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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

How many times have you tried to call someone, and when the call ends it goes to a voicemail recording like this: 

“You have reached the voicemail box of 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-8-9. At the tone, please record your message, or press one for more options.” 

Probably more times than you can count, huh? 

If you’re anything like me, that drives you absolutely crazy when you’re trying to leave a message for somebody. And it also detours people from wanting to leave a message as well; I know it does me. 

This article gives advice on why you should have one of two types of voicemails, and what the two types are. From there, you can either take my advice and create a voicemail or just keep what you have now; it’s up to you. 

The first type of voicemail (and the kind that I have) is the pre-recorded recorded one. In more simple terms: lyrics from a song/movie/video/etc. that make sense. 

Having this type of voicemail not only eliminates the robotic voice that drives people crazy, but it detours spammers as they think you’re a spammer as well. It might not be the most professional, but since I’ve initiated the first 49 seconds of Pink Floyd’s “Waiting for the Worms”, I haven’t had a bogus voicemail message. 

Now the next type (the one you probably should have set up) is your plain voice recorded voicemail. This is your most common voicemail type and is the one most widely used by professionals. 

 Having this type of voicemail allows your caller to know that you care about them, and also tells a little bit about yourself. If I were to create one, it would go something like this: 

“Hi! You’ve reached Brooke Johnpier, but unfortunately, I’m not in a place to take your call right now, as I’m most likely at a sporting event, writing an article, or interviewing someone. Please leave your name, and the reason why you’re calling, and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!” 

Not only does that message allow your caller to get to know that you’re a real person, but it lets them into your life a little bit. The caller now knows that I’m a journalist, I like sports (and attend them), and I do it quite often. Doing this can also clarify things up as well, in case the caller has anxiety or other issues with why they think you’re not picking up the phone. 

In conclusion, you should have one of two types of voicemails. One can be your favorite quote from some sort of pre-recorded media, and the other can be one that tells the caller all about you and why you aren’t answering the phone. In my personal opinion, either is better than having the average robotic voice that says each digit of your phone number individually.  

Brooke Johnpier is a contributor to the SBU chapter of Her Campus. She writes about the more "manly" topics of the site, including automotive, motorsports, mechanical, technical, DIY, and anything hands-on. Brooke is also using this platform as her personal blog, of which she will talk about more personal things that she feels the world should hear about. Besides Her Campus, Brooke is a part-time motorsports journalist for Speedway Illustrated, a columnist for Race Pro Weekly and Dirt Track Digesr, and a staff writer as well as a social media promoter for The Podium Finish, where she is interning. Brooke is also a writer for TAPinto Greater Olean, WSBU The Buzz, and PolitiFact NY. Brooke is also involved with St. Bonaventure's literary magazine, The Laurel. Brooke is currently a sophomore at St. Bonaventure University where she is majoring in Sports Media with minors in Native American and Indigenous Studies & English. You can also find Brooke working as an assistant in the Koop Lab and upstairs in the office, making her money. In her free time, Brooke loves reading, going to the local racetrack, riding four-wheelers, working on cars, and riding in tractor trailers. Brooke is a music lover, and will talk about most any genre, especially her favorites which are rock and rap. Brooke is also a percussionist, a published author, and a women's rights activist. Brooke is also a member of several lineage organizations, and currently holds a national position in one of them. As well as writing for campus media, Brooke is involved with Faith in Fiction, Jandoli Women in Communication, the History Club, College Democrats, and the Indigenous Student Confederacy. A fun fact about Brooke is that she was the only female to ever be in the top 5% of the Automotive Technology class at the trade school she attended in her junior and senior years of high school.