You’ve heard a lot about casting calls, and you’ve likely even seen a few on television before. Though these depictions may capture a little bit of what a casting call is all about, they don’t tell you the whole story. When you’re a model and you prepare to go on a casting call, you want to know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. This is not an episode of “American Idol”, nor is it like what you see in the movies. This is real life, and sometimes it doesn’t quite work out how you had it envisioned in your head. So take the time to do your research and to understand how a casting call actually works beforehand.

First and foremost, you are likely to be one of many models showing up to that casting call. You want to be sure that your agent or modeling agency gets you all the details on the casting call ahead of time. Any information that you can gain will help you to get into the right mindset. All of the models will show up at one time. There are some exceptions where you can get a set time or appointment, but that’s more of an exception than a rule. After you all show up you get a number and then you wait—you wait for what seems like forever and in all honesty this makes up a great deal of time that you will spend at the casting call. So be prepared for the “hurry up and wait”. You want to get there early enough to get a good number, but you also want to know that you should expect to wait for a good amount of time once you get there.

Be prepared that you are going to see a little bit of everything once you get to the casting call. You will likely deal with your fair share of pushy assistants that are trying to coral all the models into one place, and they will surely be annoyed with any question that you ask of them. You will see models with great experience and models just starting out—don’t let any of them intimidate you. They are all going after the same job that you are, so any lack of confidence can cast you as weak.

You will be called in either one by one or as a group. Depending on the nature of the casting call, they may want to see you walk the runway or strike some poses. If there is a speaking role, be sure that you practice your lines ahead of time. No matter how many people you appear in front of, it’s important to stay calm and be confident even if you’re not feeling it. You will be judged on everything you say, everything you do, and even the down time when you’re just standing there. Don’t let your mind get away from you, just do what you’re asked, put your best foot forward, and always be prepared.