en

Candidates

Together, we’ll map out career-defining, life-changing pathways to achieve your ambitions. Browse our range of services, advice, and resources.

Learn more

Find us on WeChat

Visit our WeChat Official Account for more Career Advice

Read more

Services

We understand that no two organisations are the same. Find out more about how we've customised our talent solutions to help clients in China meet their needs.

Read more
Jobs

Our industry specialists will listen to your aspirations and share your story with the most prestigious organisations in China. Together, let’s write the next chapter of your career.

See all jobs
Candidates

Together, we’ll map out career-defining, life-changing pathways to achieve your ambitions. Browse our range of services, advice, and resources.

Learn more

Find us on WeChat

Visit our WeChat Official Account for more Career Advice

Read more
Services

We understand that no two organisations are the same. Find out more about how we've customised our talent solutions to help clients in China meet their needs.

Read more
Insights

Whether you’re seeking to hire talent or seeking a new career move for yourself, we have the latest facts, trends and inspiration you need.

See all resources

Find us on WeChat

Visit our WeChat Official Account for more Market Insights.

Read more
About Robert Walters China

Since our establishment in 2008, our belief remains the same: Building strong relationship with people is vital in a successful partnership.

Learn more

Work for us

Our people are the difference. Hear stories from our people to learn more about a career at Robert Walters China.

Learn more

Six ways to turn a job rejection to your advantage

No one enjoys getting turned down for a job, and if you’ve done a lot of preparation for a role that you really wanted, it can be harder still to accept a rejection.

But with the right mindset, you can turn the experience into a career development opportunity. Here’s how…


Ask for detailed feedback

The key thing to do after a rejection is to think about what happened, and how you can learn from it.

Asking for and listening to feedback is the most valuable thing you can do when faced with a job rejection. Self-analysis alone won’t paint the whole picture of why you weren’t the right person for the role.

So start by gathering all the feedback you can from the recruiter – and through them, the employer. If the feedback feels a bit superficial or generic, don’t be afraid to ask for a more detailed assessment. You put a lot into the process, after all, and you’re entitled to get some actionable insights at the end of it.

Review and reflect

Once you’ve had a chance to come to terms with the employer’s decision, it can be tempting to brush the experience aside and never think of it again. But that would be to pass up on a significant learning opportunity.

So, thinking about the feedback you received, go back through everything that happened, from the way you prepared and researched through to your interactions in the interview and any follow-up.

If the process took place in stages, rank your performance for each part and determine where there is room for improvement. Ask yourself: What did I sense went well? What could I have done differently?

Could a presentation have been prepared more thoroughly? Could you have worked harder to build rapport with your interviewer(s)? Did you focus too much on technical competence at the expense of showcasing your softer skills? Were there any questions you feel you could have answered better?

There is always room to improve, so use any setbacks to shine a light on these areas.

Identify learnings and build a personal development plan

Think about feedback from past rejections, and from appraisals and the like. Are there any recurring themes? What should your development priorities be?

Make a note of any weaknesses or issues that you can do something about, and use them as a focus for the way you approach your preparation next time.

Turn these requirements into a plan. What can you do to fix the gaps in your performance? Depending on the issue, there may be some training or informal coaching you can undertake to help you develop. Or it may simply be a case of working harder on some of your answers, and finding someone to practise them with.

Be philosophical

Feedback can also help you to recognise that sometimes rejection is simply out of your hands – and can even ultimately be in your interest. Some things can’t be changed overnight – if the interviewer prefers someone with extensive client management experience (which you don’t have) or they want someone who speaks the local language (and you don’t, or not as well), then it pays to be philosophical. The key with your plan is to focus on the things you can realistically change.

Chemistry plays a vital part in any successful working arrangement. So even if you’d felt your interview went perfectly, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the role within that specific company was perfect for you.

Refine your search

Sometimes the interview and/or feedback process can make you realise that, although it’s disappointing to be rejected, the role didn’t, on reflection, feel like quite the right fit for you either. 

Look back over the job specification and ask yourself if you could truly see yourself in that role on a day-to-day basis. If there were aspects of the role that didn’t excite you, the interviewer may have been able to see this too.

Use your experience to help you refine future job searches. Are you perhaps looking at keywords that don’t quite match your ambitions and aspirations? Did the role that went with the job title not quite match your expectations? Did the interview make you realise that this is not quite the right sort of job for you? And if not, then what is?

Build resilience

In today’s rapidly changing workplace, as technologies accelerate and companies transform themselves with great agility, developing a mindset of grit and resilience is essential for long-term success.

See each setback as a challenge to grow both your self-understanding and your ability to bounce back and deal with disappointment. Overcoming obstacles on your career path will increase your chances of landing the right role. So make a point of staying constructive, and do all you can to learn from the experience to help you get ready for the next opportunity.

After all, getting turned down from a job happens to everyone, the most important thing is what you learn from the experience.

Useful Links

Read more on WeChat
Looking for a job?
Salary survey
Career advice
Get in touch

Find out more by contacting one of our specialist recruitment consultants

Related content

View All
Professional roles increased by +8.6% globally in October

Professional roles increased by +8.6% globally in October (vs previous month, September) Tech, media & telecoms report +14.2% growth in jobs – with falling interest rates driving investment back into sector Mexico leads the way on professional job creation in October – benefiting from the nearshorin

Read More
Unlocking recruitment success with talent market intelligence

In the fast-paced world of recruitment, having access to accurate, real-time data about the talent market can make all the difference in sourcing top candidates. This is where talent market intelligence comes into play. By leveraging comprehensive insights about the job market, candidate behaviour,

Read More
The power of compensation and benefits benchmarking in recruitment

In today’s competitive job market, offering the right compensation and benefits is essential to attract and retain top talent. Candidates are increasingly comparing job offers not only by salary but also by the benefits on offer and overall work-life balance. As a business, it’s critical to make sur

Read More

I'm Robert Walters Are you?

Come join our global team of creative thinkers, problem solvers and game changers. We offer accelerated career progression, a dynamic culture and expert training.