Comments on: You've Been Turned Down for a Gig…Now What?

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:44:47 +0000

@ Laura: that’s a trick I use a lot on job interviews as well. “Is there something I could improve on that would help out in the future?” Glad to hear that it would also work for job queries and such.

By: Stacie Haight Connerty

Stacie Haight Connerty — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:13:01 +0000

Man, I sound like a moron above…don’t I?

By: Stacie Haight Connerty

Stacie Haight Connerty — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:12:17 +0000

Another tip that I do and has worked for me several times is to apply for a job that has been filled months ago. Not really apply but if I see something posted months ago that I think really fit my skill set or interests, I write them and tell them exactly this. Something along the lines of “I saw this position listing from months ago and I am sorry that I missed the opportunity to apply. If anything comes up again, please consider me. Thanks again!”

I do this several times a month on something that I missed. It puts me in front of the person and several times now, I have been emailed with an offer for something else.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:13:41 +0000

You can also write back and ask for tips to improve your future applications, particularly if a reason for rejection wasn’t mentioned. You won’t always get a response, but sometimes you will. (However, if you do get a reply, please just thank the editor for the comments instead of arguing with them, so the rest of us can keep asking for critiques in the future.)

By: Misti Sandefur

Misti Sandefur — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:22:32 +0000

I usually always follow-up on a gig I applied to if I haven’t heard anything in two weeks (I set an e-mail reminder to remember ), and I’ve landed the gig a few times by doing this. However, it never crossed my mind to reply and thank the person for considering me, so thanks for sharing this great piece of advice, Jodee.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:53:19 +0000

@ Andy: There is nothing wrong with checking in after the fact to see if something has changed. Sometimes the person that gets hired doesn’t work out for one reason or another.

By: Andy Hayes

Andy Hayes — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:33:20 +0000

LOL, I couldn’t have said it better msyelf either!

The only thing I would add is that, unless the contributors’ guidelines say otherwise, there is nothing stopping you to send a friendly and succinct “follow-up” email to a contact you have not heard from.

Not once but twice this worked in my favour, as the editor had lost my email or never saw it in the first place. It certainly can’t hurt. But if you don’t hear back on the 2nd email, then cut your losses and move on to the next one.