How to handle failures during an interview?

With the placement season kicking in, failures are also bound to be a part of it.

But I have seen very few people talk about them.

Everyone gives advice on how to ace your interviews and how to deal with different stages in different companies.

But one thing that is inevitable is ‘Rejections’.

Who hasn’t faced them? I have to.

Today I am going to give you some pointers on how you can deal with rejections from companies:

1) Ask for detailed feedback:
– Self-analysis won’t alone paint the whole picture of why you weren’t right for the role.
– You can always listen to valuable feedback, note down the action points, and learn from them.
– Don’t be afraid to ask for a detailed assessment. No one will say no to it.

2) Review and Reflect:
– Now is the time to self-reflect.
– Go back through every stage, from preparation to research to follow-ups.
– Note down where you went wrong and what went absolutely perfect.
– Know that there is always room for improvement.

3) Identify learnings and build a personal development plan:
– Identify if there is anything recurring from all the feedbacks received.
– What can you do to fill the gaps in your performance?
– Practice your answers with a friend.

4) Be philosophical:
– Be reasonable, realistic, and understand the reasons behind everything.
– If the interviewer expects something unrealistic out of you like learning a foreign language, understand that it cannot happen overnight and it’s okay.
– Even if you thought everything went perfect from your side; sometimes some things just aren’t meant to be.

5) Refine your search:
– Maybe the jobs you’re applying for aren’t suiting you well or aren’t interesting enough for you.
– Think if you can see yourself actually working for that role on a day-to-day basis and are you passionate enough about it.

6) Take guidance from a mentor:
– Explain to the mentor what all happened in the process and how it went according to you.
– A third person’s perspective is necessary.
– A mentor can identify your key area, what went wrong and what you can focus on.

7) Build resilience:
– See each setback as a challenge to grow both your self-understanding and your ability to bounce back and deal with disappointment.

After all, rejection is something that we all face.

Remember, you learn the most from failures.