{"id":13890,"date":"2010-06-02T16:39:16","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T13:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/model.world\/directory\/?p=13890"},"modified":"2025-03-15T16:52:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T13:52:50","slug":"at-the-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/at-the-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"At the Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re in the door. Now your visit needs to be treated like a\u00a0job interview, but with some additional considerations.
\nDress<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nYou should wear something upscale and flattering that\u00a0generally shows the shape of your body. You need to show the
\nagency that you can present yourself well on go-sees. Women\u00a0should wear a skirt (from knee length to a couple of inches above\u00a0the knee) and high heeled shoes. Do what models do: wear flats\u00a0to the door of the agency, take your heels out of your purse, put\u00a0them on, and put the flats into the purse. Then walk in.
\nPersonality<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nAgencies want to see outgoing, confident, engaging\u00a0personalities. You need to portray reliability, commitment to
\nmodeling, and willingness to take direction as well. If a young\u00a0model brings a parent, the parent should sit quietly and let the\u00a0model speak. The agency wants to see how well you present\u00a0yourself, not how well your mother can. Parents can respond\u00a0when spoken to, or ask questions when necessary, but this is\u00a0about the model, not the parent. Less is more.
\nAvailability<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nOne of the primary concerns of the agency will be, \u201cCan you\u00a0get to castings and jobs when you need to?\u201d If you already live in\u00a0their city and have a very flexible job (or night job) that may not\u00a0be an issue. But be prepared to tell them how you will relocate, if\u00a0necessary, and arrange your time so you can be available during\u00a0the business day.<\/p>\n

Things Not to Do<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s not hard to turn \u201cyes\u201d into \u201cno\u201d if you don\u2019t handle\u00a0yourself well. Here are some common mistakes models make\u00a0with their letter or visit to an agency:
\n1. Be late. That\u2019s the surest way to get on the agency\u2019s bad\u00a0side. They sell reliability as much as they sell models, and
\nyou just told them you aren\u2019t reliable.
\n2. Come to the appointment looking very different from your\u00a0photos. They asked you in for what you looked like when the
\nshots were taken. If you\u2019ve gained age or weight, or cut or\u00a0colored your hair differently, you should have sent in different
\npictures.
\n3. List all the things you don\u2019t want to be. \u201cI just want to be\u00a0hired to be me. I don\u2019t want to lose weight, cut my hair, wear
\nclothes I don\u2019t like . . . .\u201d Models are hired to be what the client\u00a0wants them to be. If you can\u2019t accept that, you should consider\u00a0another line of work.
\n4. Make an appointment to come to an agency, then reschedule\u00a0it three times because you are too busy. You have just made it\u00a0look like you aren\u2019t available to be a model, or don\u2019t place\u00a0modeling high in your priorities. Agencies don\u2019t like that.
\n5. Take your boyfriend with you and have him hang out in the\u00a0agency. If you aren\u2019t a minor, you should come alone to the
\nagency. If you need advice or support, you get it after the\u00a0interview, somewhere else. If you are a minor, you should\u00a0bring a parent along early in the conversation, if not the first\u00a0interview.
\n6. Come to an agency door without an appointment, be told\u00a0you need one, and insist on coming in anyway.
\n7. Have inappropriate pictures in your portfolio. Agents will\u00a0look at the whole thing. If you have anything but excellent\u00a0pictures, appropriate to that agency in your book, get it out.
\n8. The \u201cL word\u201d. If an agency offers you a contract, it\u2019s fine to\u00a0take it home and have a lawyer look it over. If you aren\u2019t
\ncomfortable reading contract language, it\u2019s a good idea. But\u00a0don\u2019t tell the agency you plan to involve your lawyer. That
\nmakes you sound like a problem. If they are wavering about\u00a0you, that can turn the tide.
\n9. Argue with the agent. Make sure to tell him that the fashion\u00a0industry is making a mistake and really needs people like you
\ninstead of what they typically hire. He\u2019s heard that one 7,000\u00a0times already, and it has never worked.<\/p>\n

