Dealing with rejections as a researcher can be a disheartening and discouraging experience, especially when you have invested significant time and effort into your work. Even the most senior academics with decades of experience are no exception to the emotional rollercoaster that rejection can take.
It is crucial not to let rejections break you, but to view them as an opportunity to refine your approach, stay resilient and keep pushing forward. But how do you really get back up after the seemingly endless rejections, revisions and resubmissions?
In this upcoming webinar, lead of the Women in Research initiative, ARC Laureate Fellow and John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker (Curtin University) will share the evidence-based tips on overcoming the feelings and setbacks that come with being rejected, and turning them into success.
She will be joined by ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sara Dolnicar (The University of Queensland), who will share her personal reflections on dealing with and bouncing back from rejections.
Presentation slides:
"One useful or helpful way I respond to a significant rejection (e.g., of a paper, an idea, a grant) is that I..."
I tell other people and get their sympathy
Share my frustration with others and get their support
I reflect on what I did right or wrong
Go for a long walk in nature
Remind myself it's not a criticism of me
I sit on it for a few days so I can respond, rather then react
Read the feedback and really try to understand
leave it for 24 hours
Talk it out with my colleagues
Don't take it personally
step away from the pc!
Think about what I can learn from it
Look at the success rate
do nothing in the first instance
I give myself permission to sulk for half a day (sometimes a whole day if it's a really bad one)
take a deep breath, time out then consider how to use the feedback to improve
Skim read the feedback and then leave it for a few days, then come back with a better mindset
pretend it didn't happen and not think about it
Try and reflect on the wider perspective - in terms of other things I am grateful for in my life, other activities I am successful at
Walk away and not respond for 24 hours...
To think about the principle of the reviewers' concern and remember our common value (e.g., they're asking this because they care about research integrity)
I'm singing it! - Chumbawamba, tubthumping!
Remember that reviewers are people with subjective opinions; be upset for a day and move on to the next outlet, do not brood over rejection more than a day;
I remind myself that someone else's judgement is more about them (and their level of understanding) than it is about me
Tips mentioned by the community:
beware of suppressing the emotion (and then the pressure builds) instead of noticing and acknowledging the emotion. Emotions are an important part of being human... its what we do with them that matters
I was told early on during my career that 'if you are not being rejected you are not submitting enough', meaning that rejections is a good sign that you are productive and submit lots of papers! I like this reframing!
Russ Harris (ACT guru) has heaps of great videos around diffusion and acceptance. I like the sushi train one
The first time when i had a paper rejection, i was very vey upset, but my supervisor from University of Copenhagen told me "Remember if you want to be a researcher, rejection is s part of your academic life", Of course, i still get upset all the time but not as much as the first time.
Love the analogies. I've lived for a long time with the concept that I'm skippering a yacht - external influences are the weather, my emotions are the sea swell
Rejection is not gender or age specific. I have 40 years experience and140 published papers - and I still get rejections from journals. I have two rejection coping strategies:
My first coping strategy is to think of every 4-lettered word I can think of and mentally abuse the editor and anonymous reviewers that they would dare to reject my views after so much investment of my time - and I am a national expert in my field. How dare they! Let all the emotions go and stick the rejected manuscript in the drawer - DO NOT look at it for 7 days. Then you can look at their guidance in an unemotional way.
My second coping strategy is to view the utube or video on the www. Look up "Hitler and science" or similar. It is Hillter's last war conference but it has an English sub titles which portrays his rejection of his paper by a journal. It always gives me a laugh but I appreciate that this may not appeal to everyone. his emotions of failure seem similar to my responses to rejection.
my highest cited paper was rejected from two journals before getting published
An author friend told me once - whenever he finishes a novel, he doesn't submit it straight away, he puts it in a drawer for 4 months and doesn't look at it. Then when he goes back to the novel after the 4-month break, he can revise/edit it and it's ready for submission.
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