Unemployed And Feeling Bitter?

Bitterness is a personal characteristic which most people don’t find attractive in others. It’s evident in the sneer or scowl, a smirk, the tight lips set in a smile of sarcasm. Bitterness is also one of the least desired qualities for anyone in the position of choosing applicants to extend job offers to.

While you’ve every right to feel what you feel, it’s equally true that employer’s have the right to choose the applicants they feel will add rather than detract from the chemistry and culture they wish to establish and maintain in the workplace. It’s hard to imagine any organization going out of their way to hire bitter people. Would you agree?

So yes, while I acknowledge your entitlement to feel bitter if you so choose about what’s happened in your past, it seems only logical to me that if you want to impress someone enough to have them welcome you onboard, you’d best either lose the bitterness or at the very least, conceal it.

Now if I were working closely with you and found you gave off this air of bitterness, I’d point it out. Further, I’d share with you what exactly it is you’re doing that I’m observing and interpreting as signs of bitterness. For only if you’re aware of this and you’ve some awareness of what it is that sends this message to others have you the chance to do something about it if you choose to do so. This is an important thing for anyone who works with a job seeker to do. So if you should enlist the services of a professional to help you out with your job search, let me suggest you extend permission so you’ll get honest feedback. What you do with that feedback is up to you, but allowing them to share has to be on the table.

Honestly, there are some professionals who are loathe to be entirely honest with the people they work with. It’s fine of course when there’s positives to comment on, but when there’s something unattractive and personal, not everyone is comfortable sharing their observation. This becomes what people call the elephant in the room; whatever it is, well it’s big enough everyone can see it but no one wants to acknowledge and talk about it. This can be out of a fear of confrontation, fearing an argument. It can be for fear of hurting the person’s feelings, not wanting to make them feel worse than they already do.

Here’s the thing though; whatever it is – in this case observable bitterness – it’s plainly visible, it’s a job search barrier, and until it gets addressed, it remains an obstacle to getting hired.

Have you ever heard the expression, ‘one bad apple can spoil the bunch’? This nicely sums up exactly why employer’s are fairly united in steering clear of bringing any new employee into their workforce who carries overt bitterness with them. Why would they want to introduce this person with a chip on their shoulder to a group of positive and productive employees? The fear that this one person might taint one or more (maybe everyone?) is too great to risk. The chance that the whole positive group might turn this bitter person around isn’t worth it. So it is that virtually all employer’s would rather settle on the person who will come in with a positive attitude, as demonstrated by the smile on their face.

Consider however this likely truth: You’re bitter because you’re getting nowhere with your job search; no calls, no interviews – well there was that one – but it went nowhere. It’s been some time and you’re disillusioned. Your optimism departed long ago and now you’re expecting the rejection that ultimately comes. With this belief, your body language and facial expressions reflect this prevailing mood. When you meet potential employer’s, it takes a lot of energy and mental focus to keep your predetermined presumption of failure to yourself. Over the course of a 30 – 60 minute interview, while your thoughts move from question to question and coming up with answers, your focus on concealing what has become your natural bitterness slips once – maybe twice. Those visual clues are likely to get picked up and send off warning signals to the interviewer. “Something isn’t right with this applicant…intuition…the experience of having interviewed many in the past…there’s just this something I caught briefly in a look…”

While you haven’t had any previous dealings with the person interviewing you now, your pent up bitterness from past experiences is nonetheless coming out and on display. The interviewer works under one assumption every time; this is you at your best. Well, if you’re at your best and your bitterness is on display, they can only imagine what it will be like when you’re hired and working there as your, ‘normal self’. It’s likely to be magnified and worse.

If you don’t care of course and want to showcase your bitterness that’s your call. Be prepared for a lot of rejection and as a consequence you’ll have many more reasons to justify your bitterness. Entirely your call. But that’s the thing isn’t it? It’s within your control, you’re the one in charge of how you feel and you’re the one – the only one I’ll add – with the power to change how you feel and how you come across – if you so choose.

It might make you feel better to blame others but ongoing bitterness is a choice you make.

“Sorry, We’re Going With Another Applicant”

The call you’ve been waiting for finally came; the news you received however is not what you were hoping for. Another rejection to add to your growing list of rejections. This is one you’d really wanted too, which is why it hits a little harder and hurts a little more than some of the others.

