Mustafa Davis

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Working For Exposure Will Destroy Your Career

Have you ever done a job for free with the promise of "exposure" as compensation?

Most of us, when starting in our freelance careers, often work for free as a means of gaining experience and increasing exposure. In this post I explain why this is a career killer and how you can avoid making this disastrous error.

I have never had a client who offered me “exposure” with the promise of FUTURE PAYMENT actually follow through on their offer. Not a single one. Once we show that we can work for free, we’re almost always going to be seen as the FREE freelancer. Any promises of increased exposure by “recommending you to friends” should also be dismissed. At best, they will merely recommend you friends who will also expect you to work for exposure.

In this post I explain how to overcome this conundrum and protect your career while simultaneously getting the experience you need in order to charge industry standard fees in the future.