As the photo accompanying this post illustrates, you may come to a point where you have to choose between two agencies...maybe even more. While they all seem the same, they aren't and you may be unknowingly comparing apples and oranges (or in the case of the photo, apples and--what the heck is that? A sandwich? lol).
Anyways, to get to the point, having even just one agency interested in signing you puts you ahead of the other aspiring models. But if you find yourself with multiple offers, don't get a huge head just yet (although it'll be hard not to!) because you’ll be facing some important decisions.
In the end it is ultimately your decision (and your parents) when it comes to which one you want to take the plunge with. In case you’re worried about finding yourself in this situation, there are a few things you should keep in mind to help your decision along:
First, don’t just go off of which agency is more well known than the other. Using that alone may not work out in your best interest. It’s easy to look at a large agency and automatically think of how far so-and-so got by signing with them. Yes, that is promising evidence of an agency’s capabilities but at the same time, you’ve got to think not about what the agency has done for other models, but what they can do for your modeling career.
Second, think about your future plans with school. Are these agencies located out of state or a few hours away? Are you willing to relocate and maybe pursue college somewhere away from home? If you want to pursue school or know for a fact that you don’t want to go far, then stick to local agencies until you finish high school and have a more solid idea of what colleges you want to go to. You always have the option of switching to a larger modeling agency as your career progresses so don’t get sucked into believing that once you sign with an agency that’s it and you’re stuck.
Third, choose an agency based on how comfortable you are with them. These are people you will be interacting with on a fairly frequent basis. You won’t want to deal with a snooty-poot or an agency that doesn’t treat you with respect. And trust me, there are agencies large and small who carry that “higher than thou” attitude—even towards their own models.
No matter how great an agency is, it isn’t worth much if you aren’t happy with the people representing you. If you’ve got two stellar agencies vying for you, interview with them and get familiar with the agency itself. Which one makes you feel more comfortable and welcome? Chances are, that’s the one for you.
Of course one solution to accepting multiple offers is if you are dealing with agencies with non-exclusive contracts. If each agency has this type of contract, that means you are free to sign with as many other non-exclusive contract agencies as you want—just make sure you adhere to which markets and agencies you can have multiple representation in.
The catch to this arrangement though is that you may be required to travel more frequently. The more agencies you have representing you, the greater your chances are of booking gigs. Make sure you’re willing to devote that extra time and effort to shoots, go-sees, and meetings with your agent. That means you most likely won’t have room for sports, hobbies or school-related activities. However, if you’re dealing with exclusive contract agencies, you can only pick one.
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