Why do I keep getting rejected?

I'm eighteen years old and am currently looking for a little part time job to save some money and get some more experience. I've done a lot of volunteer work such as working in a charity shop, helping out at a fashion show, promoting a charity, working in a pharmacy. I had a temporary job as a sales assistant at a prestigious retail store and am qualified in a few types of first aid. I have decent GCSE grades and good AS grades (AAAB) as well as being able to speak French to a good standard.

Before I got my first job, I was applying for jobs for over a year and was rejected from six interviews. I understand why I was rejected from those jobs as I was just learning about interviews and had very little, and in some cases, no experience to talk about at all. Three interviews out of those were group interviews and I was always the youngest person and always the one who had never had a job before, so I completely understand what I was rejected from those interviews.

Since leaving my last job three months ago, I've applied for around twenty jobs and have heard back from six. I had to turn down one of the interviews, and ended up being rejected from the other five after interview. My first two interviews were in pharmacies and they soon noticed that I was actually going to university to study pharmacy in September - in one, I actually ended up having a conversation with the pharmacist about pharmacy. My third interview was in a retail store and was a panel interview, they were seemed impressed by my answers but made some comments about me going to university. My fourth was in another retail store, she said that I had done the exact same job and had loads of customer service experience and we ended up having a good conversation about retail but she then spent the rest of the interview talking about me going to university and I noticed there was a huge question mark on my CV next to my education and she wrote something on my application about it. I got feedback after the interview and she said my answers were excellent but I didn't believe in myself or something. My last interview went really well and she knew some of the people who I used to work with but again I got rejected.

I really don't understand why I keep getting rejections. I always dress smart, turn up on time and am very polite. I always research the company and read the requirements of the role before I go into the interview and I've even started asking more questions about the company and the role in the interview. I'd say I'm confident and always keep good eye contact and use hand gestures and try to make the interviewer laugh. I even had a mock interview at college which I was told was excellent. My friends and family seem to think it's either because I'm going to university, which is understandable, or because I'm too 'qualified'. This whole interview rejection thing is really getting me down because I really do put so much effort into each interview and keep getting rejected. It's really getting me down because I've started to believe that there's something seriously wrong with me and that I'll never be good enough.

The most frustrating part is that for my first job I had to have three challenging interviews and was narrowed down for a position out of hundreds and I got an offer for all my university interviews which we were a lot harder than a retail interview. Any advice would be really appreciated because this whole interview thing is really getting me down and it's gotten to the point where I've convinced myself that there's something wrong with me. I also really need to earn some money for my accommodation deposit, so that's another reason why this is getting to me. :frown:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

MovesLikeAgger

I have the same problem as you. I have tons of experience (at only 16) and I have excellent GCSE Grades but I keep getting rejected... before the actual interview.

Reply 2

Tokyoround

It's competitive, keep searching. Ask your friends and family too, make sure everybody knows you are looking for a job so that if they see anything they think of you.

Why do I keep getting rejected?

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