It’s tough on your self-esteem though I admit. When you saw the number on your phone you lit up, answered with great optimism and had a smile on your face. As you heard the decision hadn’t gone your way, you moved from giddy anticipation to surprised disappointment. Like all setbacks, it’s not the setback itself but rather how you react to it that is going to define what you do now and whether you move further from or closer to your goal of finding employment.

First of all, I want to point out and commend you for one very important thing. The job you were competing for was a good one to go after; the hurt you’re feeling is indicative of the passion you felt for the possibility of working in the role. Had you felt nothing whatsoever in being rejected, I’d question how much you really wanted it in the first place. So the level of sting you’re feeling now is one good indicator of whether this job, or one similar to it is right for you.

Okay so now what to do. First of all, let me suggest you dash off a quick letter to the organization you just heard the bad news from. In this brief letter, share your disappointment at having heard the news and state your ongoing determination to compete once again when this or a position of a similar nature becomes available. Although you may not get a response, it’s professional and says a lot about your determination to move ahead beyond this setback if you also ask for suggestions on how to improve your chances in a future competition.

Why bother with such a letter when the job is lost? Simple really. Most if not all of your competitors will move on without any further contact. It would seem like a waste of time and energy, not to mention the cost of a stamp and stationery. This is precisely why you should pen one. With only 1% of people writing a letter of rejection, you stand out. So if another position opens up or the hired candidate doesn’t last long, they might just get back to you in a month or two and offer you the job if you still want it. Your character you see, came out in that letter.

With that letter sent, by all means it’s time now to turn to other opportunities. If you feel bitter and extreme frustration though, take the rest of the day you get the news off entirely. Scrap the job search for this single day and do other things you’d rather like read, go for a walk, soak in the tub, visit your son or daughter, work on a hobby or go window-shopping. You might even want to share the news with someone who will listen. Whatever you do to gain some broader perspective is good. The darkness of this evening will be replaced by the light of tomorrow’s dawn, the world will go on and you’ll go along with it.

This is a test of your ability to create a positive attitude which is needed to experience success. Your attitude is your responsibility alone. I know, I know, you didn’t want to hear that. You’d rather have had a sympathetic ear so you could commiserate with me and have me say things like, “oh you poor thing”, or “wow, you’ve got every right to just chuck the whole get-a-job thing.” Sorry to disappoint. Empathy I’ve got in abundance for you of course, but now it’s time to refocus.

You owe it to yourself you see. Those other jobs you applied to may just call with requests for interviews or the good news of a job offer. You don’t want your voice to showcase resigned apathy or profound ambivalence. You’ve got to respect yourself because the momentum you’ve built towards your goal needs constant attention. You’ve moved forward and come further than you were when you first made the decision to look for work. Don’t hurt your future chances by stopping now.

At any one time in your job search, you should have some organizations you’re waiting to hear from, some applications in the process of being readied to submit and an eye on new jobs and positions that you don’t want to miss. Interspersed among these should be some regular expressions of thanks to those helping you along, such as your references or supporters and networking both online and in-person. This balanced approach to your job search keeps you fresh and energized; active and engaged. Just sitting in front of a computer monitor day in and day out is a rough and isolating way to spend the hours you need to be successful.

I speak from experience my reader. Like you, I’ve had times in my life when I’ve been hunting down a job and it’s taxing times; filled with highs and lows. I do appreciate the disappointments are hard to take and keep coming back strong with a determined attitude. Ultimately though, no other approach has ever worked.

“You’re Not What We Want. Next!”

Rats! Rejected again. Whether it’s your dream job or a survival job, that rejection can sting; especially if you’re hearing, “Sorry”, just a little bit too often.

Now there are many reasons why you might not be what a company is looking for. Not all rejections should be seen as negative. Some are beyond your control, and surprisingly, some of those rejections might just be the best thing that could have happened to you if you are smart enough to think about the reasons behind the rejection.

Suppose for example you are up for a job as an actor in a play. You prepare for your audition and it goes extremely well, but you don’t land the part. Until the Director cast the leading characters, they couldn’t determine the supporting cast, and that being done, you’re just too tall for the part. That news is no reflection on your acting, dancing or singing skills; they just don’t want the person playing the younger brother to be taller than the older brother. While that happens in real life all the time, on the stage they want the oldest to be tallest as viewed by the audience.

