After your interview

How to handle job offers, manage rejection and learn from the interview experience.

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Taking stock

Allow yourself some time to relax and wind down after the interview but take a few moments to consider how it went. Are there particular things you found challenging and need to work on?

Even if you feel it went well (and later receive a job offer), you can still learn from the process and improve future performance.

  • Note down the questions you were asked i.e., competency, strengths-based, hypothetical.
    • Keep a record of these as similar questions could crop up in future interviews. 
  • What went well? Which questions did you feel most confident about?
    • Did you answer a tricky question particularly well; keep this in mind for future reference!
  • What didn’t go well?
    • Had you prepared sufficiently; did you research the role, organisation and sector adequately?
    • Did you have good solid examples to illustrate your skills and experience?
  • Were there any surprising or unexpected questions?
    • How did you respond? Were you able to think on your feet?
    • In retrospect, could you have anticipated the question(s)?

If you’re unsure and would like to talk through your interview experience and technique, you can book an appointment, via MyCareerHub. Use the "Talk to us" tab and select the “Discuss my career (up to 30 minutes)” option:

Book an appointment (University of Edinburgh login required)

If you are offered the job 

Congratulations! Now you can decide whether to accept or politely decline.

How should you accept or decline a job offer?  What factors should you consider before you accept or decline? This article might help: 

Questions to ask yourself before accepting a job (University of Edinburgh login required)

If you are not offered the job  

You will experience rejection at some point during your professional life but how you handle it can make all the difference. It will feel disappointing but try not to exaggerate the significance. Perhaps you interviewed well but narrowly lost out to a candidate with more experience or who was a better fit. Equally be honest with yourself about your performance throughout the process – maybe you didn’t quite do yourself justice and can improve for next time.

It's understandable to feel disheartened, but don't give up. Persevere! Ask for employer feedback to identify areas for development. You may not agree with all of it but remain polite and take on board the constructive comments. There’s always a chance you might be successful next time.

This article provides advice on how to request feedback after rejection:

targetjobs - Been rejected after a graduate job interview? Here's how to get feedback

Getting yourself back out there and not giving up demonstrates resilience. Resilience, or the ability to bounce back from a setback, is a valuable life skill. Employers tell us they look for evidence of this in their graduate recruits – take the opportunity to develop your resilience. Read this article for further advice:

How to improve your resilience (University of Edinburgh login required)

If you’re unsure and would like to talk through your interview experience and technique, you can book an appointment, via MyCareerHub. Use the "Talk to us" tab and select the “Discuss my career (up to 30 minutes)” option:

Book an appointment (University of Edinburgh login required)