Rejection is something that everyone has experienced, and nobody enjoys. We all know that you must find a way to deal with obstacles and challenges in a positive way so you can protect your mental health. For children it is all the more important to handle it with care because you don’t want your child to grow up thinking rejection is normal or that they are unwanted. In the modeling industry, it can be even more intense because your child will work so hard to get a certain job that being told they’re not good enough can be crushing. As their parent it is key that you know how to support them after they have been rejected so they do not get discouraged. It’s all a part of the game, and the more your child understands this, the better suited they’ll be when they miss out on jobs or are told they “just aren’t right” for a role. The key is you, as their parent, need to take on the negative emotions associated with rejection and help them understand that it is all a part of the process. While rejection is tough, it can also be used as a teachable moment and should not be the reason anyone quits modeling. Here are our tips for you to help your child deal with rejection to help them come out even stronger.
When a child model auditions for a job and they are told that they do not fit the role it can be crushing to their confidence. The key thing you can do as their parents is to talk to them about how they feel and how they cannot let this get to them. They must understand that they won’t book every job they go for, and that sometimes the director or producer is just looking for something different. It does not mean they are bad, or less than, or irrelevant, it simply means they aren’t the right fit, and that's ok. The more they can understand that it has nothing to do with who they are and it's simply a business, the better they will feel. This will help keep their confidence up for their next audition. The key is to have conversations immediately after the news. You don't want your child model absorbing the information on their own and then dealing with it alone before you can discuss it with them. We feel that talking to your child is the best thing you can do, and the more open and honest conversations you have, the more their confidence will build and the better they will be.
One thing they will come to learn with experience is that the modeling industry is full of rejection. The more you can normalize it and make it just a part of the job, the easier they will be able to handle being told they didn’t book a job. It will always be disappointing but the sooner they realize it’s just business, the easier it may be for them to let go of the rejection and move on to the next opportunity. Unfortunately in this business your child must have short term memory. They cannot harp on a single failure, or job they didn’t get. Instead they must use it as motivation to go out there and be better than ever.
This is not what we suggest to do every time but in the early stages of their modeling career it may be best to give them something to feel happy about after the bad news. While we never believe in bribing your kids, taking them out to their favorite restaurant, or buying them something as simple as ice cream can truly change their mood. It’s easier to handle rejection when you are doing something you like right after hearing about it. This is also an opportune time to begin discussing with them how they feel about not getting a job, or making a mistake at an audition. It’s always easier for child models to take in rejection while doing something they love which is separate from modeling. This will put them in good spirits which can help them see the problem more clearly, instead of just being sad and down. Once they are feeling better, you can also start gameplanning how to improve so that you don’t have to buy ice cream after every missed job.
At Bensimon Models and Talent we know rejection is part of the game but we do everything in our power to minimize it. We do our best to make sure our child models are auditioning for jobs they fit perfectly and are prepared for. We would never want to just send models to jobs that they might not book. We do our research and learn about your child’s strengths so they can book as much as possible. This way, you may never need to use any of the tips above, but we’ll keep them here just in case.