Non-Traditional Approaches<\/strong>
\nIf traditional approaches don\u2019t work it may be time for a\u00a0different tack. Here are three time-tested ways to make a
\nfavorable impression on an agency.
\nBring Work<\/strong>
\nHave you been self-marketing? Had a job offer? If it\u2019s a\u00a0reasonably good job, call up an agency you are interested in (and
\nqualified for) and ask them to handle it for you. Many agencies\u00a0are happy to do that. By showing you can bring them work, you\u00a0become more valuable in their eyes. If you fit the profile of their\u00a0models, they may well decide to regularly represent you, even if\u00a0they rejected you in the past.
\nIt can be a win-win. They make money on a job they\u00a0otherwise wouldn\u2019t have and may build a relationship with a new
\nclient. You may have to pay a commission, but some agencies\u00a0will waive commission on a job you bring them if they can charge\u00a0the client an agency service charge. Even if you do have to pay a\u00a0commission, the agency may be able to negotiate a higher rate for\u00a0the job, and they will handle the billing and collection problem for\u00a0you.
\nIntern<\/strong>
\nModel agencies love free labor. Many of them have formal\u00a0internships available, and others will informally let people help
\nout in the office for free. Call them up, offer to come in for an\u00a0interview and donate your services. If you work with them and
\nthey like you, they may send you out on castings that you are\u00a0qualified for and you are more likely to get representation. Or
\nyou may get an offer for a paid office job with the agency.
\nBecome a Celebrity<\/strong>
\nHaving trouble being noticed as a model? Get known as an actor,\u00a0a singer or anything else that brings you into the public eye.\u00a0Fame is saleable in commercial work, and it\u2019s common for\u00a0advertisers and editors to use known faces rather than unknown\u00a0models in ads and editorials.
\nExclusive or Non-Exclusive?<\/strong>
\nIf you get interest from a modeling agency you may have to\u00a0deal with the question, \u201cShould I sign an exclusive contract?\u201d
\nSome agencies (fashion agencies, mother agencies and others who\u00a0think they can get away with it) will ask you to sign an
\n\u201cexclusive\u201d with them. That means you can only work with their\u00a0agency (or one they send you to). Any work you get, no matter\u00a0how you get it, they get a commission.\u00a0It\u2019s easy to see why they want it. They don\u2019t want to have to\u00a0compete for your services, nor spend time and effort developing\u00a0you as a model only to see you go to some other agency to get\u00a0work. If they make a large investment in you, it\u2019s they want to\u00a0have a chance to get a return on the investment. On the other\u00a0hand, if they aren\u2019t offering anything you can\u2019t do for yourself,\u00a0you may be signing away your rights and a portion of your\u00a0income for not much of value.\u00a0Some agencies offer non-exclusive contracts: you are free to\u00a0work with other agencies or on your own with no commission to\u00a0them. That seems like a better deal for the model, and in many\u00a0cases it is. Still, agencies are like anyone else: if you give them a\u00a0bigger incentive to work for you, they are likely to do more work.\u00a0Non-exclusive agencies are much less likely to devote a lot of\u00a0resources to developing or supporting models.
\nAn exclusive contract with an agency make sense:
\n— If you really are confused about how to enter the\u00a0marketplace, and can\u2019t get what you need from reference sources\u00a0like this book or advice from Internet modeling support sites, you\u00a0may need a personal manager or mother agent.
\n— If you don\u2019t have the resources to fund your modeling\u00a0career and an agency offers to front you the money, an exclusive
\nwith them may be your only realistic choice.
\n— If you are not authorized to work in the United States and\u00a0an agency offers to sponsor your work visa, they probably will
\nexpect you to sign an exclusive.
\n— If you want to work overseas, you should have an exclusive\u00a0contract with a domestic agency which has strong relationships
\nwith foreign agencies.
\n— If the agency has a strong and unique position in the\u00a0market, you may consider signing an exclusive with them even
\nwhen it\u2019s not customary in that market segment. An example\u00a0would be the Commercial Print division of Ford, New York,
\nwhich operates much differently than specialized commercial\u00a0print agencies do.
\n— If it\u2019s the only good agency in town (or the only one willing\u00a0to work with you after you have applied to many), they require an\u00a0exclusive, and you want to be a model there. You don\u2019t have\u00a0much choice.
\n— If they are widely known for the power of their marketing.\u00a0This especially applies to the top fashion agencies. If IMG offers
\nyou an exclusive contract, you don\u2019t argue about whether or not\u00a0you want to be with them on a non-exclusive basis.
\n— If it\u2019s the standard for agencies of that type in your city. But\u00a0confirm that with other similar agencies before you make that
\nchoice.\u00a0Even when the agency prefers an exclusive contract, many of\u00a0them will allow you to work with them on a non exclusive basis(to \u201cfreelance\u201d), at least at the beginning. That can be a wise\u00a0choice; it allows you to get experience with the agency and its\u00a0clients before you have to make a long-term commitment to them.\u00a0There are times when an exclusive contract will be offered\u00a0when it is not a good idea:
\n— A \u201cpersonal manager\u201d with little real experience in the\u00a0industry offers to \u201cdevelop you\u201d and present you to agencies. If
\nthey don\u2019t have years of experience actually working in agencies\u00a0as bookers, they are likely not going to be effective. Even if they\u00a0do have the experience, do you really need them?
\n— Any \u201cagency\u201d or \u201cmanager\u201d that operates primarily on the\u00a0Internet. They rarely have much mainstream value and can keep
\nyou from being signed by a good agency.
\n— A real agency that tries to get you to sign an exclusive even\u00a0though the norms of his market segment are non-exclusive. An
\nexample would be a commercial print agency in New York.\u00a0Some of them claim they will give preferential treatment to the
\nmodels that are exclusively with them. The truth is, if you are\u00a0right for a job, they\u2019ll send you on it no matter what kind of\u00a0contract you have with them. If you sign an exclusive you are\u00a0limiting your ability to get work from other agencies.
\n— When the \u201cagency\u201d is a modeling school.
\n— When the \u201cagency\u201d is in some city a long way from you,\u00a0doesn\u2019t have an office where you live, and they aren\u2019t a nationally
\nknown fashion agency. You probably shouldn\u2019t sign any kind of\u00a0contract with them, but certainly not an exclusive one.<\/p>\n

