Why Rejection Emails are [Generally] a Bad Idea
Jan 30, 2021 14:49:37 GMT -8
tehrogue, Kevin Liberty, and 1 more like this
Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Jan 30, 2021 14:49:37 GMT -8
As a content creator, holding voiceover auditions can be a daunting process. Especially if it’s something like an open audition for a paid project that also gets posted to Twitter, you’re looking at hundreds or even thousands of submissions. You may have spent quite a bit of time making shortlists and narrowing them down until you came up with your final select for each role.
But what about all the other talent who auditioned and didn’t get the part? Should you send them an e-mail letting them know? Would it be rude to just not say anything? Well, here is your answer:
The grand majority of working pro voice actors prefer NOT to receive a rejection email for a role they didn’t book.
There are a handful of reasons why rejection emails generally aren’t a good idea:
Are there ever exceptions to where it may be acceptable to send a rejection email? Maybe:
What if you thought an actor’s audition was really great, but they didn’t end up fitting the particular role you were casting for?
That’s fine! Make a note of their name and keep them in mind for future projects or incidental roles that you may need to cast. If they audition time and time again for you and never end up booking but are almost always shortlisted, and you have a good relationship with them, you can optionally reach out and let them know that they’re on the right track with their auditions and you’d like to continue hearing more from them. But try to resist the urge to send that email saying “we liked your audition, but we went with someone else”—-again, even if you have good intentions, it just ends up being demoralizing.
Nathalie Ferare, however, appreciates these emails in certain personalized situations. “Rejection emails, most of the time, make it harder to ‘send and forget.’ However, if I was shortlisted, or if the casting director would like to let me know they loved my audition but I wasn't what they were looking for for this role, I'd like to hear that (as long as it isn't just some generic nonsense they send to everyone). This helps me see what is potentially bookable.”
But do some actors prefer it?
Now to be fair, there are a smaller minority of talent who claim they like rejection e-mails, because it gives them a sense of “closure”. “I think it's at least a polite formality,” says Josh Chichester. Jack Magus would rather receive even a robotic form letter “than to be kept in the dark and wondering if I made it, then finding it finished on YouTube a few weeks later.”
It’s also entirely likely for an actor’s opinion on rejection e-mails to change as they progress in their career. When an actor is very new to the field and not auditioning much yet, or primarily auditioning for online hobby work, it’s easy to get more attached to individual projects and wait anxiously to find out the results. They might think that it’s better to simply know one way or another so they can stop guessing as to whether they were cast. "I usually reply and thank them for actually responding," says Ciaran Drysder. Voice actor and teacher Andy Field puts it quite plainly: "If you are expecting a rejection letter for each one of the jobs you don’t get, you aren’t auditioning enough."
Remember that in the professional industry, you’ll typically only hear back about a job if you were actually cast, or if you get a callback. Also, when you’re auditioning for new projects every day, hearing back that you didn’t get all these different roles you tried out for becomes more of an annoyance and a time-waster. Katabelle points out that as professionals, “we audition for so many projects, it is unnecessary, [but] some actors who voice over as a hobby may expect this because they are waiting to hear back." As you progress years into your career, it also becomes easier to let these sorts of disappointments roll off your back. "I'm almost 40 and I've been rejected for jobs and other casting parts over the years," says Jason Robert Sommerfeldt. "When I was younger, it hit me hard, but age tends to dull the pain of rejection and criticism, and you just get up and try again."
While it can be understandable to want to hear back one way or another, based on the reasons above, it is better (and healthier) to learn to let go of this expectation and do your best to simply “send and forget” when it comes to your auditions.
As an actor, even if you do prefer such emails…normalize the idea of not hearing back, and work on your “send and forget” mentality.
And if you do get a “rejection email”, try not to think of it as an actual rejection.
Getting an email saying that you didn’t get cast - whether a form letter or a personalized note - is not some type of indication of failure on your part. It simply means that the client felt someone else was more suitable for that particular role.
Guides and resources on this site are provided on a volunteer basis. If you found them helpful, please consider buying me a coffee!
But what about all the other talent who auditioned and didn’t get the part? Should you send them an e-mail letting them know? Would it be rude to just not say anything? Well, here is your answer:
The grand majority of working pro voice actors prefer NOT to receive a rejection email for a role they didn’t book.
Does this surprise you? Read on...
There are a handful of reasons why rejection emails generally aren’t a good idea:
- They’re simply not the norm in the industry.
In the professional voiceover world, rejection emails are extremely rare (almost unheard of in most markets). Casting directors are very busy and wouldn’t have time, even if they wanted to, to write back to everyone telling them they didn’t book. Rejection emails are sometimes seen in amateur and indie spaces, but in addition to contributing to unhealthy mindsets, it also can create an expectation from actors to “hear back one way or another”, which could hurt them in the professional world (trying to “follow up” with a casting director on audition results is seen as unprofessional; if you get the part, they’ll contact you first.) - It clogs up the actor’s email inbox.
As most VO business these days is conducted through email, form letter-style rejections just waste space and distract from other important business the actor may need to attend to. "My voice acting e-mail is a business e-mail, and I prefer to only receive e-mails that require my attention," says Vicky Young Assarattanakul. "If I received a rejection e-mail for every audition I submitted, it would quickly become like my "spam" e-mail address and it would make it difficult to see important messages. When I submit an audition, I just generally assume I'm not going to get the part, so I don't think the casting director needs to do that extra work to tell me, "no."
Additionally, most working actors audition for many different projects each week. “We send dozens of emails weekly, hundreds monthly. If we got a rejection notice for every one of those, that’s a lot of pointless mail,” says Austin Lee Matthews. Imagine if you auditioned for 100 projects in a given month, received 5 booking emails and another 95 emails saying you weren't actually chosen? No thanks! - Rejection emails are time-wasters all around.
“It’s a waste of time for both parties involved,” says Kevin Couto. The voice actor is busy auditioning for and working on lots of other projects. The project creator or casting director has heaps of auditions to go through, and needs to focus on coordinating things for the people who actually were cast (sending out booking emails, gathering avails, distributing scripts, getting paperwork in order, etc) that it wastes a lot of valuable time on their end to make a list of all the people who didn’t get cast and let them know they didn’t book it. Reece Bridger, casting director for NSIP, notes that "In public calls, we could never possibly have the time to send out individual or even copy-paste rejection emails to everyone who auditions." - Seeing a response from you regarding the project may lead the actor to think they actually booked a role.
Typically, a new reply to a previous audition email (aside from a quick confirmation of receipt of the audition) is an immediate actionable item: the actor will assume it’s something that requires their attention, such as a notice that they are being cast or at least receiving a callback. Needless to say, it can not only be disappointing—but even irritating—for an actor to open an email assuming it is a role offer only to find out it’s a generic reply saying they weren’t chosen. "I'm very busy, so when I see notifications in the projects I auditioned for, I immediately get excited...only to be torn down," says Simon D. Aelsi. And because rejection emails aren't the norm in the professional industry, it can also be easy to see where it could cause confusion to see that initial response. According to Kamran Nikhad, "We’re conditioned to only expect a response from potential clients if we either landed a job or have to submit a followup read. So by sending that rejection email off, there’s an added, unnecessary sting...since a response usually means good news." - Voiceover is a contract gig, not an employment offer.
A lot of people who defend rejection emails liken it to that of applying for a day job. “But wouldn’t you want to hear back if you were rejected for a job, so that you could look elsewhere?” Yes, most people probably would. However, voice acting isn’t that type of situation. You’re not hiring someone as an employee to work for you; you’re contracting their services for a temporary (and often relatively short-term) project. In other words, voice actors are already “applying to” (auditioning for) plenty of other projects, so they don’t need to sit around waiting to hear back from you. It is completely normal for actors to be juggling multiple projects at the same time, and often even recording for multiple different projects in the same day! - It’s demoralizing.
“It's unhelpful, unnecessary, and can even put a dent on morale,” says Aika Intong. Voice acting (and acting in general) is an extremely competitive field. Actors already know that they will typically be competing with hundreds of others for a role, making the likelihood of booking relatively slim. The typical approach to auditions involves what we call “throwing spaghetti at the wall”—-auditioning for a whole bunch of projects that fit your vocal type and then seeing what sticks.