The above example is one where although the outcome is disappointing, again it’s no reflection on your skill or performance. Pick up your ego with your 8″ x 10″ photo’s and move on. What’s important for your mental stability is to know you auditioned (or interviewed for the part) having prepared and given it your best.

A second situation where you can re-frame rejection into a positive is when you apply for a job you ultimately don’t get, but it would have been a bad personal fit. Suppose you are a Civil Engineer, complete with degree and working on a Masters. That phone call you just got saying you are far too qualified to work at the café might have been a blessing in disguise. Who knows…you could have successfully worked there for the next few years and all the while your up-to-date skills aged with every espresso you frothed. By the time you got serious about applying for a job in your educational field, you’d be old news and then really frustrated!

And that’s one of the pitfalls of applying for numerous jobs when you feel like, “I just need to work!” It’s a real Catch-22. I mean, you start broadening out in your mind the kind of work you will apply for, and run the risk of expanding too fast and lose all your focus on what you should be doing most – applying for the jobs that best make use of your education, skills and experience. Yet, if you don’t look outside of a narrow niche, you run the risk of missing good opportunities while your skills rust.

Finding out the reasons behind your rejections can sound frustrating in itself to a job seeker. It’s bad enough they don’t want you, now you’re being told to find out why. Sounds like a bad replaying of your high school experience in trying to land a date with someone you had a crush on. “Go out with you? Uh, no thanks.” And then you ask, “Why? Don’t you like me?”

Funny enough in an odd kind of way, the reason for getting an explanation for being rejected as a date and as a job candidate are the same; you want to learn from the experience so you can make changes and increase the odds of success with the next attempt. The real challenge is to get honesty in the answer. Having an employer tell you there was another candidate just a little more qualified is about as much help as having that high school guy or girl tell you, “It just wouldn’t work out that’s all.” It’s too vague.

As a general rule, I think it’s a wise move to contact an employer after you’ve been rejected. Be professional in your approach and in a non-threatening tone ask for some concrete feedback, assuring them that the reason you are asking is because you continue to be interested in the position and would like to address any concerns the employer might have in a future application.

Almost all job seekers these days just chalk up a rejection as a permanent rejection and never contact the employer. While it’s true employers are very busy and can’t give every rejected applicant all the feedback they might otherwise, only a very few ever seek it anymore. Many applicants tell me, “I’ve already lost the job so why bother further humiliating myself? I’ve got other jobs to apply to.”

Here’s why: 1) Not all people who are hired actually work out. 2) You’ll stand apart from any other applicant who got rejected in the final decision and did nothing. 3) It shows you REALLY want the job. 4) It shows you want to improve and learn from the experience – and you can share this in future interviews demonstrating how you deal with challenges, are persistent and work on your goals.

Reframing rejection is a skill just like any other. It’s really not about the rejection but how you choose to react to it and what if anything, you do to minimize the odds in the future of being rejected that’s the key. We all get rejected be it in relationships, jobs, an offer on a house or a loan at the bank. How we react is what defines us.

 

 

 

 

Juggling And Job Searching?

Trying to focus 100% of your energy on a job search is good advice for anyone. How is it possible however, to do exactly that when a person is trying to cope with other issues? Be it moving, an upset Landlord, hunger, a dysfunctional family etc., life doesn’t always throw us one convenient issue at a time to deal with.

This thing called, “Life” is much easier to handle for many of us than it is for others. Oh to be sure we’ve all got things that worry us and require our attention. Seldom does a person only have one thing going on that they need to focus on.

I have a clientele in my professional job by day who are recipients of social assistance. There are amongst this general population, repeating issues and barriers to employment that crop up again and again – not with every single person to be sure – but the same issues arise with alarming frequency. The most obvious one is a lack of money, and so many other issues are tied to this shortage of income.

Anyone who has been involved in a full-time job search will tell you that transportation is a must. It is however, increasingly difficult for a person on a limited income to either fill up a tank of gas if they own a car, or to purchase a monthly bus pass in order to get around. Out of sheer necessity a person has to therefore choose wisely the places they’ll go to get help, even to get to a place with the internet from which to job search in the first place. Yes even access to the internet which so many of us take for granted in 2015 is a luxury item many can’t afford.

One other issue many of us are increasingly concerned about is the rising cost of quality foods. Fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy products etc. are all rising dramatically. A sustained job search requires energy, and we fuel ourselves with the foods we consume. A lack of income means many on social assistance find themselves expected to tackle their job search with vigor and enthusiasm but are doing it on processed foods, food bank supplements and whatever they might get in the way of donations.

