I have a funny (and informative) thing to share with you at the end of this post… but, first:
Scarlett Johansson. Chris Klein. Jessica Alba. Marlon Brando. Brad Pitt. Robert Di Niro.
All are A-List actors who really, really wanted a job they didn’t get. (See their audition tapes here, for famous films, along with the actor who got the part instead.)
See, actors have to deal with rejection much more often than us normal folk… AND they really do have to deal with ageism and superficial reasons that they got turned down for jobs. (Plus the entire world knowing that they didn’t get the part.)
So how do they deal with it? I mean, if you know any actors, you know that they are often highly sensitive souls. They have to be, in order to convey the kind of emotion that’s required. They’re not any emotionally more evolved than the rest of us, anyway. (With the possible exception of Meryl Streep… but I digress.)
Here’s how they deal:
1) They give it their all, but don’t give away their resilience.
They know that they have one big opportunity to go for it, and they practice, and try their best- but they know that they won’t get every part they want. They get up and try again, even if they really wanted something.
2) They change their perspective.
Here’s an interesting take on that (How to Handle Rejection Like an Actor/ Lifehacker), with George Clooney. If you stop and think about it, YOU REJECT COMPANIES ALL THE TIME. You don’t want to work here, or there, or that far away, or for that much money. So you’re making yes/no decisions too, based on a set of criteria; why can’t companies do the same?
3) They hone their craft and get exposure.
Each audition is a chance to meet new people and practice. The same’s true for job interviews; that manager that turned you down now might be a manager down the road. And the practice you get selling yourself at company A might really help when you’re in final rounds with company B.
In any case… here’s the funny, and informative, thing I promised to share. A recruiting firm, CareerXroads, each year creates a fictional resume that they submit to companies, and then they analyze the results. This year’s was “Frank N. Stein” (who listed Boris Karloff as a mentor, ha!). One thing that’s interesting? “Frank” was unemployed for 6 months, and it didn’t seem to affect his response rate. http://www.careerxroads.com/news/MysteryJobSeeker_2015.pdf
Enjoy!
Kathy