Job rejection depression

Hello World!

Over the past 2 weeks, I have gone through 3 job rejections for a junior/entry-level developer in all cases going through to the final round but not receiving an offer. It is beginning to take a toll on my confidence in my abilities as a developer. Anyone who has gone through such a phase or could help with some advice and how I can improve in such situations will be greatly appreciated.

Comments

[Balamurugan]

Hello Lloyd,

I have been in a similar situation in the past , I have been working in a testing background and recently moved to development and I started finding job once after I quit ( I thought it’s a bad decision at first ) . I must have failed atleast 15+ times and it had shattered my confidence every time . One thing I made myself clear is I shouldn’t give up and I took some time to evaluate myself out of every interview , questions asked , what response I gave , what I should have done , areas I lack confidence . I started working on the areas and questions which I couldn’t answer , went back to basics and over time I gradually cleared first round of interviews . I was able to realise the questions across various companies started repeating and I started getting better . At the end , I had 4 offers in hand and picked the one I liked the most .

Don’t give up !
Concentrate on your areas of improvement!
If possible record your calls and listen where you did mistake
Get feedback from recruiters / companies why they rejected you

All the best !

Bala

[Lloyd]

Thanks Bala

[Steve Cruz]

It's great to see you are in a better place now!

[Vishwa Mehta]

Hey Lloyd!

First of all, sending you lots of positivity. ✨ I can relate to how you're feeling to a great extent.

Since graduating last year, I started looking for my first full-time job and applying for DevRel roles. It took me almost 3 months to get my first offer (which I had to decline with a heavy heart because it didn't align well with my expectations unfortunately) and 6 months to land my first job!
In the course of those 6 months I got several rejections, most of which I received after the last round of interviews. It would break me after each rejection and getting back up to apply to a new position would take everything in me. It was exhausting me mentally but I decided to not give up.

Here are a few things that helped me and I hope you can find this helpful too:

• Allow yourself some time to recharge and gather feedback after a long and tiring round of interviews. It became increasingly important to me to take much needed breaks after rejections.
• Learn from the previous interviews. There is always a flip side to everything and trying to draw useful insights from hiring decisions can significantly improve your performance in the next one.
• Ask for feedback after rejections. Ask them for areas of improvements you could work on. Personal development is something we need to be highly invested in as developers.
• Don't take it too personally. Sometimes it's not about your abilities or how good of a developer you are. From my experience, I've realised that external factors like location, relocation budget, etc can be a reason for the rejection.
• Strike a balance between the number of applications and the quality of your applications.

And last but not the least, don't be too hard on yourself. Focus on learning, embrace your journey, and keep giving your best! Your commitment will definitely yield results and you'll be glad you didn't give up. :)

For tips on preparing for interviews, you should check out Candidate Planet on YouTube by Lusen Mendel. Their advice was super helpful to me and I'm sure it will help you too!

All the best! 💜

[Lloyd]

Thanks for the advice Vishwa :)

[Vishwa Mehta]

Feel free to reach out to me, my DMs on Twitter are open. Happy to help in any way I can! :)

[Alexandr Vlasenko]

man just don't take it too seriously.
the fact that you haven't passed is just the fact that somebody has sold himself a bit better, it's a market.
it does not mean that you are a bed dev, just keep going, maybe rejected positions lead you to the best one.
I have got 5-7 rejected vacancies last 3 months, but I have found a new way - freelance.
I'm really happy to have such an experience and I'm free of that all corporate stuff.

[🦄N B🛡]

Only 3?

But seriously, remember that interviewing is a skill. And the more you do it, the more you get better at it.

Through meticulous research, we at B-Labs (pronounced "blabz") have calculated that your interview-fu level is the natural log of the number of failed interviews you have had, plus log2 of the number of successful interviews, multiplied by a factor based on the number of standard deviations the salary offered is from the median in your country.

That puts you at a nominal 1.09861228867, only another 6 interviews to go until you reach level 2. Keep leveling up, and perhaps you'll get to a level on par with most of the rest of us ex-rejects.

[Nicol Acosta]

Don't let take down, i'm a senior developer and looking for a new opportunity since 10 months ago and the rejections it's something that exists and you need take strength from them to improve your abilities and take the next opportunity.
2 months ago a company gives me an offer and in the last day in my current job they tell me because the coronavirus quarantine they cant receive me and you cant just decline in all and deep in depression, is no time for that.
Last week the same happen again and again its no time for that

[JoeK]

Hi Lloyd,

It's totally common in the industry and I personally have been rejected many times from interview or other applications process.

In the beginning of the career it might feels like a huge disappointment and discouragement.
The key is don't give up and don't take it too personally
You will realize these are just a nano impediments across your life.
Look and think about at the bigger picture.

What is it you want to achieve in your life/career ?
Why do you want the job so badly ?
What has driven you into the software industry and want to become a developer ?
Any new project and ideas you can build on your own as learning opportunity ?

[kamilliano]

Think of rejections like all the iterations when you are writing your programs. Do you get things right the first time? I don't. Try to get feedback each time and improve. I have been through a lot of rejections myself but I view the situation as a two way street, if they didn't want me then probably it would not work out for me either. Fingers crossed.

[Swastik Baranwal]

Man, don't be sad. It happens with everyone. I hope you get a job in these days only!

Good Luck!

[Shreyansh Panchal]

Hi lloyd.
What's your stack?

[Lloyd]

Hi Shreyansh.

It is mostly .Net

[Vinay Hegde]

This reply is priceless! Most won't but there are few considerate recruiters who give useful, actionable feedback should one ask them politely. Majority will retort with excuses like employer confidentiality, generic rejection messages or worst case, no reply whatsoever.

Been in your exact shoes ~2 years ago Lloyd, so I personally can relate to the agony. Rejections are hard (no matter their number) but it's something you'd need to accept as a bitter truth. The sooner, the better otherwise it'll take a toll on your psyche like you've said.

Adding onto the insights here, I'd recommend keep on learning new things you find interesting & relevant to your career (1 at a time, though) & pace yourselves while applying.

PS: Hang onto your belief just a while more, a miracle is always around the corner.