Second post in my blog grad diary!
So last week I had my first ever graduate interview for the role as a trainee psychological well-being practitioner - as a psychology graduate trying to get her foot in the door of a mental health career this is a pretty incredible opportunity as it involves studying and working at the same time to be a qualified low intensity therapist after one year whilst being paid and trained on the job!
Also the company is commissioned by the NHS to deliver interventions and treatment as part of the IAPT service, was an excellent organisation for mental health care and the role sounded perfect for me - a big focus on providing holistic care and support to individuals requiring low intensity interventions focusing on well-being and so on. So I was pretty excited - and damn proud to be honest - to even have an interview for this role! Anyone who knows these roles know they are incredibly hard to come by and soooo competitive. I found out after my interview that there were 280 applications and less than 20 people were shortlisted and all for just one position... pretty crazy to have been shortlisted less than a week off the back of graduating!
With the title of this post I gather you have already figured out that unfortunately I wasn't successful. Of course I was pretty devastated because it is such a dream role for a recent psychology graduate, and as I said, the role, and the organisation, was so perfect for me. But in all honesty, it was a long shot and there's still so many positives and lessons to be taken from this rejection. I had a little bit of a down moment and felt a little bit lost but decided to look on the positive side of things and made a list of all the good things that came out of this rejection!
1. It was my first ever job interview for an actual graduate job! As much as I prepared for this interview (4 days preparation because I am that type of person), I was always going to be rusty on my first attempt. I handled myself well, prepared well, had an experience and came out with good feedback so need to stop dwelling on it and let it fuel me for the next one!
2. I got shortlisted from 280 applicants in my first job attempt... my application must have been alright I guess! And my skills and experiences that I've gained over the years are clearly putting me in the right direction. This is a highly competitive world (let alone a highly competitive profession) and just getting shortlisted is a big personal win in itself!
3. I got excellent feedback from the interview panel which made me feel a little bit better about the rejection because I realised that I wasn't completely disregarded as a potential employee for the role and that I did well in my first interview. Again, another big personal win.
4. I now have the experience of what a graduate interview is like and some feedback and comments to help me prepare for the next one and not make the same mistakes. That can only mean that my next interview will be just as good as/better than this one.
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So there's lot to take from a job rejection especially if it's your first. Anyone else who is finding it hard to deal with job rejection, hopefully you have read this post and can realise that there is always a happy side to the situation and although it sucks at first just remember these things as I did - it is a competitive world, you already won by being shortlisted, interview experience is as valuable and exciting as actually getting the role, and this experience will only make you more skilled and motivated for your next one! Keep going, give yourself a mental high five and a pat on the back, smile, be fabulous, have a coffee and apply for another job.
Anyone wanting some tips on preparing for a job interview watch out for another post on how I prepared for my first interview and my top 5 tips for interviews! And anyone who maybe wants some more specific advice on what is to be expected for a trainee PWP interview get in contact (visit the "contact me" page on my blog) and I'll do my best to give useful advice!
P x
So last week I had my first ever graduate interview for the role as a trainee psychological well-being practitioner - as a psychology graduate trying to get her foot in the door of a mental health career this is a pretty incredible opportunity as it involves studying and working at the same time to be a qualified low intensity therapist after one year whilst being paid and trained on the job!
Also the company is commissioned by the NHS to deliver interventions and treatment as part of the IAPT service, was an excellent organisation for mental health care and the role sounded perfect for me - a big focus on providing holistic care and support to individuals requiring low intensity interventions focusing on well-being and so on. So I was pretty excited - and damn proud to be honest - to even have an interview for this role! Anyone who knows these roles know they are incredibly hard to come by and soooo competitive. I found out after my interview that there were 280 applications and less than 20 people were shortlisted and all for just one position... pretty crazy to have been shortlisted less than a week off the back of graduating!
With the title of this post I gather you have already figured out that unfortunately I wasn't successful. Of course I was pretty devastated because it is such a dream role for a recent psychology graduate, and as I said, the role, and the organisation, was so perfect for me. But in all honesty, it was a long shot and there's still so many positives and lessons to be taken from this rejection. I had a little bit of a down moment and felt a little bit lost but decided to look on the positive side of things and made a list of all the good things that came out of this rejection!
1. It was my first ever job interview for an actual graduate job! As much as I prepared for this interview (4 days preparation because I am that type of person), I was always going to be rusty on my first attempt. I handled myself well, prepared well, had an experience and came out with good feedback so need to stop dwelling on it and let it fuel me for the next one!
2. I got shortlisted from 280 applicants in my first job attempt... my application must have been alright I guess! And my skills and experiences that I've gained over the years are clearly putting me in the right direction. This is a highly competitive world (let alone a highly competitive profession) and just getting shortlisted is a big personal win in itself!
3. I got excellent feedback from the interview panel which made me feel a little bit better about the rejection because I realised that I wasn't completely disregarded as a potential employee for the role and that I did well in my first interview. Again, another big personal win.
4. I now have the experience of what a graduate interview is like and some feedback and comments to help me prepare for the next one and not make the same mistakes. That can only mean that my next interview will be just as good as/better than this one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there's lot to take from a job rejection especially if it's your first. Anyone else who is finding it hard to deal with job rejection, hopefully you have read this post and can realise that there is always a happy side to the situation and although it sucks at first just remember these things as I did - it is a competitive world, you already won by being shortlisted, interview experience is as valuable and exciting as actually getting the role, and this experience will only make you more skilled and motivated for your next one! Keep going, give yourself a mental high five and a pat on the back, smile, be fabulous, have a coffee and apply for another job.
Anyone wanting some tips on preparing for a job interview watch out for another post on how I prepared for my first interview and my top 5 tips for interviews! And anyone who maybe wants some more specific advice on what is to be expected for a trainee PWP interview get in contact (visit the "contact me" page on my blog) and I'll do my best to give useful advice!
P x
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