Turning a rejection into a fellowship

April 21, 2017 3:09 PM

I got rejected for a fellowship that I was really excited about. Can I get them to reconsider?

I recently applied for a fellowship, and heard back today that I didn't get it. I had been really hoping to get it: I love the community it is part of, frequently attend events featuring current and past fellows, and would have loved to have the oppertunity to engage in research there. I also saw it as a vehicle for my own growth and development. I wanted to apply last year, but find writing applications very challenging, and basically talked myself out of it. This time, I decided to go for it.

I am currently working as a researcher, and don't have much published, eg I currently don't have a large body of work with my own name on it. Instead, most of what I do ends up for the Primary Investigators I work for. My PIs wrote me letters of recommendations for it, and supported my application. I knew that applying for this fellowship that I might not have been the strongest candidate, but still hoped.

I don't want to give up quite yet, even if I am gutted I didn't get it. And I am hoping that by next year I might be somewhere else...

What can I do to get them to reconsider? I am already planning on writing a thank you for considering me, and asking for feedback.

Should I ask one of my PIs to reach out and advocate for me? Should I appeal directly? Posts like this one give me some hope, but I don't know how it works with academia.

posted by troytroy to Work & Money (7 answers total)

Best answer: No, it does not work that way in academia. You are unlikely to get feedback from them, and they definitely will not reconsider you no matter how you ask or who asks. You haven't said much about your current position, but to get out of it you need your name on publications. If you are doing the work, your name should be on the paper as a co-author. Rather than badgering the fellowship people, you need to have serious talks with your PIs about your career plans.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:13 PM on April 21, 2017 [33 favorites]

Agree with hydropsyche - but want to add, that in the future, you should consider finding out who is on the selection committee and figure out a way to get on their radar. There is the straight forward way, say calling them up pre-application to talk about the fellowship and learn more (and talk about why you think you are a good fit), or better still, you can go to their talks or find other places they might be present and introduce yourself and be a known presence. Don't stalk, but be present so when they see your name late on they can be like...oh yeah, troytroy, s/he always has good contributions.
posted by Toddles at 5:18 PM on April 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

Yeah this thing is done, move on. Even the best academics deal with tons of rejection, it's a necessary skill for the job. Also don't do research in academia if your name can't be at least one of many names on the author list.

I suppose the culture can vary by field but If you are in the natural sciences I have a feeling your PIs are not treating you right.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:08 PM on April 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

Fellowships don't reconsider because they have a set amount of money available and by the time they tell you you were unsuccessful they've notified the successful people already and used their pool of money.

Publications tend to be the main factor in most fellowship decisions, so it's usually not worth applying unless you are a bit of a publications superstar, sorry.
posted by lollusc at 11:16 PM on April 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

If they are a very small fellowship scheme, they might give you feedback though. So your plan to ask for that, either yourself or indirectly through your PI (if they personally know one of the decision makers) is fine. If it's a bigger thing, they probably won't respond to such a request.
posted by lollusc at 11:20 PM on April 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you'd like feedback (not reconsideration for this year at least), consider reaching out to someone personally via email. You might try asking the former fellows you know for who to target ("Oh, Mary is not likely to be responsive, but Bob might") and be really careful about your tone. I do a lot of hiring. When I call my 2, 3, 4 etc candidates to tell them I'm not hiring them - that is a very important opportunity for future job consideration. The candidates who can be professional and cordial despite their disappointment are definitely on my list for future thought (the converse is very true as well). I learn a lot about people when I call them to tell them we're hiring someone else, often more than I learn during a job interview.

I'd reach out with something like,

"Bob,

My name is Troytroy. I was so excited to be considered for the XYZ Fellowship this year - having known several of the fellow (Christy, Paula and Mark) and worked extensively in that community, I am aware of what an amazing Fellowship program you have. I received the letter announcing you've made your selections this year a few weeks ago. I was wondering if you might have any feedback for me, or any advice to help me improve my application for this and other fellowships in the future? I'm available via phone if that would be more convenient for you. I'd be grateful for any advice you could provide as I continue my work in THING and delve deeper into this fascinating field.

Troytroy
email, phone"

Then give it a month. After a month, call his phone number and leave a very short message in a friendly, positive tone "Hi Bob, this is Troytroy - I wanted to follow up from my email in April to see if you'd have a few minutes to give me any feedback to help me improve my fellowship applications? Thank you in advance for any feedback you might have. My number is X."

Then don't call again.

Be aware some people won't call you at all. And if they do call, they may be vague. I have to be super careful about how I give feedback. Remember, any feedback at all is a gift. Be humble, be grateful, don't take up too much of their time.
posted by arnicae at 7:37 AM on April 22, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you to everyone who responded. I appreciate the reality check, and the helpful feedback!
posted by troytroy at 8:14 AM on April 24, 2017