8 Things your first job teaches you
Hello Guys, these are some of the learnings ( read as “still learning” ) I had in my work experience and sharing it with you especially for anyone who is about to graduate or getting into a new job or with a couple of years of work experience like me. Don't forget to hit the bell icon and subscribe to my youtube channel. oh wait! this is an article right? ok, you carry on.
1. Understanding
This is one of the most important things I failed to learn initially when I started working as a designer and when I mean “understanding” it not only means understanding your problem/co-worker ( sometimes people feel both are the same ) or the brief that they give you.
According to me, Understanding is
- Listening
- Asking questions
- Saying yes/no whenever and wherever it’s necessary
I believe people hear what they want to hear and not a lot of people are ready to listen, they want to talk more. The first and foremost step of solving any problem is listening.
So “Listen” first and then ask questions, no matter how simple/stupid it is. Don’t have the fear of people judging you for not knowing simple things because you have the advantage of being a fresher or someone with minimum experience, so you are allowed to be stupid. ( i mean in a good way ).
Have some questions to ask when you are being interviewed. It could be about the company or the workflow. When you ask questions, you not only clear your mind with some good knowledge but also that shows your inquisitiveness towards your work to the people who are hiring you.
Here comes the most tricky part “ Saying yes/no whenever and wherever it’s necessary”. It’s something which I am still learning because some people need a lot more experience to do this and also most of us were conditioned from childhood to please people always that we don’t want to end up hurting someone.
But remember the world will never reciprocate the way we move with people. So try to be honest as much as possible and you might want to sugarcoat it sometimes but just be honest!
2. Organising
No this is not Monica Geller, also please don’t cry. I am someone who has never organized anything in my life, but over the past 3 months, I understood, by being unorganized, I am making my workflow longer and more difficult. when I mean being organized I don’t mean OCD types. Just
- Clean your desk & Laptop
- Have your files organized on your computer
- Plan your day
- Document important things
Yes, you can breathe now. Breaking down a huge chunk of work into multiple simple works not only makes you productive but also avoids you from panicking/overwhelming. Please gift me cute highlighters for my next birthday.
3. Following the Culture
Every Company has its own set of culture, principles, and values and it’s really important to understand, respect, and follow them.
“Companies don’t hire you just for your skill sets, they also want you to practice their culture and values”.
It starts from being punctual, respecting your co-workers, and even includes owning up to your mistakes. And again be honest as much as possible because trust is one of the major bonding that connects you and the company.
4. Client Vs You
Sometimes there will be…. no most of the time there will be a situation where your wonderful solution/feedback will be denied by Clients/Managers for some reason. In my case, as a designer, I don’t have direct communication with the client. Designs get passed through a set of people for approval before sending it to the client. Wait let me get my B.P tablets. So I’ll always be in a dilemma whether to present the idea of what I like vs what they want.
In most cases, both will be aligned, but in few cases, it will be misaligned. But whenever you run into such a problem, always backup your ideas/solutions with a strong proof/fact and explain why it’s important and how it works. You can’t simply give suggestions like “we can change the color from red to yellow” without any reason just because it might look good.
Clients/Managers may not be convinced initially but eventually, they will start to listen and understand you. ( Call back from the first point. Ok now stop clapping ).
“Remember you are not trying to prove them wrong with your idea but, explaining how your choice could make the output better”.
5. Feedback
Feedback is more crucial and important in any collaborative process, especially in design. If you are someone who is willing to grow, you should always take people’s feedback on your work even if it’s coming from someone working under you or from someone whom you think doesn’t even exist in the office, but take the feedback.
Of Course, people have different ways of putting things ( read as “harsh” ) but just focus on the feedback and look at how you can improve better. Giving feedback ( is an art ) is also equally important as much as getting feedback, for a healthy and improved workflow.
But if you genuinely want to improve from where you are and willing to take that one extra step, check the next point ( why am I behaving like BuzzFeed?!)
6. Find a Mentor
Yes, you read it right! Finding the right mentor is like finding young players in CSK team. It’s very hard but definitely possible. One of the best ways to find mentors is to network with people on social media, especially on Linkedin and Twitter. ( Facebook is dead lol ) Follow them. You can also follow a community or be a part of it.
Understand and study their works. Mail them your work ( because their DMs might be flooded with the same stuff ) and ask for feedback. Of Course, they won’t reply. But follow up with them occasionally also please don’t annoy them. But keep trying. Again be genuine, don’t do it for the sake of doing it.
The most important thing when you approach someone in terms of Job or anything related to the job, please do some ground research and add value to the conversations when you are at it.
Don’t be like Kedar Jadhav refusing single in the “last over“ without even understanding the situation.
7. Improve Your Skills
Education in India largely made children mug up things just for marks but not for actual knowledge. But in this digital age, I believe there are so many accessible resources from where you can improve your skills tremendously.
Given the competition and economic condition in India, you should know a little bit around your domain while you also should specialize in a couple of things in your domain.
Improving your skills doesn’t get restricted only with your technical skills but one should also improve their non-technical skills like communication, presentation, negotiation, networking, and so on. Start today, the goal is not to be the best but to try and be consistent with your genuine efforts which eventually will bear fruits after a point.
“Regular updates of your LinkedIn profile can be your starting point”.
8. Believe in Yourself
Wow, you have come this far? Is it because you have a high attention span or is my article so good? Ok, don't answer that. Like Dhoni used to say “ Always believe in the process. Results are just byproducts of it”, just improve your skill sets as much as you can, and yes sometimes you might feel that you are not enough or not the right fit but trust me, being a self-taught designer I’ve gone through and go through such thoughts worrying about myself and my future.
But just keep working hard, put your works out there, keep building your profile, understand people, network, be humble, accept criticism most importantly believe in yourself, hey if Sarath Kumar and Devyani can become rich in one song ( movie — suryavamsam ) then there is always a ray of hope!
Alexa Play “Natchathira Jannalil”
Thank you for reading this! Hope it was helpful to anyone out there, feel free to share it with your friends!
