After your interview

Advice about handling job offers and dealing with rejection, as well the benefits of reflecting on your interview experience.

Reflect on your experience

As well as allowing yourself some time to relax and wind down after the interview, take a few moments to consider how it went and what you can learn from your experience.   

Note down the questions you were asked and keep a record of these for future interviews. 

Consider the following questions: 

  • What went well? Which questions did you feel most confident about? 
  • What didn’t go well?  
  • Were there any surprising or unexpected questions?  
  • Are there particular things you found challenging and need to work on? 
  • Did you feel you were sufficiently prepared? Did you research the role, organisation and sector adequately? 
  • If you were to have the interview experience again, is there anything you would do differently?  

If you are offered the job

Congratulations! Now you can decide whether to accept or politely decline.  There are many factors to consider when deciding how to respond to a job offer.  

Along with the advice below, the following article from Targetjobs answers many common questions regarding job offer etiquette: 

Job offers may be presented to you verbally, by telephone or in person. You should always request the offer in writing, with clear confirmation of the terms and conditions. This information should include:   

  • employer’s name   
  • job title or a description of work and start date   
  • salary and benefits (e.g. pension, annual leave) 
  • hours of work   
  • working location  

It is worth bearing in mind that as a recent graduate you may have limited scope to bargain in the UK job market. Many of the large graduate recruiters will issue standard terms and you should not necessarily expect to (re)negotiate, e.g. salary. 

Don’t feel compelled to make an instant decision. It can be difficult to make a decision about a job there and then, especially if you are still awaiting a response from another employer.  


If you wish to accept the offer, you should do so fairly promptly. It is perfectly reasonable to accept verbally on condition of receiving a written offer. 

Keep a record of the letter or email, along with the written offer from the employer, as this forms the basis of your employment contract. More information about employment contracts can be found on GOV.UK and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) websites.   

       GOV.UK 

       ACAS 

Once you have accepted a job offer, we strongly advise you to withdraw any outstanding applications with other organisations, explaining that you have accepted another position and thanking them for their consideration. Leaving on good terms and behaving in an ethical and professional manner should allow you to consider future opportunities with the same organisation. 

If you have questions about an employment contract, contact the University’s Advice Place for independent and confidential advice: 


At the start of your professional career there will be little - or no - room for negotiation. For many jobs, particularly large graduate recruiters, the starting salary is fixed with minimal room for negotiation. 

Where there is scope to re-negotiate terms, you should be realistic and aim to compromise. Conduct yourself professionally at all times and respect the employer’s final decision. 

While some employers may not be able to vary salary levels, they may be able to offer you other benefits, e.g. additional training (towards professional qualifications) or performance-related bonuses. 

If you’re being asked by an employer to indicate your salary expectation, it’s a good idea to specify a range. Do your research - you need to try and establish the salary range for comparable roles. Always take into account the geographical location; for example, jobs in London command higher salaries due to the cost of living (often referred to as ‘London weighting’). 

The Prospects website provides job profiles with typical starting salary ranges: 

Glassdoor provides salary information for related job titles: 

 


If you are fortunate enough to be in this position, then you will want to weigh up the pros and cons before making a final decision. There is no magic formula for reaching a decision, and you need to consider your priorities and preferences. 

Make a list of the ideal job criteria used when you began your job search. Review the criteria and rank them in terms of (1) essential (2) desirable and (3) bonuses.    

Apply the criteria to the job offer(s) received and evaluate how well it meets the ranked criteria. Does the role meet most of your requirements or are one or two essential criteria not met? It is also important to think about the long-term prospects of the job, such as whether progression within the company will allow for other criteria to be met in the near future. However, it is important that YOU make the decision and try to resist being influenced by others. They may have a different perspective and differing priorities. 

You are likely to have had a chance to meet individuals from the company and find out more about the role – did you get a feel for the culture and environment? If your interview was conducted remotely and you have yet to meet any of the team members, ask if you can arrange an informal visit. 

Bear in mind you may be choosing between two strong job offers and both could set you on the right career path. In this situation, it may come down to your ‘gut feeling’ - what seems the right decision at this moment. 


A verbal offer and acceptance can be enough to form a binding contract of employment. If you change your mind the employer could technically:   

  • make you work out any contractual element of their notice.   
  • sue you for breach of contract.   

This is very unlikely to happen in practice. They won't be pleased but would prefer you to withdraw before starting work and resigning soon after. You should contact them as soon as possible, apologising and explaining why you have changed your mind. This gives them the opportunity to contact other candidates who may have been in reserve.  

Withdrawing from the contract at a late stage will give recruiters a bad impression and make you appear unprofessional. This could have serious implications for your future career prospects particularly if you work in a small or niche industry where employers know each other. 

Be up-front and honest. Ask for a period of time to consider the role and explain that you are waiting to hear back from another employer, before making your decision.    


If you are not offered the job

You will experience rejection at some point during your professional life and how you respond to it will make all the difference. It will feel disappointing but it is important to put it into context.  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: 

Staying positive and building resilience in your job search

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.  Give yourself time to reflect on your interview experience and the positives that you can take from it - getting to the interview stage is an achievement regardless of the outcome.