Ragged Riches

Imagine the following thing: you started an OnlyFans. It gets you fired from your most recent job. Or perhaps, you’re kind of done doing adult work. Or maybe you just aren’t getting enough money from adult work as you thought you would.

As a former OnlyFans model or former cam model, you’re going to have a hard time getting a job. The more well-known you are online, the harder it will be for you to get the job you need. Even keeping it can be hard as a result of worker harassment.

This is a side of OnlyFans content creation that not many people tell you. Getting a regular job after OnlyFans modeling can be hard. However, it’s generally not impossible. You just have to know what to look for and how to navigate it.

Here’s my advice on it, as a person who is in a similar situation…

#1: You can try to reach out to nonprofits for help, but it can be more demoralizing than helpful if you’re in the US.

For those not in the know, I am a survivor of a particularly violent sex trafficking ring. They have made it hard for me to keep jobs, at times going so far as to send images of me to employers. It’s rough. While not all retiring adult models are sex trafficking survivors, a lot of the resources we have tend to work with models who want out, too.

Actual groups that help ex-porn stars transition out of the industry are rare. In Australia, they have a faith-based foundation called the Pink Cross. They’re perhaps the only group I’ve seen specifically for this. Eaves’ Poppy Project helps trafficked survivors in the UK.

The United States has very little in terms of this for both trafficked and non-trafficked sex workers. I actually tried to seek help for my situation, but it quickly taught me why I shouldn’t bother expecting anyone to help me. 

The only nonprofit (Safe Horizon) that I found when I was seeking help actually refused to help me because I was not a resident of New York City. Gee, that’s great. They have the largest help network in America, and they’re only for people in New York City. Make it make sense!

So they redirected me to the national DV hotline, which redirected me to a battered women’s shelter, which, after a callback that seemed hopeful, told me they don’t do job help. They offered me counseling, which, if you’re in my situation, feels like a slap across the face. 

All that offer did was make me feel even less heard than I already do. It’s a common issue I hear from others in my situation: they keep asking for tools to get out of the industry, but no one offers them anything but awkward counseling. It’s demeaning and aggravating. 

While you might have better experiences, I had awful ones, even though I am literally a textbook case of a person in need of social services. If I couldn’t even find a nonprofit that would work with me, I figure it will be very hard for most others who aren’t in that dire a situation to find one.

As a result, I don’t suggest seeking nonprofits for help in this situation. It generally won’t work well and will only get you angry about how little people will actually listen to you.

#2: Your best bet is (unfortunately) owning your own business.

It’s something I hate. I dislike being a business owner. I hate the paperwork and have been actively trying to get out because of this. But I know that it’s the easiest way to get money flowing. If you’re okay with 1099, you can always find freelance work on Upwork. 

A lot of ex-sexworkers tend to start up their own businesses. Some do marketing firms, including ones that work to market and manage others’ OnlyFans accounts, as well as blogs related to what they learned while working in the world’s most taboo industry.

Some creators have also been able to start up their own energy drink companies thanks to the money they made, rebranded themselves as mainstream celebrities and DJs (lookin’ at you Lil’ Texas! I salute you!), and also started up their own accounting firms. 

#3: It’s often best to try to separate your name from your sex work if you have to search for a job the old-fashioned way.

If you’re like me and are relegated to Indeed and LinkedIn for job applications, you’re going to have to deal with the inevitable blowback that comes with social media searches as part of the HR process. 

This isn’t always doable, but if you can, by all means, do it. The best thing you can do is try to take down the social media accounts (or just stop using them), then start up a business set of social media accounts with a totally different look than your performer look. 

Of course, thiis isn’t always doable because there are sites that actually dox porn stars and cam models with their full names. So if you worked an OnlyFans and had a fair number of followers, you likely will have your name pull up as a performer regardless of what you do. 

I used to work as a VP of Marketing for multiple camsites. I’ve seen the damage those websites can do for people trying to transition out. It’s something that has gotten burned into my mind as a person who worked in the field.

This is why I tell aspiring models to really think about going into this if they have the option to walk away from this industry. With people like me, my entry into the industry was not my choice. I never even wanted to write about it when I got hired at Vocal.media as an in-house writer. 

