#ModelMonday : How To Prepare (or Not Prepare) Your Modeling Resume

Hey Loves!

Can you believe we're a quarter of the way through the year?!  I'm going to use this month to prepare you for the other 75% of the year. This week we've got a great article from Vanessa Helmer that focuses on getting your resume together. Enjoy her wise words below!

If you are a new model and haven’t booked any modeling jobs you are most likely struggling with how to create a modeling resume. What exactly should you put on your modeling resume and what are the agents and clients looking for?

When you apply for a job outside of the modeling industry you are expected to have a resume.  A resume typically lists your education, skills, experiences, accomplishments, and job-related interests in order to impress a potential employer and show them you’re the right person for the job.

A lot of people typically use templates they find online and cut and paste their information into them. I did a little research and to my surprise, there were numerous web sites showing examples of how to set up and write modeling resumes. The sites went into great detail about what information a model should put on their resume and some were even selling templates that models could purchase and just fill in their own information. Really?

You see here's the thing - there is no such thing as a modeling resume and you don't need one - EVER!  Did I just hear a collective sigh of relief!

I have worked as a model agent and scout for 30 years and I have never asked a model for their modeling resume. I have never prepared one for any of my models, nor have I ever been asked by any of the hundreds of modeling agencies I work with every day to provide them with a modeling resume for a model I was promoting.

So, if someone is trying to sell you a template for a modeling resume you can save your money. 

In the modeling business, a model’s photos are her resume. Rather than listing experience, training, and other stats on a piece of paper, a model’s photos will show potential agencies and clients all they need to know about hiring that particular model.

  The photos may be of actual work the model has done – these are called "tearsheets", or they can be photos that the model has taken by a photographer on her own behalf – these are called "tests". Even if a model doesn’t have professional photos, snapshots are acceptable to show to the agents and scouts and even clients.

In order to present her resume, or in this case photos, to potential agents, scouts and clients a model may post her photos on an online model scouting site or print several hundred “composite cards”. A composite card is a selection of five or six of the model's best photos that are printed on a card which includes the model's name, stats, agency representation and contact information.  Professional models will often do both.

The only time a model may need a resume is if he or she is also an actor. Actors do use and submit resumes to agents, casting directors and clients when applying for acting jobs. Having said that, it is not customary for models who are represented by modeling agencies to use an acting resume even if they are applying for an acting job when their primary status is model.

So, don't stress about modeling resumes - agents and clients don't want them and models don't need them.

  Models always let their pictures do the talking.