Handling rejection

Rejection in Veterinary Medicine

Rejection is very common when becoming a veterinarian, and they may ask you a question relating to this. e.g. ‘If you get rejected from this school, what will your next steps be?’ They are looking for somebody with resilience who can handle rejection and will take it as a learning opportunity.

Acknowledging that rejection is normal in this career is important. Whether it's rejection in the form of a disappointing assessment result, not getting into the veterinary school you wanted to or even not getting the role you wanted in a vet clinic later in life. You want to demonstrate realism and that you are not expecting yourself to be perfect.

In an interview, you could start with something like, ‘I understand that rejection in veterinary medicine is a natural and I am likely to have to face this at some point…’

Recognising Emotions and Moving Forward

Feeling disappointed is normal, and this should be expressed; they are not expecting you to be a robot with no feelings. However, once you have processed the situation, they are interested in how you act afterwards. Shifting your focus and not dwelling on the situation is important; you want to be able to move forward and learn from your mistakes.

Example – ‘When handling rejection, I often feel initially disappointed, and I know that this is a normal feeling to have; however, I understand that dwelling on the situation is not going to help the situation. Instead, I shift my focus onto learning from my mistakes and moving forward into thinking about what I can improve next time.’

Constructive Actions After Rejection

As well as processing your feelings and moving forward, they want to know what you actively do to handle rejection. Moving constructively allows you to understand where you went wrong. This may come in the form of:

Reflection
Asking for feedback
Trying again
Understanding where you went wrong
Making a plan for improvement
Additional research

Example – ‘When facing rejection, I reflect on the mistakes I made and seek feedback if I can, then I can figure out a plan for moving forward. I find having a plan really helpful as it helps me to consolidate my thoughts, and it means I can follow it step by step to keep me feeling motivated.’

Using Personal Experience

You may want to include a brief example of when you have handled rejection before, and using the steps above, outline how you face this emotionally and practically. This shows that you have put these steps into practice before.

Final Message

End your answer by emphasising how rejection can fuel your growth and that this course requires constant growth, ultimately shaping you into the best veterinarian that you can be.