It’s all about timing

We receive a lot of requests from students to provide feedback on their portfolios, or to enquire about a placement, or a job. 90% of these are emails. Sometimes a few a day. That can be 15-20 a week. That’s a lot. Our job isn’t professional email responders, and a lot of the time, it’s a hindrance. If the email doesn’t grab our attention we may never click on your link/attachment. If it intrigues us enough, or just catches us at the right time, we may have a quick look at what you’ve sent, but if it’s not grabbing us by the balls it’s closed within 30 seconds and our attention is elsewhere. If we’re not looking to hire someone either full time, freelance or as a placement, the priority just isn’t there. This may sound harsh, but it’s the reality for most studios — they are busy places.

If you’ve sent an email and received no reply after a few weeks, get in touch again. Top tip, don’t have an attitude about the lack of response. Instead show some consideration at how busy they must be, but how invaluable you’d find their help. If you still don’t get a reply chalk it off and try somewhere else. It doesn’t mean that you’re shit, that your work is awful or that you’re not destined to become a designer. It just means your email (no matter how much effort you put into it) isn’t as important to other people as it is to you.

If you get a reply and it’s not the news you wanted, don’t dismay! Be courteous in your response and try to stay in contact with the studio. Be warned, there’s a fine line between being a fan of a studio and become a stalker :)

How to handle/reduce rejection

• Don’t take it personally if you don’t get a reply. Great way to get black-listed.
• Don’t presume studios are sat hitting refresh on their emails waiting for your email to drop. There are hundreds of things higher in the priority list.
• Don’t give up at the first hurdle. If you don’t get a reply try again.
• Likewise, know when to stop. If you’ve hit a few hurdles, maybe have a rest & consider how you can try a different approach.
• A cold email is quite easy to miss. If you’ve spent some time forming a relationship you’re much more likely to get a response.
• Do be polite and considerate to the studios time.
• Do try to be different in you how get in touch — read these examples of getting attention.
• Be yourself and have a personality. Robotic, scripted emails don’t get anyone excited.

Rejection is a part of life. We’ve felt it when we’ve lost out on a project, or a client doesn’t like an idea. It’s easy to think, ‘well, fuck you’, but stubbornness doesn’t help you improve. Look at how you could have handled the situation better. If you did everything in your power, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be, and move onto the next. If you could have done something better make sure to learn and not make the same mistake again.

The last time we hired someone, there were around 5 people we had shortlisted. Now if we land a new client, or need a specific style/skill, we’ll be heading straight back to re-look at the 4 people that had previously stood out. So chin up, you never know what the future holds.

→ How to build relationships

→ Where to find jobs

→ What does design look like in a post-covid world?

→ Interview Do's & Don'ts