Rejection is a way of life in voice over, or any entertainment business really. How many stories have we seen of actors who have gone on audition after audition after audition only to have the door slammed in their face until that one audition hits and they were off and running? Voice over is a numbers game. The more auditions you do, the better your chances of landing work. You can’t win if you don’t play.

How do we as talent handle these nearly constant rejections? Rejection can be hard to deal with. No one likes to be told that they’re not wanted or good enough. We’re artists and actors and we’re sensitive. We take it personally when we pour our heart and soul into an audition only to be told, you’re not what we want kid, beat it. The pressure mounts even more when we hear casting people or agents say they can tell if they like your audition in the first few seconds so make those first few seconds brilliant. Our egos get bruised and our feelings get hurt. It’s only natural to feel that way.

There are a few things that I’ve learned to do over the years to reduce the sting of rejection and to turn that no into a maybe or even a yes. Don’t quit is one. So one guy didn’t pick you for that character or ad, so what? There are billions of people in the world, who cares what one random person says. Don’t dwell on an audition, even if it’s for something you really really REALLY want. Submit and move on. The more you stare at your inbox, the worse the pain will be if they don’t select you. Track your auditions. See what kinds of reads are booking and what kinds aren’t. Start to shift your focus on the types of reads that are getting success. They may not be the types of jobs that you want to do in voice over, but the market will decide what you’re good at. Embrace what you’re doing well.

In terms of what you’re not booking, do some work to find out why. Don’t bother the casting director with “why not me” emails, but I mean take your auditions and have other talents or your coach or your friends listen to them. Listen to the opinions of those you trust to shoot you straight. If there’s something you can work on, then put that ego in check and do it. If there’s an audio issue that has nothing to do with your read itself, that can be also corrected. Maybe there’s a hum or there’s bad editing or your audio is too low. Voice over is hard enough without you tripping right out of the gate with terrible audio. Correct the things you can and let the rest go.

Most of the time, we never hear back from an audition. It’s standard practice in the industry to assume no news is bad news. While that does seem pretty bad, you have to understand that casting folks are dealing with hundreds, maybe thousands of auditions, and they simply don’t have time to email everyone back and explain they weren’t cast and why. If you do get an email from them telling you that you weren’t picked, celebrate! Not that you didn’t get that part, but that you made enough of an impression that they felt they needed to write you. You’ve made that connection. Write them back and thank them for their time. Don’t be a diva about it, be nice! Build that relationship, and when that part comes along that you would be right for, they’ll think of you.

Rejection sucks and no one likes it, but there things you can do besides curling up in the fetal position or taking your ball and going home. How do you handle rejection? Let me know in the comments. Have a good one and keep voicing!