I got a rejection letter today. Luckily, I’ve already accepted a position somewhere else, but that doesn’t lessen my desire, for every position I apply to, to want my services and skills. No one likes to be told they’re not good enough, but one thing I will say is that CP+B has it down. 

“Many thanks for your time and interest in the work we are doing at CP+B. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to send us your resume/portfolio. At the moment, we cannot offer you a position, but we do wish you the best of luck with your search. Thank you again for thinking of us.”

Wow, I was blown away. What a nice way of telling me I’m not quite good enough. And I mean that in all honesty. I’ve applied to more places than I can count, and was rejected from just about all of them. So often, the response from those places was either rude, lacked thoughtfulness, or was simply unsatisfying. How hard can it be to write a four sentence response that details that while you may not be the right candidate, they appreciate your interest and time? I mean it’s a little thing, but it makes a difference. It would take a copywriting intern ten minutes to write something genuinely thoughtful, and yet so few places take the time to write something like that. 

So, in closing, to any agency people that may read this, I implore you to take the time to review your rejection letter your agency sends out. It’s a minor thing, it takes very little time to perfect, and yet to us it can make a world of difference. No one likes to be told they’re not good enough, but if you can do it in a thoughtful way it makes the sting much less painful. 

Also, p.s. @students, don’t take rejection personally. We are competing against some of the most talented and wonderful students in the world, some of whom have years of experience on us, and if you’re truly hungry your time will come and you will have a long and successful career. 

No love lost between me and CP+B, and I hope y’all can say the same about every rejection you may receive as well. 

Peace out.

Caleb Couturie. 5.8.17.