Many people in the VO business will say that you have to be ‘thick-skinned’ to survive in this industry. You will need to be able to handle rejection because you are going to get a lot of it!
It’s hard to argue with that. Most voice over artists will have to deal with multiple rejections before landing a job but for any newcomer to the industry the key to survival is being able to take rejection on the chin and go forward. Keep calm and carry on as the slogan says. Some auditions are “cattle calls” where the chance to win is very low and has nothing to do with your voice quality or abilities.
There’s a nice quote by Kelly Cutrone, the US fashion publicist, TV personality and author, about rejection. It goes “When you’re following your inner voice, doors tend to eventually open for you, even if they mostly slam at first.”
She’s right. Perseverance is what this industry is all about so if at first you don’t succeed then try, try again as the famous saying goes. The thing to remember about rejection in the VO world is that it’s not personal. Voice over is a business like any other and with plenty of other VO talent out there, the client is free to choose whoever they like. The client will want a particular voice for a project and if you don’t meet the criteria, they won’t use you.
You won’t be alone. The client will have rejected dozens of other voices as well because they didn’t quite fit in with the product, the service, the subject matter, the brand etc. It might start feeling like you will never get a voice over gig but remember the earlier quote – “doors tend to eventually open for you, even if they mostly slam at first.” The more you put yourself out there, the better your chances become of landing a job.
If you get rejected for an audition then ask the client courteously for some feedback. You won’t always get it but when you do, you become a better voice over artist because of it. The feedback will enable you to learn for the next time, hone your craft and strengthen the areas you need to improve on.
Don’t beat yourself up
Let us share a secret with you. You don’t have to be the best VO artist to get work in this industry. Yes you have to be good but just as important are the relationships you build with potential clients, being reliable, being a pleasure to work with etc. All these things will help you get work and more importantly, repeat work.
Other things you need to be doing to enable you to land VO jobs are:
Networking – and plenty of it! Build relationships with production companies and studios. Share your demos with them and let them know you’re available for work at short notice.
Get a VO coach – work with a coach to iron out any issues, for dealing with feedback, developing your talent and for getting insider tips about the industry.
Keep practising – and this is probably the most important. Perfect your microphone technique, work on your script interpretation, try out different styles of voice over delivery
And finally….
Don’t beat yourself up! – Rejection is all part of the rich tapestry that is voice over. Embrace it, learn from it and move on….
Anyway, what do you guys think? How have you handled rejection? Can you share any tips? It would be great to hear about the experiences you’ve had.
As Brazilian VO I am not been rejected many times in auditions because the work is done by a few, due to the difficulty in communication and lack of experience in the business and the poor quality of the recordings. It is always rewarding when I am chosed to do the job.
This is a subject that needs to be discussed more. I’ve been in the industry professionally for about 7 months now, but I have two agencies representing me and I’ve done nothing through them, despite the combined 37 auditions I’ve done for them total. All of the work I’ve been able to do has been from my networking.
http://www.michaelmontesvo.com
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