Ghosting and Rejection: How to Persevere Through Your Job Search

When you’re searching for your next role, it can be incredibly discouraging to receive rejection letter after rejection letter, or not hear back from a company at all. This is becoming the new norm for candidates trying to stand out in a competitive job market. Persevering through this is easier said than done, but here are some tips for staying motivated until you finally get that job offer. 

Don’t Take It Personally

If you are rejected or ghosted after submitting your application, understand that this is happening to a lot of candidates, not just you. One report finds that 61 percent of jobseekers are being ghosted after completing an interview. That means that over half of people who complete an interview will never hear back from the company. If this happens to you, it isn’t a reflection of you as a candidate. 

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are now used by most employers to filter resumes. Reports have found that 75 percent of recruiters are using an ATS or other tools during the recruitment process. AI is also being used in the recruitment process to match candidates' cover letters and resumes to the job description requirements. What does this all mean? Your application is likely being rejected before a real human even looks at it. Technology is deciding that your materials don’t match up to the job description and restricting you from moving forward in the hiring process. Companies using this technology isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important for candidates to understand that their rejection likely doesn’t come from a real person. Knowing this will help you not take every negative outcome personally and allow you to keep pushing ahead. 

Reflect and Reassess

If rejection emails keep coming, or you are continuously not hearing back from employers, take some time to reflect on what might be going wrong. 

Start by looking at your resume. Since your resume is likely being screened by an ATS, ensure your resume is formatted properly and is ATS compatible. Since skills-based hiring is also on the rise, review the skills section of your resume and see if some adjustments should be made. This can look like tailoring your skills to specific job descriptions, or adding more AI skills to your resume. Periodically making adjustments to your resume can help you find what works best and is most likely to get you to the next hiring round. 

You also want to make edits to your cover letter. This can include adjustments that make your personality shine through in order to stand out from other applicants who may have an AI-generated cover letter. You’re more likely to be selected for the next round if the hiring manager thinks it was written by a real human and not AI. You also want to write your cover letter to best match the job you are applying for. Keep making tweaks until you find the version that sticks. 

Support System 

Persevering through rejections and ghosting requires you to take care of yourself. It’s stressful to not know where your next role is, especially if you are between jobs, but taking breaks and stepping away will benefit you in the long run. 

During your job search, lean into your support system and avoid isolating yourself. Take a break from sending in applications to join friends at dinner or spend a weekend with family. Reaching out to friends or peers who are in the same situation as you can also be helpful, as you aren’t alone in this. You can also do some mock interviews with friends to hone your interviewing skills. Declining to spend time with your loved ones will only add more stress, which won’t help the quality of your application materials at all. 

Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional help if needed as well. Unemployment and job search stress can hinder your overall wellbeing, especially if this is turning out to be a long process. Seeing a therapist or counselor can help you navigate through these feelings and any rejection emails that you get. 

At the end of the day, you can’t control whether an ATS is going to reject your resume or if a hiring manager is going to ghost you after an interview. But you can control the quality of your application and how you take care of yourself.