Another issue that can get in the way of a productive job search is the issue of family and social support. It’s always easier and generally more productive to have people behind you who support you in your job search. So imagine yourself under the pressure to get a job and having strained relationships, (if any at all) with your mom and dad, your sisters or brothers and extended family. I hear a number of people talk about their dysfunctional family life who are looking for work. “I don’t talk to them”, “They think I’m a failure”, “They don’t understand why I won’t just take any job.” These kind of comments reveal a huge hurt that rob a person of the ability to solely focus on a job with a supportive team behind them.

Of course having a stable residence from which to take refuge from a frustrating job search is key. You can I believe with only slight effort picture what it would be like to try to look fresh and vibrant all day when you meet people who could shorten your job search when you’ve had an interrupted nights sleep every night for the last month where you live. Be it shady landlords who do renovation work in your unit and leave the place a mess, annoying neighbours or co-tenants that you have to endure but don’t feel you can actually trust when you go out, there are a lot of issues people face that cause stress.

Securing employment solves some of these issues. The income from a job allows one to eat better and more often, move to unit or area which is in a better environment. Income also permits a person to start repaying accumulated debts, stops the collectors from phoning daily, and yes might even allow a person to buy the occasional round of drinks for friends. That’s a nice change instead of having to come up with reasons why you can’t join your friends or feel guilty because you’ve always been on the receiving end.

A job search has its natural highs and lows. Many refer to a job search like a roller coaster ride. The only issue I have with this analogy is that before getting on any roller coaster, most of us stand and watch it first. We see how long it lasts and how high and steep the ride is before we get on and gauge our ability to handle it. Imagine being able to look at your job search at the outset and seeing how many months or years you’d be, ‘on’ it and the numerous ups and downs you’d have. Most of us assume it’ll be a short ride at first and can’t imagine the endurance it’s really going to take.

We all have to juggle multiple issues during a job search and some of us have skills in doing so while others never get the hang of it. When you meet someone job searching, good advice is to find out how many balls they already have in the air before giving them more things to juggle if you expect them to be successful.

“It Is With Regret…

That we must inform you that you have not been selected for the job you applied to”.

Ever had one of these letters end up in your mailbox? It happens less often than it used to, but it’s still done. More frequently these days in comes in the form of an email. This letter, or ones akin to it go in the wonderfully appropriate category of ‘rejection letters’. Not only is the content of the letter annoying, but so is the name of the category. What’s even more frustrating is that usually when you realize you’ve been rejected, it was only seconds prior to it that your hopes were raised, your excitement building as you carefully opened the sealed envelope it arrived in.

Notes of rejection hurt because of course it’s a statement a company is making that you are not what they are looking for. To them of course, they’d say, “Don’t take it personally, we send out hundreds of those over a year”. But when it lands in your mailbox, and it’s got your name on it, of course it’s personal. But to the company, it’s not, and the reason is that they haven’t got to know you very much if at all, and so it can’t be personally if they would pass you by on the street and not even recognize you.

Now here’s the thing about these letters and some action you can take. Resist the urge to crumple it up, toss it in the trash and move on. Just about everyone else who gets one of these letters will do exactly that. What I recommend is a different course of action. Think first about how much you wanted the job you’ve just be rejected for. Did you want it bad or was it just one of many jobs you applied to and you really don’t care whether you got it or not?

If you answered that you really wanted it bad, why give up? Sit yourself down and think about things first. As frustrating as it is, mentally review how the interview went. Your resume was good enough to grant you the interview, so that’s not an issue. Did you answer the questions intelligently and with confidence or where there any questions you failed to properly answer? If you can identify where you stumbled, you’ve got a clue as to where to avoid stumbling in future interviews. Maybe you picked up on a raised eyebrow, a puzzled look, or a point in the interview where things clearly went badly and things started wrapping up. Or maybe everything went great.

Now, after you’ve had about half an hour to digest the letter, and you should re-read it slowly and see if there is anything in it that you missed the first time you scanned it, sit down to write a reply. This reply to a rejection letter is to most people an utter waste of time and that’s why so few do it. After all, if a company and an interviewing panel have already rejected you, why go back for more of the same?

