Your proposal is a chance to let the client know a little bit more about you and is part of your first impression (in addition to your actual audition file). Whether this is your written proposal on a P2P site, or your body of an email response to an audition request, it’s a place where you can provide a little information and display your professionalism and communication style.

Your service offerings are another great way to stand out and make a good first impression. Being able to offer things like 24 hour turnarounds (or quicker), capabilities for live directed sessions, adding music and sfx, etc...all build your value as a talent. (I've included a VO Service Offerings guide in the free resource package for this post, detailing services commonly offered by top VO Talent, you can download it at the bottom of the post)

While these things are certainly less important than the first 3 in terms of a successful audition (no one who provides a poor read, poor audio quality, and an off-base quote are landing a job because they offer 1 hour turnarounds and write a catchy proposal message) - they are still a good way to differentiate from other talent, and if it comes down to it, could be the thing that sets you apart from other finalists.

5. Credentials/Experience

It might be surprising to see this one come in last on the list, but this post is about what makes a successful audition, not a successful talent overall. Firstly, what I mean by credentials and training/experience, is the actual “prestige” if you will, of those items, and listing them somewhere in your proposal, profile, or website. Obviously I’m not trying to say that training isn’t important to a successful audition, because it has a direct impact on your read, which is number one on this list. But in terms of turning in a successful audition, your credit list and education/training credentials matter less than you may think.

The clearest way to illustrate this, is by relaying the fact that most clients who cast projects don’t even look at the credit lists or backgrounds of the talent they select for projects. If they are looking at an audition that contains a great read, nice professional audio quality, a quote that suits their budget, and the talent is capable of offering any services they require - then what would they care if this is the very first audition this talent has ever done with no training or experience whatsoever, or if he studied with the top coaches and has a credit list full of Fortune 500 companies. If they can provide what the client needs, that’s the most important thing.

Now that hypothetical scenario is a bit far-fetched, as a talent with absolutely zero experience in anything related to VO is very unlikely to be able to provide all of those things, but it highlights the overall point I am trying to make - which is that when auditioning for VO projects, the product you provide is much more important than the history that lead you to be able to provide that product.

In Conclusion…

To sum up, when auditioning for VO jobs, focus your energy on the first two items on this list, in order - your read, and your audio quality. They are far and away the most important elements of your auditions. If these two things get you into a pool of finalists for a job, then the next things that may decide your success are (in order) - your quote, your proposal & service offerings, and your credentials & experience. Put your focus where it matters, and audition smart - good luck!

Action Steps: