What to Expect When Rejecting

Throughout life we all face rejection. Knowing that everyone faces rejection may bring a small sense of comfort.

Whether you are in a Sales-focused role, chasing a big lead just to get the predictable “no”; a Digital Marketer pitching a campaign idea and hearing “mm…. this is not what we had in mind” from your client; or the hopeful ‘single’ shooting for the moon, just to land back at the start; rejection happens to everyone.

However, in Recruitment, one faces rejection left, right, and centre. Many experience one rejection at a time. As a recruiter, you likely will – given the tough reality of the recruitment world – face three different types of rejection at the same time.

Who will reject you?:

In Recruitment one deals with three types of people outside of your company – clients, candidates and prospects.

Clients are companies that you and your company work with. They can be brand new to the market, and waiting eagerly on the perfect CV to set up interviews and finalise the hiring process or long-standing relationships built on delivery and trust.

Candidates are the most remarkable people in the working world – those who are busy building their personal and future careers.

Prospects are the potential clients you may sell your services to, to assist them in finding the right person to join their team.

Individuals in these groups will reject you throughout your time in recruitment; some in surprising ways, and some in more expected ways:

1. Clients could go quiet after promising discussions; this is known as “ghosting” – the dreaded word in recruitment.
2. Clients may end up selecting another agency to work with or already have a preferred Recruiter on their personal speed dial. The Client may even put a role on hold out of nowhere, despite saying the role was “Super urgent” or “We NEED someone to start yesterday”.
3. Candidates may either not be interested in the role currently offered or may not be looking to make a move at the time. However, they could be over the moon with the offer and are on the verge of accepting when their current company swoops in last minute with a counteroffer that the candidate accepts, even though the offered role was “the role they have been dreaming of”.
4. Worst of all, and without a word of warning, candidates could do the unimaginable: not show up on their first day of work.
5. Prospects may literally put the phone down on you, say no before you have even pitched, swear at you, or simply not be interested.

Gatekeepers are Prospects’ best friend, and are another hurdle between you and your next deal.

How to live with all the “no’s”?:

The way in which Recruiters handle rejection has no simple answer. The variety of rejections, inevitably faced, seem to be endless. However, it may help to identify approaches to bear the weight of all the “no’s”.

Resilience. Standing tall in the face of rejection can sometimes feel like you have been cast in the role of “Sisyphus”, with a twist.

Constantly pushing uphill, only to be knocked down by rejection or have your feet pushed out from underneath you just before the peak – watching a sale or placement slip away as the summit feels even farther.

Fortunately for you though, recruitment is not just one mountain; it is an entire mountain range and although you slipped on one peak, there are plenty more to be climbed.

Resilience requires one to take in the view from the previous wins. It is not solely about continuously winning – it is about recovery and sustainability too.

Resilience, in its broadest sense, is the ability to adapt successfully to difficult or challenging experiences. So, try to focus on self-care, internally normalise and become accustomed to rejections, and do not take them to heart. 

Adapt, improvise and overcome.

Perseverance and persistence go a long way too. Keep on moving forward through commitment to the goal, despite the hurdles. Recruitment is about the long game – you are not placing each individual in the world within a week.

Deals will come and go, bringing both great commissions and disappointing counteroffers. The world of recruitment is a rollercoaster like no other. Continuously moving forward, learning as you go and facing all the types of rejections will allow you to inevitably become a better recruiter.

Learning to take time for yourself is crucial when dealing with rejection. It is difficult to disconnect or separate yourself from work. Work can creep into your dreams in the form of nightmares, pop into your mind while you’re in line at the store or distract you during your favourite show as you worry about emails sent or unanswered.

As a working professional, work takes up a lot of personal mental effort. Having the ability to switch off works wonders for your mental state. Recruitment is a fine balance of bouncing back versus burning out.

Rejection often feels personal because you are emotionally invested in the outcomes for yourself, your candidate and your client. Taking time to step away from the crappy “no” will assist you in approaching rejection with the right attitude.

 

So, it’s a “no”?:

Rejections will come at you from every direction as a recruiter. However, alongside those rejections are the fantastic life changing wins that – like the rejections – can come from every direction.

It is easy to focus on the negatives but rather deal with the negatives instead of dwelling on them. After all, every “no” is closer to a “yes”.