Unfortunately, if it’s not possible for you to extricate yourself from the industry, the best thing you can do is recognize it’s going to be an obstacle. Rather than be ashamed of it, it’s best to own it. A job is a job at the end of the day. We all do what we have to in order to put food on the table and the right people will recognize that as the truth. 

#4: Networking is often the best way to handle the job hunt.

The vast majority of people who transitioned out of adult careers don’t find a job through Indeed. Indeed is, for lack of a better term, broken. It’s not just broken for former adult entertainers looking for a job. It’s broken for everyone. 

Networking is the best way to handle your job hunt because most jobs are now found via word of mouth. Thankfully, modeling has a way of blowing up your network in a way that other careers don’t. 

PRO TIP: If your network can’t help you, go to mixers or even consider cold-calling for a job. You might be surprised at how often this can help grease the wheels. 

#5: Remember that your personal safety and mental health are priorities. 

I know, I know, it’s easy to say when you’re trying to pay rent or put food on the table. It’s not like there’s a list of companies that hire OnlyFans models or companies that hire ex sex workers on the net. But, it’s better to be a little hungry (or even just stuck doing modeling gigs) than it is to be in a coffin. 

If you’re transitioning out of adult work, you need to keep an eye out for predators who disguise themselves as “kind men trying to help” people in a rough place. What does this mean?

• Listen to your gut. If a job interviewer seems a little off, don’t go on the interview. If the interviewer starts trying to turn the situation sexual or aggressively asks about your past, get out of there immediately and warn others. 
• Recognize that you deserve basic respect. Yes, you worked as an adult content creator. No, that doesn’t make you less than anyone else. You put food on the table. You did what you had to in order to survive. If a potential hirer makes it clear that they don’t value you as a person, walk out the door. If I can do it, you can too. 
• Have a safety call. Tell people where you’re going when you’re going for an interview. Have a phone call or text set up just in case. If you’re a major content creator, you have to treat this as a fan meetup. As you already know, those can be very dangerous because obsessed fans have been known to kill celebrities in the past.

You deserve to protect your peace. Speaking of your health…

#6: Talk to others who get it.

There’s a reason why the adult industry is as tight-knit as it is. The reason why is simple: it’s an experience that most other people won’t be able to understand. Even counselors who think they “get it” don’t. 

Reach out to a performer bestie, and vent. Whine, cry, do what you need to do. Then do something to make you both feel better. It helps.

#7: Most of the advice I found for sex offenders also tends to work with sex workers. 

I noticed that a lot of the industries that hire sex offenders tend to be open to hiring people in the adult industry as long as it’s kept on the down-low. Unlike sex offenders, if you are a former sex worker, you shouldn’t ask the company if they hire transitioning sex workers off the bat. 

If the HR person asks, be upfront and unapologetic. Ask why they are asking you about it, too. There could be several reasons why they are doing that. 

If an HR rep invites you to a sit-down interview only to mention it’s a dealbreaker, that’s beyond unprofessional on their end. On the other hand, if they know and want to ask if you’re comfortable working in their environment, that’s a major green flag.

If you’re like me, you might want to remind them that it’s kind of messed up to ask about that part of your life and waste your time if they already knew it was a dealbreaker. I’ve yet to do that, but I will report back if I do.

With that said, you might want to peep my lists of companies that hire sex offenders, office jobs for sex offenders, and career advice for felons.

#8: Finally, recognize that you are worthy. 

I have to tell myself this every day because the job market is absolutely brutal toward people who have stigmatized pasts like myself. It’s so easy to feel like you’re not enough. It’s so easy to feel like “it’s over” just because there are no nonprofits willing to touch you with a 10-foot pole. 

Just because other people can’t see your skills doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Just because you keep gettin rejected and “scarlet lettered” doesn’t mean you’re worthless. It means the people who are rejecting you are the problem. 

You’re doing what you can to get out and try to make your life better. If others aren’t willing to help you, that says volumes more about them than it ever will about the person who’s actually fighting the good fight. 

At the very least, you have the writer of this article cheering you on. We’ve got this.