Professional Tips for Newly Hatched Designer Chicks
Finding a job is a difficult process. The interview process, working in a new environment, it all can get overwhelming but there are a lot of tips and useful ideas that can help you get through them with ease; from building up an impressive resume to landing on that perfect job . What these tips don’t cover is ‘how to cope with a new job’. So I have devised some tips from my own good experience to New Designer that might also help you.
Asking Questions:
Asking Questions
A new workplace can be intimidating. You have little or no knowledge about the names and positions of the job you have just started nor do you want to start off on a wrong footing. And when thinking of asking questions, you might be afraid what your boss or colleagues will think of you asking a relatively simple question. The best thing to do however is you just ask them no matter what. Your boss or supervisor might be impressed with your desire to learn things and will answer as many as you want.
And they might not even find your question stupid, in fact, be glad to take on the role of guiding a new hire in the right direction. You just need to be interested in knowing and listen carefully.
Taking Notes:
Taking Notes
Taking notes is a good help when you are new at some job as you are still getting to know things and too many of them can make you forget some. Also, taking notes can especially be good for a newly-hired designer who usually gets a lot of feedback needs to write it down so that when he sits down to edit, he remembers everything. Taking notes adds to your efficiency as you don’t have to rack your brains for all the points you heard in the feedback and so it saves time and effort. You don’t have to worry that you’re not making an eye contact because you’re busy taking notes. Your boss will understand.
Ask for Feedback:
Ask for Feedback
You can nail a job when you show from the start that you are enthusiastic about it and eager to learn all you can. With every new hire, companies are expecting that they will be doing a lot of effort making the new hire learn. You can come in their good books by saving them this effort. You can show your eagerness for learning and improving by asking for feedback. Before they can come to your desk to talk about the issue, you should reach out to them yourself and ask whether something needs improvement. This shows your potential to take initiative, will show your dedication and will build a comfort level with your supervisor or boss, showing that you can take suggestions positively.
Knowing Your Peers:
Knowing Your Peers
What kind of company you choose is totally up to you but it should be some who is helpful and who you think can a good companion. It also doesn’t stop you from getting to know your boss a little personally. Also, designers have such jobs where they are confined not only to their department but have an interaction with other departments too, so you can have conversations with people from all departments. Scheduling a lunch with a client or having a one-on-one with your boss is a good way of sorting out things before a major meeting and also to talk about stuff which you don’t want to tell in front of other people. So make the most of it when and while you can.
Socializing:
Socializing
Although this sounds simple but you cannot expect to set on the right footing if you do not socialize from day one. A junior designer is usually a young person, a fresh graduate and may have interests and activities quite different from a middle aged boss. This can make it hard to talk about stuff but what counts is the effort you do and you never know that you will find mutual interests. Attend happy hour or a game with your boss or colleagues and it will give you a good chance to socialize.
Know All About Your Field of Work:
Know All About Your Field of Work
Designer often think that they should just stick to aesthetics as they are not related to any other aspect of the business. You may be wrong in thinking that as what you design is eventually going to go to a larger audience and is more closely related to marketing. To create that perfect design, you will have to think out of the box and from a prospect of a customer. To keep up with your industry, you will need to know more about the economic trends and marketing. Keep a look out for new trends and news and be the one with whom anyone can talk to.
Gathering the Resources:
Gathering the Resources
Efficiency is one thing that can take you far in your field. In a design job, there are short deadlines for a short time so the best way to deal with them is to manage your tasks and gather your assets so that they can come handy and you don’t have to go through files and stuff every time. You can tag websites; design blogs, Photoshop tools and fonts which you think are interesting and will help you create something different. Go forth and share stuff with your fellow colleagues to see how they do it and I’m sure you’ll find some good material and tips.
Take Criticism Positively:
Take Criticism Positively
To have peace in your work, you should be prepared that there will be a lot of criticism coming your way because there are clients who won’t understand the concept and will reject it completely. You should take the criticism positively and be prepared to discard what you created and start working on some different idea. I know criticism is sometimes hard to swallow but you should be able to take it and work on it so that no such chance happens again.
Voicing Your Opinions:
Voicing Your Opinions
When you are a part of a company, no matter a junior level designer, you have the right to speak and voice your opinions. Be fair and stand by what you say. You can bring something crucial to someone’s notice by speaking up. Note that being blunt and speaking up are two different things and what you say should be positive and effective and not offensive.
Final Words:
These are just a few of the many tips that a newly hired designer can use to have a good start but these are also the most useful ones. You should keep in mind that whatever you do, you have to stay fair to your work and stand by your decisions and there will be no way that you won’t make a mark in your company. Pay attention to perfecting your personality as much you put efforts in your work. You don’t have to come outright and bold but to start from a personal level of managing your work neatly and effectively to be able to speak before your boss and client. Companies have different expectations from a new hire, you just need to set the ground nicely and it will keep paving your way to success itself.
About The Author
hmmm… 🙂
These are so cool tips. gonna very useful for the designer. Great Job 🙂