Latest / Prayer Before Work / You Thought the Interview Went Great. Then Came a Two-Line Rejection. - Prayer Before Work
Transcript
- C0684: Well, you walked out of that interview feeling pretty good about it. And then three days later you got a two-line email saying, Thanks, but no thanks. This is Sean. Welcome to Prayer Before Work. Now, someone sh who's been on the job hunt for a while shared this one with me, and I think a lot of people will relate to it. you prepared, you researched the company, you thought that the conversation had a good rhythm to it, but Then the rejection shows up with no explanation at all. There's no feedback. I mean, nothing you can actually use. And then your brain starts filling in the blanks for them. Maybe I talked too much. Maybe I didn't give enough examples. Maybe they could just tell I wasn't good enough. But I think here's the truth if we're honest about it. Sometimes a rejection, it has nothing to do with how you did. They might have had an internal candidate. the budget may have changed. Somebody's nephew may have needed a job. Who knows? You'll never know. And that part can be frustrating, but there's usually something you can learn from every interview, even if nobody hands it to you. So in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs twenty four sixteen says the righteous falls seven times and rises again. I love that verse. It just assumes that we're going to be falling. In fact, it pictures someone who gets knocked down a lot, seven times, and keeps getting back up. Now, the getting up is what marks them. So, how do you get up in a way that actually makes the next interview better? Okay, well, try this. Within a day, before the memory fades, sit down and write out the questions they asked you. Next to each one. Write what you actually said. I mean not what you wish you had said, but what you said. Okay, then look at it and just be honest with yourself. Did I answer the question they asked or the one that I was ready for? Did I give a real example with a real result? Would would a stranger understand what I said I did versus what my team did? Yeah, you'll start to see patterns. Maybe you ramble when you ner you're nervous. Maybe you say, we too much. In fact, so much that they can't tell what part was yours and what part was the team's. Now that's useful. But that's the feedback that nobody is going to send you. You can also ask, but you know, nothing like a short, gracious email just saying if there's anything that you could have done better, most companies are not gonna answer. Some will, maybe. But either way, you've shown that you're someone who wants to grow. And people remember that. Just don't let Don't let the review of this turn into a trial where you're the one, you're the defendant on trial. You know, learning from a no is healthy, but beating yourself up over it definitely is not. The goal is to walk into the next interview a little sharper, not a little smaller. So let's pray. God, rejection hurts, especially when we don't know why. When we're tempted to fill the silence with The worst possible story about ourselves. In that moment, remind us who we are. Give us clear eyes to look back at what we did and learn from it without tearing ourselves down. Help us get back up as many times as it takes and lead us to the work you have for us in your timing. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Go make today count.