Reading · The New Rules of Work with Sho Dewan

Hey friend,

I am going to put my “Sho the Therapist” hat on for this one cus I am sick of receiving these DMs from amazing talent feeling bad about themselves!

“I wasn’t good enough for the role.”

“I didn’t have the experience they were looking for I guess…”

“I should not have expected them to go with me in the end.”

Now, of course, feelings are feelings, and it’s okay to feel down, sad, angry, but the big problem occurs when you internalize that sh*t into thinking it’s really just all on YOU.

And that is just simply not true!

Could you have prepared better? Maybe.
Could you have answered a trick question with more poise? Perhaps.
Could you have showed up on time? Okay if you have to answer this one, then this one is on you lol. 😂

I need you to hear this:
You’re not doing anything wrong. The opportunity just wasn’t the right one for you.

So please don’t let all the rejections gaslight you and stop you from trying again.

The truth is, there’s just a whole lot of behind-the-scenes BS that messes with your chances of landing a job right now… and that’s what we will be talking about here.

Here are four reasons why you didn’t get the job that have nothing to do with your skills and why you should let them go before the New Year:

Interviewers are human, too. Maybe something stressful happened earlier in their day, or they just didn’t sleep well. It sounds unfair, but a study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology found that an interviewer’s mood directly influences how they rate candidates.

When they are in a bad mood, applicants score lower, even if nothing about the applicant changed. Don’t take it personally. Sometimes, it’s just bad timing.

This is a hard truth: companies often post jobs online just to follow “fairness” regulations, even though they already plan to hire an internal candidate or someone a manager has quietly prepped for the role.

It’s one of those annoying parts of job hunting that has nothing to do with your worth. You were competing against someone who already had the job but you just didn’t know it.

Sometimes you’re a perfect fit, but the timing isn’t. Maybe the exec team pulled the plug on a project, or a big client backed out. You could have crushed every round of interviews and still not get the offer simply because the money vanished.

Pro Tip: If this happens, stay in the loop! Budgets bounce back. If you keep the relationship warm, you want to be the first person they think of when the role opens up again in Q1.

Some job listings are just... smoke. A 2024 survey found that nearly 40% of hiring managers admitted to posting fake job listings just to “test the waters” or make the company look like it’s growing to investors.

As annoying as it is, it’s not a total loss. Your resume is now in their system, which gives you a head start for when they hire for real.

The Takeaway for 2026:
Rejections hurt. But more often than not, they are not a reflection of your skills.
Stop carrying the weight of 2025’s “No”s into the New Year.
Keep showing up. Keep giving your best. The right role will come!

P.S. I will be hosting a FREE 2-day job search bootcamp in January and my email list will get the invite first. Sign up here for weekly emails: workhap.com/newsletter

✅ If you want to future-proof your income
Worried about AI taking jobs? You don’t have to be if you use it to your advantage. There are high-paying roles emerging right now that need human skills + AI knowledge (and you don’t need to be a coder to get them).

Read: 5 AI Jobs You Can Land (Even If You’re Not a Data Scientist)

✅ If you want to be ready for the offer call
When you finally land that dream role, don’t just say “yes” immediately. Negotiation is scary, but doing it right can change your financial future. Here is how to handle the money talk.

Read: When to Negotiate on a Job Offer—And How to Do It Right

Weekly Work Wire: Volume 4

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