Page 211 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

THE QUESTION LIFE CYCLE

Your first challenge is to find out why you were rejected. Be hon-
est with yourself as you think about it. Often you will know why.
You were underqualified, you were overqualified, or you volunteered
a previous salary that was considered too high or too low. These
objections were surely brought out in the interview, so your rejec-
tion should have been no major surprise. You can take some comfort
from the fact that there was nothing much you could have done to
overcome these objections.

Every once in a while, you will blow an interview, quickly real-
ize what you did wrong, and kick yourself immediately afterward.
You might recover from some of these mistakes, but others are fatal,
at least as far as that job is concerned. Perhaps you dressed inap-
propriately. Or perhaps you inadvertently insulted the interviewer.
Perhaps you permitted yourself a moment of anger to vent at your
current supervisor. Maybe you were late to the interview or were
unprepared because you didn’t have any questions to ask. By the
time you left the interview, you knew it was hopeless. Consider these
learning experiences and resolve to conduct yourself more profes-
sionally next time.

But occasionally a rejection will come out of left field, and you
will feel blindsided because you just didn’t see this one coming. You
felt you were well qualified for the job. The interviewer seemed to
like you and gave you some positive indications that everything was
going to work out. You left the interview feeling positive. Then you
got a letter or phone call telling you thanks, but no thanks.

UNDERSTANDING REJECTION

This is the time when embracing rejection pays off. You have to
understand exactly why you were rejected. There is really only one
way to do this. You have to ask the person who rejected you why.

Susan Trainer suggests that if a candidate is rejected, he or
she should send a short note that conveys the following thoughts:
“Thank you again for interviewing me. I understand you decided to

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