Handling job rejections

By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter

EP 3088 You open your inbox and boom, there it is—rejection email. We’ve all felt that twinge, that sinking feeling in your stomach that makes you immediately start reliving every moment of your interview or resume submission. Before you let this frustration take hold and shut down your laptop, you need a way to stop this vicious cycle. This video details a simple, professional, and strategic approach designed to help you cope with an emotional shock and get back on your feet in no time.

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Well, let’s talk about something we’ve all been through. You open your inbox and boom, there it is. Reject the message.

Yes, it stings. There is no doubt about it. But what if you had a simple, professional way to deal with it and get back on your feet in no time? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to break down now.

I really, really did it. It doesn’t matter if this is your first job search or your 20th. You get a sinking feeling in your stomach and you immediately start replaying every moment of that interview.

It’s so hard. But hang in there. Before you let this disappointment really take hold, before you close your laptop and call it a day, we’re going to stop this spiral.

We’re going to develop a new response, one that’s actually strategic and helps you move forward. So where do we start? First, you have to deal with the initial emotional shock. We’re going to use a method called a 90-second reset.

It sounds simple, but trust me, it’s a very powerful way to build resilience when you need it most. Yes, that’s it. It only takes 90 seconds.

Look, this isn’t about suppressing your emotions or pretending that you’re not sad. Quite the opposite in fact. See, there’s a school of thought that simply naming an emotion is the quickest way to remove its power.

So it’s about giving yourself a very brief, focused window to feel it so you can really move on. Here’s the game plan. You actually took out your phone and set a timer for a minute and a half.

For those 90 seconds, you allow yourself to feel annoyed, frustrated, disappointed, whatever it is. Just let it happen. But, and here’s the important part, when the timer goes off, it’s all over.

This emotion has reached its moment. You can’t indulge in it. You turn.

It’s time to get strategic. Okay, the timer is up. You have given this feeling its space.

Now we flip the switch. We are moving from emotional brains to logical brains. The next part is a massive reality check.

You have to reframe the whole thing as a business decision rather than a personal attack on who you are. This is the spiritual transformation that changes everything. It feels very personal.

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It feels like they put a red stamp of failure on your entire career. But what about reality? Almost every time, it’s just a business transaction. The best thing you can do for yourself is to separate your self-worth from their hiring decision.

They are not the same thing. So what do these business reasons actually look like in the real world? Well, it could be a million things that have absolutely nothing to do with you. Maybe they have an insider they’ve been promoting.

Maybe the budget for this character was scrapped at the last minute. Or, hey, maybe another candidate happens to have a super-specific, weird skill that they desperately need. Nine times out of ten it’s not that you’re not good enough.

OK You’ve dealt with this feeling. You have redefined the situation.

What now? The third step is to grab the steering wheel again. This is called the immediate action pivot. This is how to make sure you don’t get stuck.

This is your action plan for the next 15 minutes. It’s very simple. First, open a document and write down one thing you might be able to do better next time.

Maybe you could strengthen your response to the “tell me about yourself” question. Second, find a new company that looks cool. Something that excites you.

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Third, just spend 10 minutes, just do a quick search. This little twist instantly shifts your focus from the past to the future. All of this brings us to the final and perhaps most powerful reconstruction.

This mindset can turn every rejection into real progress. Think about it. Rejection is not a wall you just hit.

This is not a stop sign telling you to give up. This is just data. This is the intel you just gathered from the scene.

This is feedback. This is pure information. You can use it.

Each piece of this data, the questions they ask, the vibe of the company, the skills they really care about, all of this can help you refine your search. It will make you smarter for the next game. It’s not just about feeling better.

This is to actively get you closer to getting the right quote, not just any quote. So see, you’re not back to square one. You start from a place of experience.

You have a framework. You have the right mindset. Now you have the latest data that was just released.

So the only real question left is, what are you going to do with it?

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