How to Get Hired After Being Turned Down From a Job: From Rejection to Redemption

Everyone loves a comeback including Seer! In fact, several of Seer’s top-performers didn’t get hired the first time that they applied to Seer. So, how’d they keep the door open with Seer and land the job the second time around?

They leveraged Seer’s feedback to gain additional experience and provided tangible evidence of progress.

“I initially applied to Seer right after graduating college. Even though I didn’t get hired at that point, I was encouraged to reapply, once I gained more hands-on, digital marketing experience. I spent the next 1.5 years working at another digital agency, reading industry blog-posts, and leveling up my SEO skills. Fast forward to October 2018 and I was hired as a Seer SEO Associate in the Philadelphia HQ”

If you don’t get hired the first time around, you still have another shot, BUT it’s important to have a purposeful plan of attack.

Do: Ensure Ample Time has Passed Before Reaching Out

Realistically, it’s near-impossible to make any significant self-improvements in a matter of weeks. If you prematurely reach out to be reconsidered, it may seem like you didn’t absorb the feedback.

I’d recommend waiting at least 3-6 months before circling back to a company that turned you down.

Do: Leverage your Warm Connections 

Since you’ve already gone through the interview process, try to re-engage your HR point-of-contact. Ideally, you’ll want to circle back with the individual who provided you feedback to say thank you and humble-brag about the skills you’ve gained.

(i.e. “How did your wedding go— you said it was in May, right?” “Hope that Seerfest was a success…I remember everyone was setting up for that when I came in for my Panel Interview”)

Do: Address Weaknesses to Show Self-awareness

No, that doesn’t mean you should be self-deprecating and downplay your qualifications. Instead, be forthcoming about the feedback you received last time and thank them again for sharing such specific and actionable advice. It shows that you’re humble, willing to learn, and able to make adjustments.

Do: Bring Examples of How you’ve Improved

This is when Interview Feedback comes in handy. Don’t ruin your second shot at redemption by coming into that conversation unprepared— most employers won’t be inclined to give you a third chance.

Knowledge is power. Therefore, you should be more confident heading into this conversation because you’ll be able to anticipate the areas that they’ll dig in on. While there may be some overlap in the discussion, most employers won’t waste time re-assessing your qualifications within the areas that they were already vetted & deemed acceptable. 

(i.e. DO share the online-course that you took to improve your Local SEO chops & any professional application of Local SEO. DON’T simply say you’ve been ‘reading up on Local SEO.’)

Do: Prove that You’ve Kept Up with the Company

Whether you’re trying to revisit conversations with a recruiter or rekindle things with your ex, it’s important to make the other person feel special. Personally, I appreciate when former applicants tell me that they recently attended a Seer webinar or leveraged our Screaming Frog Guide.

Taking the time to include call-outs about the company will increase your chances of resuming the interview process with them. Plus, it proves that your admiration for the company wasn’t exclusively tied to their willingness to hire you.

Don’t: Dwell in the Rejection

While I wish I could guarantee a job offer to anyone who follows these guidelines, that’s definitely not the case. Unfortunately, you’ll never have all the information in front of you because employers don’t necessarily disclose every single piece of negative feedback from the interview process.

They might be concerned about your communication-style clashing with the team, and while it may be discouraging, employers tend to believe that personality-traits are set-in-stone. To put it bluntly, if they were concerned about your alignment with their values, there’s not much you can say to prove them wrong.

Maybe they told you that the role required stronger Google Analytics skills, but they withheld the fact that the interviewers also noted your tendency to talk over people. If you’ve made a compelling case for how you’ve become a Google Analytics SME and the company is still unwilling to hire you, there might be more to the story.

Do: Look at the Wins

Don’t dwell on the initial rejection because there could be long-term wins on the way! If you’re genuinely interested in maintaining a relationship with that company, there are plenty of ways to partner with them moving forward.

Maybe you weren’t the best fit for a full-time position, but the company would hire you as a Contractor in a heartbeat. That’s something you could proactively propose as an option up-front. Additionally, Seer’s People Team is frequently asked to refer strong digital talent to our partner agencies, clients, and former colleagues. 

In conclusion, getting rejected by a company can be discouraging, but it shouldn’t be your demise. If you’d like to be considered for future opportunities with that employer, it’s imperative to leave things on a positive note. If you’re patient and purposeful in your approach, you can easily resume the interview process with your dream-company.