Image by jpockele
One of the greatest skills you’ll learn as a student freelancer is dealing with rejection. With any freelancing role, developing a thick skin is a must. The freelancing world is a competitive one. You’ll apply or bid for scores of jobs but the actual yield will be rather small. Don’t let this get you down; it happens to every one of us freelancers.
And of course, you may have got the job only to be told your work is not up to ‘standard’. It’s tough, it can be sprit crushing, I know. Here’s how to deal with rejection FreelanceStudent style, without having to go crazy with weapons on your client or having to hit the union for medicinal drinks.
Don’t Get Angry
Hell, I’ve been there. Never mind proposals, getting your work rejected is really annoying. The first thing you think about is going to their office with a baseball bat (no, just me?). Getting angry is not productive and won’t help your chances in the future. Ask them for feedback, ask why your work/pitch was rejected. Ask specific questions to help you improve your work, and chances of getting commissions in the future. You can even ask if they would be willing to accept the project after you’ve ironed out the creases. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!
Rejections Actually Help
Sometimes. Sometimes you need a kick up the backside for motivational purposes. Being rejected will actually help you improve as you’ll aspire to meet the standards required (refer to the above section).
Plan B
If you’ve already completed the work and the client won’t take it, even after resubmitting, you could always find another buyer. Ok, so if you’ve just completed something specific like a logo or whatever, yeah, you can say goodbye to the plans you made with the money. But you may be able to repackage the piece and sell it to another client. For example, it could be a video or photo which can be sold to a stock website or, maybe a piece of writing which can be pitched to a magazine, another client or to a website such as Hub Page.
It’s Not You, It’s Them
Or more likely it’s someone else. Another freelancer of equal ability with a cheaper bid, most likely. If rejection is all too familiar you need to ask two questions:
- Was my pitch the best and was it up to standard? (chat to other freelancers, they will help you with this). If the answer is no, ask the client why it was not good enough, as above. If the answer is yes, see question number two, below:
- Was the price I quoted competitive? You can check by joining the union for your trade. They publish rates guides for members. If this is not an option, ask other freelancers.
Try not to take it personally, it’s just a silly proposal they are rejecting – it’s not like they’ve walked into a room and pointed and laughed at you for your silly face (just an example, I don’t know what you look like, jeez!).
It’s Just A Numbers Game
There’s a well known phrase, ‘throw enough of the proverbial (you know the word) at a wall and some of it will stick. That’s the mindset you need when submitting proposals, bids, pitches et al – don’t focus too much one any one particular bid, don’t get your hopes up is what I’m really trying to convey. If that one bid goes down the toilet, you’re bound to feel like proverbial. Be relentless – send as many proposals as you can – you’ll win some and you’ll lose some. If you don’t get a particular job you need to think, ‘hey never mind, there’s plenty more fish in the sea’ (or proverbial to throw up the wall, in this instance).
Not Everyone Will Be A Fan
That’s a fact. Whatever it is you do, you are an artist – best selling artists have their haters. Remember this when faced with a desert of no contracts coming your way. You could be a published writer or, could have just completed a top photography project, for a very happy, very prominent client or whatever. But there will always be someone out there who will say that you can’t do the thing that you do, well yeah, that may be a bit strong (or not), but beware not everyone will like your work.
Talk To People
Don’t bottle it up. Talk about it to your friends, vent and bitch – they’ll make you feel better about yourself. And of course, chat about it with other freelancers – they’ve been through it too. You can even comment on this article and I’ll chat to you about it– it’s what I’m here for.
If you do get work rejected, it’s not the end of the world. Not everybody is perfect 100% of the time and not everyone will appreciate your work. However, if you hone your pitching skills, price competitively and, more importantly, grow a thick skin, rejection will not become a dirty, lurking enemy waiting behind every door - you’ll brush it off and move on to the next one.