And here’s why it’s critical. In many situations, not everyone who is offered a job accepts. Of those that do, not all actually start the job as they may change their mind and take a better offer the employer was unaware of. Some who do start jobs don’t last beyond their probationary period, and a number don’t make it past the first few days as they realize what they are doing isn’t for them. And add to this mix the fact that while the person hired might work out just fine, there are other people in the company often performing the same job who surprise the employer and go on pregnancy leave, quit outright, ask for a prolonged leave of absence, or the company grows and needs more people than they anticipated.

Companies in the above situations now have a spot to fill and have a choice to make. Do they post a new job, advertise, receive resumes, set up interviews, assemble more panels of people that have to take time away from their jobs; all of which cost money OR do they just see who they almost hired? Sometimes it’s far less expensive and quicker to just go to back to someone who they could have easily hired but didn’t. Now imagine if you and one other person are in that situation. You’d stand out substantially if you had sent in a letter after the rejections went out expressing continued interest.

So what should you say? Something like this:

“Dear _________

Today I learned that I was not the successful candidate for the position of _____________. While disappointing, I want to express my continued interest and passion for the position and one day securing employment with ________________. Should a similar position present itself, please be advised that I am most eager to present myself as an enthusiastic candidate. If in the interim, there are any areas you can suggest I address to improve on my application, I would greatly appreciate your insight.

With enthusiasm,

__________________”

Now think about it…what have you got to lose except an envelope and a postage stamp? You come across as professional, determined, and you really show you want it bad. Oh yeah, you’ll be the one they say, “Let’s call her back in shall we?”

Public Rejection

History abounds with stories of people who have been rejected at some point, and the most interesting examples are where the individuals didn’t give up and kept pursuing their various goals, ultimately obtaining success. Now if you the reader are currently undertaking a job search, I know that hearing about others doesn’t advance your own situation, but perhaps it can put things in some perspective that can be helpful.

Before he became the world’s most successful band Manager, Brian Epstein went from record company to record company with a disc trying to get a deal for four teenage boys. He was soundly rejected by Record Executives, one of whom told him that guitar playing groups were on the way out. Brian felt terrible because he had built up the hopes of his young musicians and told them how great they were; great enough in his opinion that he had quit his previous job in order to manage them. By the standards of the day he got a poor deal in the end, but it was a start. Still, imagine the Executive who would report later that afternoon to his bosses that he had just turned down some obscure group called of all things, “The Beatles”.

Sticking with the Beatles a moment, how would you have liked to have been Pete Best? Here was a guy that played drums for them originally, but was replaced by Ringo Starr when George Martin their Producer said they had to drop Pete. Pete has lived his whole life knowing now that he could have had immense fame as part of the world’s best Rock and Roll band, but instead of wallowing in pity, he’s had a good life with a band of his own on a much smaller scale, and handled the rejection well.

Look at the present day with all the hopefuls that audition for singing or dance contests, many of which are now recorded and made into evening television entertainment. You can bet that among those who are rejected, there are many who seriously have more invested than just a day of fun. Some will have worked hard for that chance only to be told to go home. “You’re not what we are looking for”, isn’t what they wanted to hear, but many more hear it than those who are chosen to move ahead.

Look too at professional coaches in sports. When a team hires a new coach, both the person doing the hiring and the person being hired know that in that profession, there will be a firing just as public down the road. And while working, every move that coach makes will be questioned, evaluated and debated by Management, players, fans and sponsors. If expectations are to be the best and raise a cup, that means ultimately only one of all the coaches will have actually accomplished the goals of the organization. When fired or terminated, a short statement saying something akin to, “I’d like to thank so-and-so for his commitment and dedication to our franchise. We’re just moving in a new direction”, is likely to be said.

All fields have examples of people being rejected. Architects lose bids on new building contracts, new home buyers have offers rejected by sellers, aircraft manufacturers have their bids rejected by Countries, politicians are routinely passed over in favour of others. Rejection happens everywhere. Scientists have experiments fail more than they succeed, doctors lose patients on surgery tables they can’t save, sometimes a colour of paint gets mixed wrong at the store. Big deal, small deal, it happens all the time.

What is important to remember is that rejection itself is something a person can learn from. If you can figure out the reasons perhaps behind someone’s dismissal of you as a candidate for a job, you might be able to learn from it. In fact, how you react to rejection can even be turned into the basis for an interview answer in the future. Suppose you’ve been turned down by a company in the past for a job because you lacked some credential. If you have strengthened your chances by improving yourself, that’s a great example of perseverance to use. Alternatively you might just tell everyone that the company is full of fools and you wouldn’t want to work there anyway, and take away nothing from the experience. Now who’s the fool?

