Overcoming Rejection in the Industry [The Animation Industry: Preparing for a Career - Unit11]

Overcoming Rejection in the Industry

10/02/25

Durer's Rhino

Introduction

This blog post reflects on facing rejection in the industry. This is likely a common experience and has an array of various nuances. The goal of this blog post is to understand why rejection may happen, what you can learn from it and reflects on a time I've experienced rejection. 

Lecture Reflection

The key findings from the resources on 'Why Rejection is Information' (Williams, 2020) are :

• Rejection is information.
• You will naturally have an emotional response to something that you really want! However, the rational part of your brain needs to take over and understand what you can learn from the situation so that you can improve your processes in the future!
• Ask for feedback from the company and most companies reply because not many applicants will ask. Maybe you weren't right for a particular role but you may well be in the future so this will start to build a relationship between you and the employer and shows that you're interested. This shows that you really want to know why you didn't get that job.
• This information can then help you understand how you could improve or develop your weaknesses. 
• Ask for help to action the feedback from tutors.
• Be the Rhino! You need thick hide to weather the rejections that you will inevitably receive. Sometimes everything is perfect with your application but you aren't right for that studio, so whilst one studio may reject you another you may be perfect for. Understanding this philosophy will mean that you stay resilient and won't get too disheartened. If you keep trying and working on your weak points you will reach your end goals!
• Apply early and apply often! The more jobs you apply for the more likely you are to land one. 
• More often than not it is your demo reel that isn't strong enough and some studios will feedback on what could be improved in your reel.
• Most students don't apply because they don't think they're good enough. However, even if this is the case you open yourself up to more opportunities for feedback meaning you can work towards a winning application, demo reel etc.
• Rejection is normal and everyone will encounter it - it isn't personal. Pick yourself up, learn from the experience and try again!
• Ask for that information or at least follow up if you haven't heard anything.
• Apply a second and third time! Apparently Disney would reject people to see how much someone really wanted the job! The more you contact them the more you're showing you really want that opportunity which shows dedication.

Rejection Reflection

I haven't faced an awful lot of rejection head on, which is fortunate, however, there were some aspects that I can compare to times I succeeded and times where I didn't. When I achieved my role as an animator for Eutechnyx I followed lots of the advice in this module. I did the following : 

• Connected with an array of animation professionals at a range of different companies.
• Sought feedback on my reel and actioned that feedback.
• Followed up with open ends that I'd not heard back from.
• Focussed on developing the quality of my reel.
• One person I connected with had an unadvertised job role that they put me forward for to their HR team and I was offered and interview.
• Had an interview and researched the company to prepare
• I could have prepared for general interview questions a little more, however, the interview mainly centred around talking through my reel and the pieces inside it.
• Didn't hear anything back so I followed up. This triggered a job offer - maybe they were testing me!

One time I faced some rejection was when I was teaching art at a secondary school on a temporary contract and when I applied for the role I wasn't successful. This was frustrating because it was the school I did my teacher training in and had been teaching in for a year. I felt I'd worked super hard and felt I deserved the role. I did achieve an interview but as mentioned I wasn't successful. This was initially an emotional experience because I felt like I needed this role or I would have been jobless as I was getting near the end of the contract. I could have continued doing supply work, however, this wasn't as stable as I would have liked. I did receive feedback and a member of the panel highlighted some of the answers I gave and how I could have developed these further. These were some fairly challenging questions, very different to the standard interview questions, however, I perhaps could have prepared a little more for these. The person they hired was also someone looking to grow into a leadership role and had more experience than I, which perhaps aligned more closely with their hiring plan. 

One of the great things that came from this was one of the candidates they hired told me about the job advert for my current role teaching Games, Animation and VFX at a college. This married my industry skills and teaching skills together and I was a unique candidate for this role. I prepared and achieved this role and it was probably a much better move for my career overall. We could get philosophical and talk about fate, however, it was more coincidental that everything aligned for this opportunity.

So in this situation I received feedback and used this as a driving force to apply for the college job. The interview processes were similar but different. Different in terms of content but similar in terms of the format. This meant that I could use my recent rejection experience as a driving force and point of reference to improve from. I showed tonnes of passion for my subject area and planned a really fun microteach. This was much easier because although I am an artist, I am a game artist and animator more closely, therefore it was easy to show passion in my answers. 

The lessons learned are to definitely never give up and to be nice to people because they in turn will be nice back and help you. The moment that you give up on a goal is the moment it will never happen. So rejection is definitely not the end but a point to learn from. If you can understand why you didn't get that job then you can learn and grow or you can understand that at that moment in time you weren't the best fit for that company. This is good to understand because it helps you understand what you can improve or whether it was something out of your control.

There was another job I didn't get, which was teaching illustration at a University. I quickly learnt that this wasn't the job for me through the interview process so I wasn't disheartened when I didn't get it. Despite not putting my full effort into this I received positive feedback and they highlighted that they went with someone with more illustration professional experience. This shows that there was little more I could have done, short of starting a career in illustration, to get this role. This highlights that whilst sometimes a role might look interesting it still might not be the best role for you.

Something that I will do in the future is definitely preparing for common interview questions more. This is something I've 'winged' to some extent as I hate scripted responses. However, I feel I could build a bit of a plan and a structure which would help me more confidently, clearly and concisely present my experience.

Conclusion

It is difficult not to get emotional, especially when you feel you are perfect for a job and really want it. As the lecture notes explain you need to rationally explore why you didn't get a role and seek feedback. This is great in animation because you can understand what you demo reel is lacking and spend time working to develop this further - guided by the research. This means that you can take a very logical and actionable approach to growth. When looking for a career in animation I will take this iterative approach to developing the quality of my work so that it improves over time and makes me more employable. This is a little like working out at a gym - the more you work the muscles the bigger they get! So the more you work on your demo reel - the more confident you grow as an animator. Your next piece of work is always better than your last. 

Lastly, relying on your support network is key! Use you tutors, peers and other aspects (Like Discord servers) to get feedback and steer you in the right direction. Build relationships with your peers because they are likely to be people that could help you in the future and will remember those that helped them! Build relationships with professionals - if they give you feedback then action that feedback to make your work better! Slowly but surely you will achieve your goals and you should never give up!

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the role of rejection as a learning opportunity in the animation industry.
2. Learn strategies to build resilience and stay motivated in the face of setbacks.
3. Reflect on how rejection can be a stepping stone for professional and personal growth.

Reference List

1. Williams, A. (2020) ‘Why Rejection is Information’, Animation Apprentice, 4th November [Blog]. Available at https://animationapprentice.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-rejection-is-information.html (Accessed 9th February 2025).