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I'm 18 and need help branding myself.

almost 8 years ago from Blake Hawksworth, Filmmaker and occasional writer, always on the move.

  • Joshua SortinoJoshua Sortino, almost 8 years ago

    Great reply. I started back when I was 16 and while it was "cool" to tell people my age, it was a little braggadocios and also hurt me when acquiring clients. Once I started pretending to be older, people were much more likely to accept me (and that included not telling people my age unless they asked).

    2 points
    • Devin HalladayDevin Halladay, almost 8 years ago (edited almost 8 years ago )

      I think most people who start out at a young age run into these issues. I know I definitely did, and it got me into a lot of trouble because I thought I knew best (spoiler alert: I definitely did not know best). I started similarly when I was about 15 (so, granted, I only have three years of professional experience), and stopped using my age as an excuse/bragging point after a year of failing to get clients and struggling with ageism—which is another problem in our industry, but I won't get into that here. Like you, once I stopped publicly advertising my age, I started getting clients, job offers, internships, the works.

      I guess the moral of this story is to stay humble (even though if you're young and talented and passionate, that can be a hard thing to do). Some of the best and most talented people I know are also the most humble.

      (Also: props on using the word braggadocios in your reply. Good word!)

      2 points