“Any actor with a high enough work load adopts the "send and forget" mentality for auditions,” says Vincent Fallow. This means: do your best on each audition (without overthinking too much), send it off, and then immediately move onto the next audition. This method curbs the disappointment of not booking a role, because rather than waiting around to find out, you’ve already moved on mentally. But an unexpected rejection email completely throws a wrench in this. “Receiving a rejection email really seems unneeded for me, as I'd rather move onto the next audition and not harp on it,” says Patrick Mealey. Eddy Yeung adds, “As actors we're told to send and forget, but if everyone were to send rejection letters, it will just reinforce the negatives, e.g. impostor syndrome.” Nick M. Brown agrees: "With social media already fostering imposter syndrome among most voice actors, a rejection letter only adds more fuel to the fire."
Are there ever exceptions to where it may be acceptable to send a rejection email? Maybe:
- If you have an intensive callback process (for example: one requiring multiple rounds of auditions, directed callbacks, or very meaty callback scripts) some producers will occasionally opt to inform voice talent when they didn’t get selected, so that they don’t feel “ghosted”. “I think I would appreciate one if I am put on avail or have been through multiple rounds of callbacks, but for the vast majority of auditions, it’s just not necessary,” says Molly Ring.
Derick Snow echoes this sentiment with "Initial auditions? No thanks. I usually just audition and forget about it. 3rd or 4th callback? At least let my agent know it's not happening, no notes required."
- If you personally invite an actor to record a custom audition sample for you because you are debating between them and one other talent, it’s generally okay to let them know if you ended up going with the other talent instead (but again, still not required or expected.)
Beau Bridgland says he doesn't mind a "no-thanks" email if it's for something he was personally requested for: "It can be nice to have emails that fall under the category of "I liked your thing, it was really close but they went with someone else" when the audition process has been a bit more personal. But generic emails for bog standard auditions? The ones that each of us will do hundreds or maybe even thousands of each year? It's just all-around wasteful."
- If an actor is on your shortlist for a job and you ask for detailed schedule availability as part of the callback process, you may let them know if they are “released from avail” and no longer have to worry about keeping those times open. For example, let’s say you’re casting actors for a job that can only record on one specific day of the following week, and you double-check with your shortlisted actors that they have full availability that day before making your final select. In this case, it's actually a good idea to let your talent know, so they can book other work during that time. This is probably the main scenario where a “rejection” email would actually be appreciated.
- Or finally…if you’re really, really creative about it.“Once upon a time I got a rejection email and I was prepared to be irritated, but the email actually gave me a free key to the game they were casting as a thank you for taking the time to audition,” says Darcy Maguire.
What if you thought an actor’s audition was really great, but they didn’t end up fitting the particular role you were casting for?
That’s fine! Make a note of their name and keep them in mind for future projects or incidental roles that you may need to cast. If they audition time and time again for you and never end up booking but are almost always shortlisted, and you have a good relationship with them, you can optionally reach out and let them know that they’re on the right track with their auditions and you’d like to continue hearing more from them. But try to resist the urge to send that email saying “we liked your audition, but we went with someone else”—-again, even if you have good intentions, it just ends up being demoralizing.
Nathalie Ferare, however, appreciates these emails in certain personalized situations. “Rejection emails, most of the time, make it harder to ‘send and forget.’ However, if I was shortlisted, or if the casting director would like to let me know they loved my audition but I wasn't what they were looking for for this role, I'd like to hear that (as long as it isn't just some generic nonsense they send to everyone). This helps me see what is potentially bookable.”
Amanda Brandt would prefer not to receive such emails “unless it says something to the effect of ‘I do have a part in mind for you in a future project; is it OK if we still keep the lines of communication open?’ Yes.” (That being said, it’s very rare that any actor would be offended if they didn’t book a part they auditioned for but you later sent them an audition for a future opportunity—-most actors are happy to receive auditions!)
