Is this rejection?

GlobalSun

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right section, but since I'm a UCD student, I though I'd ask other students who are also applying to internships.

So, I have applied to this internship which clearly states "visual merchandising" and "promotion campaign" in the offer.
It also stated interns are to assist the team during the sales period.
Hence, in my cover letter I talked about the commercial aspect of the internship (was I wrong?). I submitted my application.

The lady sent me an email right away telling me "Hi, This internship has no commercial aspect to it. Regards". Hum ok.


I don't understand. Is this an informal rejection? Or am I supposed to say something back? I don't really get it.


Thanks

ironclaw

What do you mean by 'commercial aspect'? You need to be a little more clear as it could simply be how you phrased your letter and they misunderstood.

I don't read that as a rejection, it entirely depends on the context and tone, of which an email has none. The amount of times I've received an email that I took badly / wrong but later found out to be the complete other tone / context.

I'd keep applying for internships anyway as a matter of course. Never only apply for one as some companies just don't bother getting back to people (And you should remember them. I'd never work for anyone who would not take the time to reply to me given the time I spent getting in contact with them)

That said, thats not a rejection in my eyes.

GlobalSun

ironclaw wrote: »

What do you mean by 'commercial aspect'? You need to be a little more clear as it could simply be how you phrased your letter and they misunderstood.

I don't read that as a rejection, it entirely depends on the context and tone, of which an email has none. The amount of times I've received an email that I took badly / wrong but later found out to be the complete other tone / context.

I'd keep applying for internships anyway as a matter of course. Never only apply for one as some companies just don't bother getting back to people (And you should remember them. I'd never work for anyone who would not take the time to reply to me given the time I spent getting in contact with them)

That said, thats not a rejection in my eyes.

Should I send them a response to explain "commercial" aspect and ask them if I'm still eligible?

I'm applying to other internships, but this one is definitely the most prestigious.

ironclaw

GlobalSun wrote: »

Should I send them a response to explain "commercial" aspect and ask them if I'm still eligible?

I'm applying to other internships, but this one is definitely the most prestigious.

Honestly no one here can make a recommendation as the 'commercial' aspect your referring to isn't clear without seeing the actual ad for the internship or the phrasing you used in your cover letter. Context is key

Its no harm to ask but seeing as they said it has no 'commercial aspect' (WHich I can't make sense of given the lack of context) and if you ask again, that would annoy me personally if I got an email like that.

What do you mean by commercial? Do you mean will the internship be paid? Or will you be working in a commercial context?

GlobalSun

ironclaw wrote: »

Honestly no one here can make a recommendation as the 'commercial' aspect your referring to isn't clear without seeing the actual ad for the internship or the phrasing you used in your cover letter. Context is key

Its no harm to ask but seeing as they said it has no 'commercial aspect' (WHich I can't make sense of given the lack of context) and if you ask again, that would annoy me personally if I got an email like that.

What do you mean by commercial? Do you mean will the internship be paid? Or will you be working in a commercial context?

What I meant by commercial:
- Selling / Buying strategies
- Merchandising
- Brand promotion

The phrase I used is "gaining some experience in visual and fashion merchandising [...] sales and promotion strategies of a luxury fashion house".

What their offer stated:
- Assist the team during the sales campaign of the brand
- Help with visual merchandising (displaying the products and such)
- Assist the team during buyers/sellers meetings

It's a sales/promotion campaign for a Fashion brand. Basically, buyers will be attending the event to buy specific fashion items. So, I'm talking about working in the commercial context (selling/buying items).

Was I way off? I'm not sure, but I think selling, buying, promoting all fall into the "commercial" category, don't they?

Now the thing is I am interested in this position regardless of the lack "commercial" aspect. I would like to pursue a career in Fashion, so I referred to the commercial aspect of this internship because I thought it was the direction they were going for. I just wanted my cover letter to fit the offer. I'm not specifically interested in the "commercial" aspect solely.

ironclaw

Sounds to me like they misunderstood you. I wouldn't worry and just see what happens.

[Jackass]

Why don't you respond, asking for clarification and expand on what you meant by commercial exposure, quoting directly from the ad said (i.e. assisting the team etc.)