VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #592 – How Do I Start Without a Resume?
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches, radio. My name is Marissa. It has been, uh, it's been a challenging week here in my household. And I, and I'll just be blatantly honest. Uh, it's been dealing with a sick cat and you know, it's, it's hard because as much as people, um.
You know, wanna go ahead and not enjoy the comparison of pets and kids, like, it's very similar, I think, in the way of like, they can't tell you what's wrong, but they can look at you and try, uh, you know, and, uh, my cat is, he's gonna be 15 next February, and, I mean, I swear, like, I can say things to him, and he understands, and I feel like I can read him pretty well, uh, and, uh, it was last Friday that, has You know, I got up and I, I opened up the doggie door from the basement to let him out, because he usually just comes flying out, and he didn't.
Um, and instead what happened was I went downstairs and I saw an incredible mess. He clearly had a rough night, and he was in his crate with his butt sticking out, and he wasn't moving, and I... My heart dropped to my stomach, right, because he is older, and you just never know what's going to happen. And I, uh, open up the top of the crate, and he's looking at me, and, you know, he looked like he had just had, uh, a hairball or some sort of sickness, and, but you could see something on his nose, like it had come out of his nose a little bit, he was breathing funny.
It was an emergency vet appointment, and thankfully, you know, my vet's awesome here in the Albany area, and they got me right in, and, um, did x rays, they were clear, um, gave him some like anti nausea, you know, they, they gave him some medicine, like antibiotics for the next 10 days. But I will tell you, just as I thought he was getting better, uh, last night, I mean, when I counted, I think we were up to like.
Ten kitty vomits, and it's just not fun. Uh, you know, because you can tell something is up. He was following me all over the house. You know, everything else about him was fine. You know, he's acting normal, and you know, he's purring and like all these things. He's not trying to hide, which is a good thing.
But he was clearly not doing well, so, uh, it's another vet appointment, uh, after, after I go ahead and get done with this podcast episode, I think. I put the call in, so I'm just waiting to hear back, but, uh, I hope that, you know, your, your week has treated you maybe a little bit better than mine. Um, I have cleaned up way too many things and, uh, things that I don't like touching, that's for sure.
Uh, I've had a lot of students over the last couple weeks, uh, throwing out some, some different things at me, right? And one of the I think big things that gets in a lot of people's heads as they're beginning the, the venture into voiceover is, is this, like, I'm a newbie. How do, how do I start? You know, how do you start without anything on a resume?
Well, I mean, think about it. How did you start in whatever career that you've been doing? It's a lot of the same, but I understand it can feel like a little bit of a mind. Like, twist, because this seems so different, uh, but in reality, it's, it's not that much different than getting any other kind of job that you've gotten.
It's a matter of putting the work and the effort in, um, you know, and, and trying. to keep developing your skills, which, you know, a lot of people end up developing whatever skills they have and whatever career field they do based on the, the work that they get and the hands on experience that they get.
And hey, there's got to be somebody out there that gives you that first shot. And then that second first shot, you know, so it's, it's like anything else in that kind of But yeah, you know, you have to go and get the first gig. And I think You know, if you want to tackle it in any kind of way, you know, we've had students that as they're getting ready to record a demo or they've just recorded it, they're kind of like, well, okay, I, I don't even have it yet.
So like, what can I really do? And I'm, I'm all about reaching out. To, to the people that you think make sense, uh, you know, in a lot of ways, it's like you want to maybe start in the local community and see businesses or recording studios or whoever that you might want to be able to work with or be a partner with or whatever.
And the best thing that you can do is just introduce yourself. Um, I don't know if I ever brought this up on the pod before. But back in October of 2019, you know, I found myself in Boston, my contract had not been renewed because they got rid of the position I was doing. I was nights on this radio station in, in Boston.
And, you know, there's a lot of sports teams there. It's like, okay, let's not have anybody on at night to save money because, you know, everybody's paying attention to our Boston sports teams. And I got that. I understood it. Uh, you know, it sucked in that moment, but I, I understood the, the reasoning. Uh, but. I was on that, that hunt, what was gonna be next.
And I, I knew of a directory for radio where I just decided one day, you know what, I've got this demo that I've put together and I've got my resume and yeah, sure I have a resume, right? And I already had a professional demo and whatever, so like that's a step ahead of maybe where a newbie is clearly, uh, you know, but I did the same thing that I'm going to suggest that you do.
And it's just introducing yourself to people, you know, and businesses and potential people that could use you or know of somebody that could. So. It's really, like, I went through this directory, and it was broken down by cities and whatever, and I just decided, you know what, let's just see, where, where would, I pulled out a map, I'm like, where would I like to live, that's, you know, not too far from where I'm from, just because I'm an only child, my parents are getting older, I wanna be able to, you know, get back if I can, if I have to, um, and, that's it.
