometimes feedback is not available to all applicants depending on the number of applicants or the stage of the application process you were unsuccessful at. However if it is possible, make sure you ask for it. While it can be difficult to be told about the things we have done wrong, it is important to take feedback as constructive and use it in the future to improve.
- Take time to feel sad if you need to. As I have discussed, there is scientific evidence that rejection can be painful, and so it is understanable that you may feel hurt or upset. In my experience, it is important to acknowledge those emotions and have a bit of time to yourself to reflect. Do not feel embarrassed about how you feel.
- If you have other applications active, make sure you still put 110% into them. Rejection can often knock us back and make us doubt ourselves, however that does not mean that you should let it hold any other applications back. Just because you were unsuccessful at one company does not therefore mean that you will be unsuccessful at the next, as different businesses within the same industry can often have different outlooks on who and what they are looking for.
Looking to the Future
While I feel it is so important to learn how to deal with rejection in the first instance, I would argue that it is even more vital for your own personal development to learn how to take the experience and turn it into a positive in the future.
- If you have managed to get your hands on feedback, make sure you take it on board. As I have mentioned, it is important to view feedback as contructive and use it your advantage. Make a note of any weaker areas or mistakes you may have made this time around and make sure to do some self-reflection on how you can improve your application or yourself for the next time.
- Do not let it deter you from applying to the same place again. During my research for training contract and vacation scheme applications, I have seen that many firms encourage applicants to apply again the year after if their application is unsuccessful the first time around. If you are still passionate and determined to be successful in the job you applied for, then make sure you apply again if you are able to. Use that first experience as a learning curve and come back with a positive mindset.
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