I was once a scout for a company called eModel, the objective of eMOdel was to obtain a certain amount of models a week. When I went in for my interview, which was group based, you could already tell the ones that were going to get pikced and the ones that were luckey. I and a bunch of other trendy, nice looking people were picked. We were trained for one week, sent out into the city for long hours at a time to randomly pick people who had "potentail" and offer them this "great oppertunity". sounds legal? they cliam to do business with Elite.
Whilemina, and a bunch of A-list modeling agencies including five thousand other agencies. That would mean roughly every agency in the world. in reality, they only do business with about twelve. also after we were trained we were sent to our home towns to scour the streets for potentail models, alone, with no gudience. many of us left our jobs believeing that we were going to get paid a six figure income, when the only check i recived was for twenty dollars.
They carelessly put me in the hole, as were others. people with children and responsbilties we were left out in the cold, to fend for oursleves. On top of this, some one very close to me was scouted, and eModel promises that they would give you your money back if you were not satisfied with them, wrong, instead if you read the fine print at the bottom of the last page it states that if you are not satisfied no money will be returned instead you two years on the site for free. Which sounds like a decent deal the problem is you just wasted almost five hundred dollars. Yes this is not for free. The whole point of eMOdel is to put together a digital comp card. You think you get a free evaluation, you get to sit in a room full of potentail models while someone walks out and spends the whole time trying to buy you, then you go back and you meet with that person one on one, and usually they pick everyone in the room.
As far as scouts go, because so many of them quit, they constantly hire model scouts weekly. So you think you are picked out one in a million. You really are just another lab rat for them to play with. Out of everone who was hired with me has quit.
Also, shortly after i started to lose faith in eMOdel, i stumbled across an article about eModel and how they treat thier employee's and how they trick their customers. The article was enough for me to not want anything to do with them. If you are someone who really wants to model, and you really want to be seen, look for an agency near you. It doesn't have to be the best agency, but the local agency may even get you out there.
STAY AWAY FROM MODELING SCHOOLS, AND NATIONAL SCOUTING CONVENTIONS. i have been to evey one you can think of, and they all ask for money, and besides modeling is a no brainer, you don't need to go to school to learn how to walk down a runway, or how to toss your hair properly over your shoulder, if you want a school watch E entertainment, or a fashion channel. If there is one good thing that has come from working at eModel it has to be that they made me realize how i don't want to be, i don't want to be a hustler, i don't want to steal innocent people's money, and i suerly do not want to scam people. Also working there has made me realize my career goals, and how i am going to get there.
I'm currently going to school to be a psychiatrist, and on the side a budding screenwriter. My last peice of wisdom: They seem convinceing, but if you are approached by any eModel scout, or modeling school RUN!!!
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