‘Second is first loser. You always want to win; you train to win.’

This was said by English former sprinter John Regis, MBE. But was he right? For those competing at the highest level in sport, second place can be an exceptionally painful place to be. Our national teams and individual sports people have of course faced second places, often with the nation’s hopes of glory on their shoulders. Yet the most successful amongst them find a way of processing ‘not winning’, become resilient, and go on to take first place in the future.

What is second place like for those in a job race? Taking the phone call to learn that “they really liked you, but the other candidate just pipped you to the post,” or the rejection email, is hard. So, what can we do to best process and move forward from second place?

1. Emotional rollercoaster – It is normal to feel crashing disappointment, anger, frustration, confusion and more. Emotions are high, especially because by this stage in the process you have invested so much in the prospect of this new role, and rejection can feel incredibly personal. Sharing the news with those closest to you can also be difficult. Take time to process the news, get outdoors, walk, talk, exercise, and sleep on it. Only once you have done this, consider steps 2 to 7.
2. Be pushy - Push for honest feedback and be probing: was it something in your skill set? Was it the wrong culture fit? What were the specific reservations about you? Ask for a phone call to discuss the feedback, as people are more likely to divulge in person than in an email. Ask them what ‘first place’ did have/demonstrated that you did not. Show the recruiter or organisation that you are open to feedback, willing to listen and able to be positive about coming second, as this will only be of benefit for the future.
3. Reflections - Once you have digested the news, take time to reflect critically on how the process went. Did you feel at each stage you presented yourself at your best? Was your CV and your covering letter something that you spent enough time on? If you did a presentation, did it meet the brief, or could it have been any better?
4. Missed opportunities - At interview, did you feel you were able to communicate what you hoped to? If you didn’t, try to write down what you felt that you did not showcase. What were the barriers to you explaining these important aspects of your career, skills, aptitudes? By considering this, you will be prepared next time and better equipped to ensure you communicate these important features.
5. Re-writes - Was there anything you sense you said ‘wrong’ that might have been an issue. Were you under pressure, in a corner, unable to find an example? Think over any awkward moments and consider what you would say, given the chance again.
6. Practise - Did you find any of the assessments challenging, and if so, why? If you did, try and recreate them again and practise. Like sports people, there is a piece in here about practise, practise, practise.
7. Connecting - Did you feel you connected with the people you met? Had you done your homework to foster this connection with them? Consider what you could do next time to better enhance this connectivity. This is especially important with online interviewing, as you need to work even harder to create and sustain these interactions. Did you feel you were the right fit for the organisation? On reflection you might feel that the school was not the right fit, or the role was not as you imagined.

In essence, this process of evaluating what happened is a vehicle to ensuring greater success next time.

Running alongside this process, it is also useful to approach this kind of ‘rejection’ as yes, a reflection on how you performed, but also in managing expectations and accepting that sometimes things weren’t meant to be. There is a great tendency when we enter a recruitment process that we start imagining ourselves in the post, perhaps moving home, we have already envisaged what our office might look like, the first empowering address we might give to our team in our fresh, pressed suit. There is something to be said for taking each stage in the process slowly and not getting ahead. As one nervous Head asked me recently, “I haven’t heard yet, should I assume no and move on and stop thinking about it?” As it turned out, she was offered the headship, but what is interesting and helpful is that she was aware of the need to protect herself mentally from the disappointment.

Edward Clark commented, "It is important to remember that there is only one job, this sounds obvious, but a leader may have performed extremely well at interview and may be perfectly appointable and not be offered the role. The panel must make a choice, and often it is an exceedingly difficult one, frequently they are deciding between a number of highly capable and experienced candidates on the shortlist."

At LSC Education we work hard to support our Leaders wherever they come in the recruitment ‘race’. We are committed to gathering feedback for those who do not make it to first place, and offer a superb coaching service for those who would benefit from some extra support and preparation when pursuing their goals in the education job market. We certainly believe that the most successful people in life will experience setbacks and progress further because of them. So, to this end, second place is not ‘first loser’ by any means. There are some great lessons to learn along the way.