It might have taken a lot of time to get here, but it is here. You are finally at mission 9, the last mission in the CNC2018 Get a Job challenge. This mission is all about the two outcomes you will encounter during the job search process.

The homework for this mission had job participants share how the job search process was going for them. Participants could post in the CNC2018 Get a Job Facebook group or on social media using the #CNC2018 hashtag. This week Code Newbie posted celebration GIFs for any participants who received any offers.

You can post your homework for this mission in the comments section of this post. We can celebrate any offers in the comments section. Don’t be afraid to use the comments as a place to get extra advice or extra help with the job search.

This mission will be split into two parts to focus on each outcome of the job search process. Today's post is part one and focuses on dealing with rejection and what participants need to do when they get rejected during any part of the job search process.

Rejection stinks.

All kinds of rejection is tough for everyone. It is especially tough when you are looking for a job. While this challenge was released in 2018, today in 2025 finding a job is an extra challenge and rejections hit even harder for job applicants since there isn't just the standard rejection email.

Ghosting has become a new kind of rejection job applicants are dealing with as they look for work. Despite how rough the job market is right now, it just shows everyone gets rejection emails from new developers trying to find their first job to experienced developers trying to find their next role. Everyone experiences rejection so you are in good company.

Code Newbie reminds participants that they aren't alone. Rejections aren't fun, but they are part of the process. So that makes them normal along the path job seekers take to find work. To make rejection easier to deal with, Code Newbie put together a list of tips job seekers can use to help them when they find a rejection email in their inbox.

Tip 1: Do feel your feelings.

Code Newbie points out that the job search process is an emotional one and I have to agree. The posts people share on LinkedIn show a mix of different emotions. Rejection isn't easy and can even be the hardest part of the process.

The advice I often heard about rejection was to not take it personally and it wasn't a big deal. You shouldn't do this and Code Newbie agrees. They remind participants they don't want them to "shrug off" their feelings and instead acknowledge how they are feeling.

Self-care is the best medicine when it comes to rejection. So every job rejection is your cue to take care of yourself. You can use any of the self-care tips that have been featured in the Self Care Corner section in every CNC2018 Get a Job mission if you need some inspiration. Some other ways Code Newbie recommends:

• Cry it out.
• Call a friend and vent it out. Pick the friend who understands you are venting and are good listeners. Developers can use their rubber duckie if they do rubber duckie debugging to a vent session.
• Go to the gym and kick box it out. However, any workout applies here or just simply going out for a walk.

Tip 2: Do give yourself a reality check.

Getting rejected from a job can cause job seekers to think of the small picture. At these moments, you want to take a deep breath and remind yourself of the bigger picture. In this case, you want to think about the overall job search process.

Finding a job these days has been impacted by technology. The job market is tough (especially these days). There are hundreds of applicants wanting that job.

Only one person can get that job and depending on what job you want, there are several phases interviews need to go through to get it. So when you get rejected from a job, it is part of the process. Code Newbie reminds participants that it isn't about them because people can be awesome but there are factors outside of your control that decide who gets picked for a role.

While job advice encourages job seekers not to take it personally, reminding yourself of the bigger picture helps. When you get a job rejection, take some deep breaths. You can say an affirmation if you want. Code Newbie recommends the affirmation "It's not you, It's the process".

Finding a job is often seen as a numbers game and there's truth to this. Code Newbie tells participants to remind themselves that "no" is getting one step closer to the one "yes" you need. Saron (founder of Code Newbie) made a similar point saying that the job search isn't fun because there are going to be a lot more no's than there are yes's.

However, she told participants during one CNC2018 event that the one yes is what matters That one yes is what you need and that's going to matter more than any rejection. As I've gotten older, rejection has gotten easier because a "no" is a response. That means I can brush it off and focus on the next job I'm applying to.

Tip 3: Reflect on the job process

Reflection is a habit most job seekers get into when they get a rejection e-mail. This is where you look at the data from the entire experience to see where things might have gone wrong. You particularly want to look at the things you can control.

Good reflections focus more on the things you can control rather than the stuff factors you can't. You want to examine how the experience played out, what you did, and what could have been done better. Code Newbie suggests reaching out to your contact to get feedback on why they didn't pick you, but overall this is hard to do since job seekers don't often get a response or companies have issues giving feedback.

Your contact will be a much better choice for getting feedback. You can also ask them who did get the position then google that person later or look at their LinkedIn profile. You can look at their background and see if there were things that they might have done that you didn't do so you can see what you need to work on for the future.

Do you still have your interview notes? Review your notes to see if there is something you wrote down that you can use to help you get better results in the future. You can also use your notes to get more ideas for possible questions you can ask during coffee chats or connections on LinkedIn.

Remember there are lots of reasons why an employer picked one candidate over another so there's never going to be a clear answer. You will instead want to look for patterns because that will identify spots that you need to improve. Rejections are data points you can use to see what areas you are strong at and where you need to be better at.

Tip 4: Keep trying and get back to work.

This is where you dust yourself off and restart the process with a different job. This means building projects, networking, or learning new skills. Participants can use this rejection as a chance to revisit past missions in this challenge to help them review and improve on certain parts of the job search process. Most importantly keep applying and interviewing.

Self Care Corner

Normally Self Care Corner is in part two of the last few missions, but I'm moving this section to today's post since self-care is essential for dealing with rejection. This tip is all about your nighttime ritual. You want to use this tip to examine your nightly ritual you do now and think of ways to improve it so your body is ready for sleep so you can get to sleep quickly.

Tea is often seen as a self-care in a cup so tea drinkers might like to try a bedtime tea. Chamomile or a caffeine-free green tea are two favorite choices from Code Newbie, but you can pick any tea you would like. Lots of grocery stores have tea blends specific for bedtime so you can see what your local grocery store has to try. Just make sure you skip the extra sugar.

If you don't like tea, you can always try a body lotion or oil. You can uput a lavender body lotion on after a shower or rub some lavender essential oil on your wrists and temples. Code Newbie says that lavender has been proven to help people sleep better. You can also use a lavender candle if you don't have any lotion or oils.

You can also look for apps that can help you sleep. Apps like Calm can help people fall sleep gradually or you can listen to podcasts that are meant to help people fall asleep. But most importantly, you should make sure you turn off all screens 30 minutes before you go to sleep.