When It Doesn\u2019t Work<\/p>\n

<\/strong>It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not<\/em>
\na weakness; that is life.<\/em>
\n— Jean Luc Picard<\/em>
\nYou get the right kind of pictures, write a good letter, wangle\u00a0yourself an invitation to the agency of your choice . . . and they
\nturn you down. You build a portfolio and a comp card and they\u00a0still turn you down. After six weeks of interning they still have
\nnever sent you out on a go-see. It\u2019s time to do something\u00a0different. What to do?<\/p>\n

Re-Evaluate What You Are<\/strong>
\nYes, we know you want to be an editorial fashion model.\u00a0Everybody does. But very, very few can do it, and thousands try
\nevery year. Maybe it\u2019s time to consider fashion print or\u00a0commercial print modeling. Already tried commercial print?
\nMaybe instead of the glamorous babe type you ought to consider\u00a0a comp card portraying you as a soccer mom or business woman.\u00a0If you don\u2019t have the finely chiseled features of a matinee idol,\u00a0you might even consider the field of character modeling. It\u2019s far\u00a0less crowded, pays just as well, and you get the most amazingly\u00a0interesting kinds of work.<\/p>\n

Change Your Appearance<\/strong>
\nGet a new hairstyle, new clothing styles, gain or lose weight, joina gym and tone up, buy a set of contacts and lose the glasses. Inextreme cases, try minor cosmetic surgery to correct a nose orother small imperfection that may keep you from working.<\/p>\n

Get New Pictures
\n<\/strong>This is the time to try the full portfolio and comp cardapproach, with your new look, in the market niche you really fit,
\nand with the best photographers you can get. The shots have to beabsolutely outstanding and perfectly crafted to the style agencieswant to see for your type. You want to turn a \u201cno\u201d into a \u201cyes\u201d.This is not the time for half way measures.<\/p>\n

Try Different Agencies<\/strong>
\nIt may be that your city contains several good, real agencies with different focuses. In New York there are well over a hundred\u00a0model agencies with all kinds of specialties, from editorial fashionto fitness, commercial print, glamour, jewelry modeling, charactertypes and pregnant models. It\u2019s just a matter of finding the onethat specializes in people like you. Look at agency websites, readnews articles about them, call up and ask if you can\u2019t find enoughinformation. The best agency for you is one that alreadyrepresents models like you.<\/p>\n

Try a Different Market<\/strong>
\nYou\u2019re the edgy, beautiful-but-not-pretty type? What are you\u00a0doing in Omaha. Get to New York! Cheerleader type or surfer
\ndude? Try Los Angeles. Move to a smaller market with less\u00a0competition or a larger one with more diversity of opportunity.<\/p>\n

Self Market<\/strong>
\nIf you aren\u2019t already doing it, put yourself out there on your own.\u00a0Get some experience and tearsheets, learn the ropes, and come\u00a0back with a book that knocks a booker\u2019s socks off. Nothing is\u00a0more attractive than a model with proven success.<\/p>\n

Try Another Line of Work<\/strong>
\nYou might try one of the fields related to modeling and use it to\u00a0come to the attention of someone who hires models. Act, be a\u00a0makeup artist or stylist, assist a commercial photographer or go to\u00a0work in an advertising agency.
\nIf none of this works for you after you\u2019ve really given it your\u00a0best, it might be time to listen to your mother\u2019s advice and\u00a0become a dentist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re in the door. Now your visit needs to be treated like a\u00a0job interview, but with some additional considerations. Dress You should wear something upscale and flattering that\u00a0generally shows the shape of your body. You need to show the agency that you can present yourself well on go-sees. Women\u00a0should wear a skirt (from knee length […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":13891,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2166],"tags":[2306,2308,2304,2311,716,2314,2313,2310,2307,2305,2312,1578,2309],"class_list":["post-13890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guide","tag-at-the-agency","tag-become-a-celebrity","tag-bring-work","tag-fashion-agencies","tag-freelance","tag-get-new-pictures","tag-makeup-artist-or-stylist","tag-marketplace","tag-model-agencies","tag-non-traditional-approaches","tag-personal-manager","tag-personality","tag-your-modeling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13892,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13890\/revisions\/13892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}