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How to Build an Audience in a Human Centered Way
I’ve learned a thing or two about writing online and I’m trying to implement them
It’s a common occurrence — you send off an inquiry email, an application for a job or a contest, or pitch to a publication, only to get no response back. You wait…patiently, of course, for someone to recognize you and your fabulousness. And yet, no one does. After a while, you dust yourself off and try again.
That sounds like a terrible thing, but I’m here to tell you that silence is worse than criticism.
Why? For a variety of reasons that I’ll highlight below.
Take, for example: the job interview process. Many years ago, I traveled four hours to a job interview that lasted a mere 15 minutes. A week later, they sent me a rejection email. I was not surprised. I knew that a short interview was not good. They’d asked me to do some role play, and I apparently failed to impress them. Now came the rejection, and I was ready for it.
I decided to take it a step further and responded to the human resources professional — in this case, the manager of the department, and asked her why they didn’t pick me. What, if anything, can I do to improve my chances? Why wasn’t I qualified? What did the other applicants have that I didn’t?