In such a strongly competitive job market, for every person who is ultimately successful, there will be many who are not. That means your personal odds of being hired are lower given the larger number of applicants. Job searching and applying for jobs then requires more effort than you may have been giving in the past. This means you not only need to apply to more jobs, but you need stronger individual applications that you’ve been submitting.

Upgrading your education and experience, perhaps by volunteering, interning, apprenticing, or working on a pardon etc. might be what you have to get going on. Doing more of whatever you’ve been doing only might mean more rejection. Get some personal feedback from a professional and find out how best to increase your chances of success.

Cheers!

Turning Down A Job CAN Be A Good Thing

With a tight economy, many people out of work and fewer jobs out there, why on earth would anyone actually turn down a job offer when they are unemployed? I’m guessing that you can come up with several scenarios on your own, but some include: low wages, unforeseen travel requirements, lack of child care options, a poor fit, pride etc.

Imagine though you haven’t been out of work for very long and you’ve got lots of enthusiasm for the job search, your attitude is positive and you’re looking to get something close to what you’ve just been doing at approximately the same salary. Being offered a job outside your desired profession, or at a substantially lower wage might not be in your best interests to accept. Of course if you are surrounded by others who have been out of work for an extended period of time, they’ll be telling you that you’re crazy.

So here’s the thing; when you are taking action that runs counter to what others are collectively doing or telling you to do, it can be empowering or unwise and it’s up to you to know the difference. If for example your last job paid $35.00 per hour, and you’ve just been offered a job at $15.00 per hour, you might rationalize that the $20.00 per hour drop in wages isn’t something you are prepared to take. Now if it’s only your pride standing in the way but you’d love the job itself and you could get by on $15.00 per hour, some would argue you should take the job because you’d be happy in the work and you could pay all your bills etc.

However, if you really believe that by taking that $15.00 job, you’ll constantly be beating yourself up over it and you’ll walk around with a huge chip on your shoulder on the job, you should decline it gracefully. All that’s likely to happen is you damage your self-perception, you hurt your image, you obtain poor references if any at all, and you may actually hurt your chances at getting a better salary the next job you apply to when they ask, “What did you make in your last job?”, and you answer $15.00 instead of $35.00 per hour.

Everything becomes relative. Much of what is right to do or not will depend on how long you’ve been out of work, your financial responsibilities and commitments, whether you are single or have a second family income, what the job itself would entail, your strength of character and more. And of critical importance is whether you have some long-term commitment or goal in mind related to your career. Many people just go along in life moving from job to job without ever having career goals, and some are exceedingly happy in this choice; they worry about other things you may not.

Turning down a job offer may actually lead to a counter offer made by the employer to attract you to accept; perhaps not more money, but other incentives that may woo you move. In order for this to even be contemplated by the employer, they must have full and accurate awareness of why you are declining their offer. In other words, what barrier exists that keeps you from accepting? There are instances where applicants negotiate moving expenses to go across the country or leave the country altogether. There are perks like hours of work, working part-time from home etc. that may not actually cost the company any money, but mean the difference between signing you on or having you work elsewhere.

Passing up a job offer can also just boost your self-esteem. You may have been frustrated being rejected by employers and lo and behold here you are turning down one of them! Of course this euphoria should be tempered because of course you are still unemployed and shouldn’t break out the champagne yet if you are still on a budget. A job just might be beneath you, or just a really bad fit for your skills. You might look down on a job that pays way below what you’ve been used to, but the people in those jobs are still people of value doing needed work. If you find yourself looking down on a job; never look down on the people performing it. Until you know their background histories, and why they are where they are, you should hold you tongue and reconsider any thought of spouting off your unsolicited opinions.

You know another reason to turn down a job offer? You research a company, and what you read on their website is not what you experience at the interview. You see people who are rude, unhappy, isolated or just plainly ineffective. The interviewer isn’t engaged, or seems desperate. Sometimes the cues you pick up on visiting the company and going through the interview tell you that you won’t enjoy your time there, or your reputation might be tarnished by working for a company.

Have you ever noticed that after going a long time with no offers, you suddenly get not one but two or three? This is yet another reason why you might turn down an offer of employment. Turning down an offer may mean your circumstances are turning around.

Something to think about.
Cheers!