You know, I picked out all these cities and I was like, cool, all right, let's go ahead, look them up on this directory and see what stations then make sense. I took all the contact information. I went to work and I wrote probably 200 plus emails and I just introduced myself, said, hey, you know, I realized that you might not have any opportunity for me right now and that's totally fine.
I'm just looking to see if I could take a couple minutes of your time and get some feedback. You know, I've been doing this for So many years and I'm just, you know, leaving this location due to a budget cut and, you know, just trying to get some feelers out there and seeing what your thoughts are. And, you know, maybe if you hear of anything, you can pass my name along, you know, it's.
It's, it's casual like conversation type emails like this where you're just being a real human. You're not expecting anything more than maybe a minute of their time, you know, to, to say hey, to introduce yourself, to see what's up. And if you don't even have your demo yet, it's like, Hey, you know what, I'm just getting into this and I'm getting ready to put a demo together.
I'm just wondering if I could send it over your way once it's ready. Uh, you know, the least they can do or the worst they can do is say no or not reply. You know, it, what is it? 30 seconds of your time to send that email? Especially for, I mean, I'll be honest, I didn't send drastically different emails to those 200 plus people.
I, I really was kind of copying and pasting and just massaging where necessary, you know? So it just, seemed like it was personable, um, and, and personally written for them, but it wasn't at the end of the day, you know, so take that time, do your research, introduce yourself just because you're new doesn't mean this can't happen.
It's all about the work that you want to put in. I mean, let's be serious, that's for anything that you ever do. And I'm that person, I'll be honest, I'm a hustler in all ways. Like, if I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it well. And I'm gonna make sure that I get good at it. Um, you know, maybe not the best ever at whatever it might be, because, you know, my talents can only grow so much.
Uh, but I am gonna do it, and I'm gonna do it well. So, do yourself that, that service, and, and put the hard work in. The hustle pays off. If you want it to, if you actually want to do it, you know what I mean? Um, so hone the craft, get the demo, introduce yourself. And these are just beginning steps, you know, but there's steps that.
You really kind of always want to be taking you always want to be building new relationships And this is just a great start So this this is just you know One one more topic to kind of dive into here on the voice coaches radio podcast if you've got something you want us to discuss info at voice coaches calm info at voice coaches calm feel free to send it my way and I'll give you a little kitty update, you know soon all right, cuz man, I hope this old man gets better cuz he's just So dang cute.
Um, you can see pictures on my Instagram, by the way, Marissa on the radio. Uh, but hey, enjoy your week. Enjoy your weekends. We'll talk soon. Brand new episode coming next week. Stay safe. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
You know, wanna go ahead and not enjoy the comparison of pets and kids, like, it's very similar, I think, in the way of like, they can't tell you what's wrong, but they can look at you and try, uh, you know, and, uh, my cat is, he's gonna be 15 next February, and, I mean, I swear, like, I can say things to him, and he understands, and I feel like I can read him pretty well, uh, and, uh, it was last Friday that, has You know, I got up and I, I opened up the doggie door from the basement to let him out, because he usually just comes flying out, and he didn't.
Um, and instead what happened was I went downstairs and I saw an incredible mess. He clearly had a rough night, and he was in his crate with his butt sticking out, and he wasn't moving, and I... My heart dropped to my stomach, right, because he is older, and you just never know what's going to happen. And I, uh, open up the top of the crate, and he's looking at me, and, you know, he looked like he had just had, uh, a hairball or some sort of sickness, and, but you could see something on his nose, like it had come out of his nose a little bit, he was breathing funny.
It was an emergency vet appointment, and thankfully, you know, my vet's awesome here in the Albany area, and they got me right in, and, um, did x rays, they were clear, um, gave him some like anti nausea, you know, they, they gave him some medicine, like antibiotics for the next 10 days. But I will tell you, just as I thought he was getting better, uh, last night, I mean, when I counted, I think we were up to like.
Ten kitty vomits, and it's just not fun. Uh, you know, because you can tell something is up. He was following me all over the house. You know, everything else about him was fine. You know, he's acting normal, and you know, he's purring and like all these things. He's not trying to hide, which is a good thing.
But he was clearly not doing well, so, uh, it's another vet appointment, uh, after, after I go ahead and get done with this podcast episode, I think. I put the call in, so I'm just waiting to hear back, but, uh, I hope that, you know, your, your week has treated you maybe a little bit better than mine. Um, I have cleaned up way too many things and, uh, things that I don't like touching, that's for sure.
Uh, I've had a lot of students over the last couple weeks, uh, throwing out some, some different things at me, right? And one of the I think big things that gets in a lot of people's heads as they're beginning the, the venture into voiceover is, is this, like, I'm a newbie. How do, how do I start? You know, how do you start without anything on a resume?
Well, I mean, think about it. How did you start in whatever career that you've been doing? It's a lot of the same, but I understand it can feel like a little bit of a mind. Like, twist, because this seems so different, uh, but in reality, it's, it's not that much different than getting any other kind of job that you've gotten.
