I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Scam!
Being a selectively free agent in the work world has exposed me to the disgusting underbelly of greed and just plain old weasel-snake behavior! (Yes, that is a term I made up in 90s, ask my best friend Cindy Van Wert!)
My dad always told me that if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
I have seen so many get rich quick, no experience necessary, gig booking "help", auditioning tips, how to source clients and work from home gimmicks that my eyes are crossing and my blood pressure is definitely at it's worse.
I consider myself a fairly reasonable and smart person. However, these folks have gotten good to hide their internet trickery. These guys are posting their bogus opportunities on valid job search engines, websites and using catch phrases that grab your attention.
It will take some time. And if they ask for money up front, professionals have never heard of them, or if their website looks low budget and jenky- head for the hills!
If you get a phone screen for a job and the interviewer doesn't even listen to what you're saying about your past experience and immediately schedules you for an interview- it's a red flag. Steer clear of those "No experience necessary" ads. You need to school yourself on spotting these wolves in sheep clothing asap. Go to places like Glassdoor and look at the ratings the employees give for these places you may want to apply for work. It doesn't take a lot of time to just go the extra mile. But also take those reviews with a grain of salt. Glassdoor to me is like Yelp for work. Folks may or may not be giving you the real deal. Use your best judgement.
I have spent hours attending "free webinars" to help me build my coaching, singing, acting and anything else businesses. These are just sales tactics to buy the person's whole sales package. Nothing in this world is free. And folks who think that time is free are fooling themselves. I've gotten off some of these "helpful" webinars only to realize I could have been building my business or networking with that lost time.
If you have that type of money to unload on these folks- do it. But really, if it seems like it has scales...it's too fishy and you need to cut bait and run!
In October, I got some tickets to a "Motivational Seminar". 2 tickets for $10. I thought I was getting a great deal. One of my favorite speakers was going to be there and that $10 was worth it. I then got a MeetUp invite from some business women's group I belong to and they had FREE tickets. I was like what's going on here? There were some award winning world renowned speakers at this thing and they're giving tickets away? I went to one of my favorite speakers' website to see if he had this event on his website. And he didn't. ODD! I called the seminar headquarters to get a breakdown of the events because the website didn't identify the agenda. The tickets were listed at all of these different tiers of prices but I got my Platinum originally $85 tickets for just $10?! With a free breakfast and lunch? The MeetUp ladies got their tickets for free! I did some more digging and guess what?! It was a huge sales scam. Reviews revealed that they lure you in and then drone on about whatever it is they want to sell you- real estate, religion, multilevel marketing, or anything else that you didn't originally sign up for. You want to go and get motivated. They'll motivate you alright! You'll be motivated into something you may not have signed up for or care to hear. My gut told me something was up.
GO WITH YOUR GUT!
I've been looking at this voiceover talent agency that found me on Backstage. It "seems" pretty good. They offered me a non-exclusive contract to work with them. They were going to set up my profile page and everything....However, they wanted to charge me for another service that will be posting my audition demos. My question was "Why work with this talent middle man and not just post directly with the paid site?" Also why are all of these sites asking me to pay? I thought talent agencies find you the gig and take a commission. What's really going on here?
And maybe you do need to give a little to get a little?
The really reputable voice talent sites that other pros are using, charge an arm and leg to post my demos on their sites. One professional site gave me a free membership and now sends me taunting emails sharing that I would have gotten the audition if I paid for my membership...$365 a year! That's not guaranteeing that I will get a voice acting gig!
I already pay to Backstage and LinkedIn for my professional hook ups. Those have yielded some really good opportunities to be seen/auditioned. However, I can keep doling out my cash on these other sites. But there are scammers that slither their way into these sites too. Be alert! Research x 3! It's really important to not go into these things with a skeptical approach.
I'm going to leave this helpful link about scams in the talent world for others to reference.
I'm really happy that I haven't been duped too badly. Luckily, I've wasted a few hours. But that's a hell of a lot better than wasting hundreds of dollars on scams. There are people out there that prey on the dreams of others. Don't be duped!
https://losangelesheadshots.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/top-ten-ways-to-tell-if-an-agency-is-a-scam/
My dad always told me that if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
I have seen so many get rich quick, no experience necessary, gig booking "help", auditioning tips, how to source clients and work from home gimmicks that my eyes are crossing and my blood pressure is definitely at it's worse.
