Application Rejection, Replying Email

[iamchristuffin]

Hi all,

The title probably doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but I wasn't sure what to put instead!

I've applied for a summer ASM gig, at a company that is definitely seen as a step up from my current contracts (though in a lower position).

I heard back yesterday that I hadn't got an interview - not wholly unsurprising, but a little disappointing. However, I'm not sure what I'm missing, compared to others I know who have had the job in the past.

Now, here's my question - should I ask why I haven't gone any further? And if so, how should I word it?

My current draft email reads;

"Dear (James)*,

Thank you for your email. Is there anything you could suggest I do to improve my application next time, or was there anything in particular I am missing?

Many thanks,

(iamchristuffin)

*Name changed to protect the innocent!

I just don't know if this will annoy them, as it's their prerogative who they invite for interview. But I don't know how else to find out what I need to do to progress (short of asking others to do some digging for me).

Any advice?

C

[Mac Calder]

If you did not get through to the interview stage I would probably leave it well enough alone. If you get a reply it will probably be hugely generic and not really helpful. It may have just been that they wanted to conduct X number of interviews, and grabbed the top X. So it would not be that you were not qualified, just that there were people that were more qualified or in line with what they were after. Or it could have come down to not liking the font on your resume.

If you had been put through to interviews, perhaps an email to say "Thankyou for taking the time to interview me, any advice you could give me for future applications would be most welcome" is okay.

[BayAreaSM]

I know that this is a frustrating situation, as you would love to know what to fix to do better next time, but I wholeheartedly agree with Mac.

The possible situation that Mac brings up is a very real one, at least for me. I get a high number of applicants for my assistants each time I post a job, and only have the means to interview the ones I feel are the right fit for the job. And because I am a seasonal worker and not year round, I don't always have spare time during the rehearsal day to work on things not pertaining to the immediate task at hand.

Depending on their current schedule, if you do send your email (which seems to be worded just fine), I don't know that you would get as helpful of a response as you would like. You could always try, you never know.