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Quick Tip #64

Category: Etiquette
For: Male & Female Models (Freelance & Agency Repped)

Being told by an agency that they'll contact you in a few days is great but plan for the possibility that they might not get back to you when they said they would.

"A few days" is very broad and could mean 1-2 days or it could be a week. Of course it isn't easy being the person waiting for the response. Before you hit the panic button and blow up their phone or email inbox, take a moment to observe standard business etiquette for when to follow up.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to this but I recommend giving an agency between 2-3 "business days" BEFORE reaching out to follow up. A "business day" is defined as being between Monday - Friday...not weekends.

That means if you received an email on a Friday with the promise of reaching back out in a few days, you should reach out for a follow up as early as Tuesday, NOT Monday. Agencies operate strictly Mondays thru Fridays and typically will not do emails on a weekend IF you are not already a represented model. Did you get that promise at an open call on a Wednesday? You can send a follow up as early as Friday or that following Monday (Monday would be "Day 3" in business speak...get it?).

Agencies are busy, especially if they're good, and even though you'll be crazy excited waiting to hear from them, you have to maintain your calm and give them the opportunity to get back to you when it works for their schedule.

Of course you don't want to wait too long to follow up or you could risk falling off their radar. Until an agency offers you a contract to sign, nothing is a guarantee--even if they seemed to really love you. The longest you should wait to follow up is 5 business days.

What should you do if you sent a follow up email or phone call and STILL don't hear back? The bad news is that you'll need to let it go for now. Try sending another follow up a week later and see where that goes. Still nothing? Then consider it a bust for now.

Sending a bunch of follow up emails and calls won't help your case and could make the agency change their mind about signing you simply because they feel you're being too pushy (or annoying). It doesn't make sense, trust me, but this is a business and you have to take on the territory that comes with it, even if it ends up not working out in your favor.

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