I consider myself a fairly reasonable and smart person. However, these folks have gotten good to hide their internet trickery. These guys are posting their bogus opportunities on valid job search engines, websites and using catch phrases that grab your attention.
It will take some time. And if they ask for money up front, professionals have never heard of them, or if their website looks low budget and jenky- head for the hills!
If you get a phone screen for a job and the interviewer doesn't even listen to what you're saying about your past experience and immediately schedules you for an interview- it's a red flag. Steer clear of those "No experience necessary" ads. You need to school yourself on spotting these wolves in sheep clothing asap. Go to places like Glassdoor and look at the ratings the employees give for these places you may want to apply for work. It doesn't take a lot of time to just go the extra mile. But also take those reviews with a grain of salt. Glassdoor to me is like Yelp for work. Folks may or may not be giving you the real deal. Use your best judgement.
I have spent hours attending "free webinars" to help me build my coaching, singing, acting and anything else businesses. These are just sales tactics to buy the person's whole sales package. Nothing in this world is free. And folks who think that time is free are fooling themselves. I've gotten off some of these "helpful" webinars only to realize I could have been building my business or networking with that lost time.
If you have that type of money to unload on these folks- do it. But really, if it seems like it has scales...it's too fishy and you need to cut bait and run!
In October, I got some tickets to a "Motivational Seminar". 2 tickets for $10. I thought I was getting a great deal. One of my favorite speakers was going to be there and that $10 was worth it. I then got a MeetUp invite from some business women's group I belong to and they had FREE tickets. I was like what's going on here? There were some award winning world renowned speakers at this thing and they're giving tickets away? I went to one of my favorite speakers' website to see if he had this event on his website. And he didn't. ODD! I called the seminar headquarters to get a breakdown of the events because the website didn't identify the agenda. The tickets were listed at all of these different tiers of prices but I got my Platinum originally $85 tickets for just $10?! With a free breakfast and lunch? The MeetUp ladies got their tickets for free! I did some more digging and guess what?! It was a huge sales scam. Reviews revealed that they lure you in and then drone on about whatever it is they want to sell you- real estate, religion, multilevel marketing, or anything else that you didn't originally sign up for. You want to go and get motivated. They'll motivate you alright! You'll be motivated into something you may not have signed up for or care to hear. My gut told me something was up.
GO WITH YOUR GUT!
And maybe you do need to give a little to get a little?
The really reputable voice talent sites that other pros are using, charge an arm and leg to post my demos on their sites. One professional site gave me a free membership and now sends me taunting emails sharing that I would have gotten the audition if I paid for my membership...$365 a year! That's not guaranteeing that I will get a voice acting gig!
I already pay to Backstage and LinkedIn for my professional hook ups. Those have yielded some really good opportunities to be seen/auditioned. However, I can keep doling out my cash on these other sites. But there are scammers that slither their way into these sites too. Be alert! Research x 3! It's really important to not go into these things with a skeptical approach.
I'm going to leave this helpful link about scams in the talent world for others to reference.
I'm really happy that I haven't been duped too badly. Luckily, I've wasted a few hours. But that's a hell of a lot better than wasting hundreds of dollars on scams. There are people out there that prey on the dreams of others. Don't be duped!
https://losangelesheadshots.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/top-ten-ways-to-tell-if-an-agency-is-a-scam/
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/Getting-Started/Avoid-Work-from-Home-Job-Scams/article.aspx
And get off of those lists! Did you know that these folks sell your email to other businesses looking to help (scam) you too?! Unsubscribe! They will send you emails until the cows come home. Get off those damn email lists!!!
Good luck! I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open and my wallet closed!
And get off of those lists! Did you know that these folks sell your email to other businesses looking to help (scam) you too?! Unsubscribe! They will send you emails until the cows come home. Get off those damn email lists!!!
Good luck! I'm going to keep my eyes and ears open and my wallet closed!
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