Responding to an audition asking for some adjustments in the read for the sake of a callback is perfectly acceptable! However, if you feel you must respond to an audition solely for the sake of giving the actor unsolicited critique, keep it polite and constructive. Brittany Ann Phillips occasionally sees brand-new content creators fall into the trap of assuming they have to give feedback on every audition. "While most rejection emails are formal, some (especially from first time online creators) take it as an opportunity for unsolicited feedback, which can be a deconstructive critique or even insulting a voice actor's skill. There is no excuse to hurt the feelings of someone who took time out of their day to audition for you, no matter what the intentions of your response was."
But do some actors prefer it?
Now to be fair, there are a smaller minority of talent who claim they like rejection e-mails, because it gives them a sense of “closure”. “I think it's at least a polite formality,” says Josh Chichester. Jack Magus would rather receive even a robotic form letter “than to be kept in the dark and wondering if I made it, then finding it finished on YouTube a few weeks later.”
It’s also entirely likely for an actor’s opinion on rejection e-mails to change as they progress in their career. When an actor is very new to the field and not auditioning much yet, or primarily auditioning for online hobby work, it’s easy to get more attached to individual projects and wait anxiously to find out the results. They might think that it’s better to simply know one way or another so they can stop guessing as to whether they were cast. "I usually reply and thank them for actually responding," says Ciaran Drysder. Voice actor and teacher Andy Field puts it quite plainly: "If you are expecting a rejection letter for each one of the jobs you don’t get, you aren’t auditioning enough."
Remember that in the professional industry, you’ll typically only hear back about a job if you were actually cast, or if you get a callback. Also, when you’re auditioning for new projects every day, hearing back that you didn’t get all these different roles you tried out for becomes more of an annoyance and a time-waster. Katabelle points out that as professionals, “we audition for so many projects, it is unnecessary, [but] some actors who voice over as a hobby may expect this because they are waiting to hear back." As you progress years into your career, it also becomes easier to let these sorts of disappointments roll off your back. "I'm almost 40 and I've been rejected for jobs and other casting parts over the years," says Jason Robert Sommerfeldt. "When I was younger, it hit me hard, but age tends to dull the pain of rejection and criticism, and you just get up and try again."
While it can be understandable to want to hear back one way or another, based on the reasons above, it is better (and healthier) to learn to let go of this expectation and do your best to simply “send and forget” when it comes to your auditions.
As an actor, even if you do prefer such emails…normalize the idea of not hearing back, and work on your “send and forget” mentality.
Resist the urge to obsessively refresh your email once the deadline passes, hoping that you heard back about a role. “If you didn't hear anything, it should be clear that casting went another direction, and that's ok!” says Will Engel. Know that in the real-world industry, you will rarely if ever hear back when you didn't get a role, so it's better not to dwell on and wonder whether you got cast or not. "I usually forget about projects that I audition for and move onto the next one," says Anthony Ray Morales.
Of course, this is easier said than done, especially if it comes to a dream role or project you really want to book. No actor is going to be able to truly "send and forget" 100% of the time, but the more you at least try to adopt that mindset, the lesser the blow when you see other people on social media announcing they got that role you auditioned for. There will always be more projects in the future, so do your best not to stress about the past and just keep sending those auditions...and then when you do hear back that you booked one of those roles, it'll be a pleasant surprise.
And if you do get a “rejection email”, try not to think of it as an actual rejection.
Getting an email saying that you didn’t get cast - whether a form letter or a personalized note - is not some type of indication of failure on your part. It simply means that the client felt someone else was more suitable for that particular role.
Alex Weitzman offers the following perspective: “At the core of it, a “rejection” letter is not necessary because not booking a job is not a matter of rejection. You did not get rejected, and not booking a job definitely does not mean you somehow failed the audition. We are in a service industry. Our job is to help the casting director, the producer, the client solve a problem: they have a part that needs to be filled. Submitting your work via audition helps them solve that problem to some degree, no matter the outcome.”
Voice actor and voiceover coach Dave Bisson stresses the importance of learning to be okay with not being selected for a role. "Being able to audition, then put that audition out of your mind to then focus on the next audition will allow you to always give your best, and focus on your victories." Remember, it is completely normal, even for very established actors, to not book the majority of the roles you audition for.
Thank you to everyone in the VAC Facebook Group who contributed quotes for this article!
Guides and resources on this site are provided on a volunteer basis. If you found them helpful, please consider buying me a coffee!