It's a matter of putting the work and the effort in, um, you know, and, and trying. to keep developing your skills, which, you know, a lot of people end up developing whatever skills they have and whatever career field they do based on the, the work that they get and the hands on experience that they get.
And hey, there's got to be somebody out there that gives you that first shot. And then that second first shot, you know, so it's, it's like anything else in that kind of But yeah, you know, you have to go and get the first gig. And I think You know, if you want to tackle it in any kind of way, you know, we've had students that as they're getting ready to record a demo or they've just recorded it, they're kind of like, well, okay, I, I don't even have it yet.
So like, what can I really do? And I'm, I'm all about reaching out. To, to the people that you think make sense, uh, you know, in a lot of ways, it's like you want to maybe start in the local community and see businesses or recording studios or whoever that you might want to be able to work with or be a partner with or whatever.
And the best thing that you can do is just introduce yourself. Um, I don't know if I ever brought this up on the pod before. But back in October of 2019, you know, I found myself in Boston, my contract had not been renewed because they got rid of the position I was doing. I was nights on this radio station in, in Boston.
And, you know, there's a lot of sports teams there. It's like, okay, let's not have anybody on at night to save money because, you know, everybody's paying attention to our Boston sports teams. And I got that. I understood it. Uh, you know, it sucked in that moment, but I, I understood the, the reasoning. Uh, but. I was on that, that hunt, what was gonna be next.
And I, I knew of a directory for radio where I just decided one day, you know what, I've got this demo that I've put together and I've got my resume and yeah, sure I have a resume, right? And I already had a professional demo and whatever, so like that's a step ahead of maybe where a newbie is clearly, uh, you know, but I did the same thing that I'm going to suggest that you do.
And it's just introducing yourself to people, you know, and businesses and potential people that could use you or know of somebody that could. So. It's really, like, I went through this directory, and it was broken down by cities and whatever, and I just decided, you know what, let's just see, where, where would, I pulled out a map, I'm like, where would I like to live, that's, you know, not too far from where I'm from, just because I'm an only child, my parents are getting older, I wanna be able to, you know, get back if I can, if I have to, um, and, that's it.
You know, I picked out all these cities and I was like, cool, all right, let's go ahead, look them up on this directory and see what stations then make sense. I took all the contact information. I went to work and I wrote probably 200 plus emails and I just introduced myself, said, hey, you know, I realized that you might not have any opportunity for me right now and that's totally fine.
I'm just looking to see if I could take a couple minutes of your time and get some feedback. You know, I've been doing this for So many years and I'm just, you know, leaving this location due to a budget cut and, you know, just trying to get some feelers out there and seeing what your thoughts are. And, you know, maybe if you hear of anything, you can pass my name along, you know, it's.
It's, it's casual like conversation type emails like this where you're just being a real human. You're not expecting anything more than maybe a minute of their time, you know, to, to say hey, to introduce yourself, to see what's up. And if you don't even have your demo yet, it's like, Hey, you know what, I'm just getting into this and I'm getting ready to put a demo together.
I'm just wondering if I could send it over your way once it's ready. Uh, you know, the least they can do or the worst they can do is say no or not reply. You know, it, what is it? 30 seconds of your time to send that email? Especially for, I mean, I'll be honest, I didn't send drastically different emails to those 200 plus people.
I, I really was kind of copying and pasting and just massaging where necessary, you know? So it just, seemed like it was personable, um, and, and personally written for them, but it wasn't at the end of the day, you know, so take that time, do your research, introduce yourself just because you're new doesn't mean this can't happen.
It's all about the work that you want to put in. I mean, let's be serious, that's for anything that you ever do. And I'm that person, I'll be honest, I'm a hustler in all ways. Like, if I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it well. And I'm gonna make sure that I get good at it. Um, you know, maybe not the best ever at whatever it might be, because, you know, my talents can only grow so much.
Uh, but I am gonna do it, and I'm gonna do it well. So, do yourself that, that service, and, and put the hard work in. The hustle pays off. If you want it to, if you actually want to do it, you know what I mean? Um, so hone the craft, get the demo, introduce yourself. And these are just beginning steps, you know, but there's steps that.
You really kind of always want to be taking you always want to be building new relationships And this is just a great start So this this is just you know One one more topic to kind of dive into here on the voice coaches radio podcast if you've got something you want us to discuss info at voice coaches calm info at voice coaches calm feel free to send it my way and I'll give you a little kitty update, you know soon all right, cuz man, I hope this old man gets better cuz he's just So dang cute.
Um, you can see pictures on my Instagram, by the way, Marissa on the radio. Uh, but hey, enjoy your week. Enjoy your weekends. We'll talk soon. Brand new episode coming next week. Stay safe. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa talks about what it’s like to be a newbie in the industry and the question on “how do I go about getting work with a blank resume?”
