Accelerate Your Design Career with Proven Strategies and Actionable Tips
Kick start your design career growth with my top strategic moves and actionable advice, guiding you from aspiration to achievement.
In my last post, we dived into the post-grad world of design, talking about taking things slow, mastering the basics, and resisting the urge to sprint through your career milestones. Itās important to keep those conversations in mind, especially when youāre itching to climb up to the next salary level. But this week, weāre going to switch gears and delve into how you can step up your game without stumbling over your ambitions.
Accelerating your career in design is really about playing your cards wisely, figuring out the right time to make your move, and doing so without losing sight of the important lessons and experiences that come your way.
No matter if you're just starting out or have a few years under your belt, the advice Iām about to share could be the ace you need for that upcoming promotion, maybe even sooner than youād imagined. Letās dive into how you can fast-forward through your career path without skipping the beautiful views along the way.
šŗļø Mapping Your Journey ā Crafting a Game Plan
Iāll be the first to admit, Iām not the kind to have a detailed career map laid out. But I do believe in planning my next steps.
Take, for instance, when I was a middleweight designer. I had my sights set on a senior role within the next year. So, I started digging into progression frameworks, chatting with senior designers, and scrutinising job descriptions to figure out what I was already doing right and where I needed to beef up my skills.
After looking at what the industry considered a senior designer, it hit me that my silence in meetings could be holding me back from the next level. I was the quiet one, always nervous about saying something wrong. But after talking to designers who were a step ahead, I realised that moving up wasnāt just about my design skills; it was about asking smart questions and making my voice heard.
Armed with this insight, I set a clear goal for myself: to speak up in every client meeting or to ask at least one question. Having this goal gave me something concrete to work towards and measure, which came in handy during performance reviews.
So, before you dive headfirst into learning new skills or buying a stack of books, take a moment to think about your next career move.
If youāre looking to find out more about what makes a junior designer vs a senior check out Progressionās awesome resource that has loads of career frameworks used internally by top tech companies: https://progression.fyi/
š± Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone
Letās talk about embracing the challenges that come your way. Itās all about stretching your limits and growing through discomfort, like venturing into the unknown but coming back with treasures of knowledge and skill.
Iām sure Iāve said this plenty of times, but you have to do things that are scary to move to the next level. The braver you get, the bigger and better opportunities will come. Yes youāll make mistakes, you might even royally f*ck up. BUT at least you tried. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So have a think, what is on the other side of where you are now? What feels a bit scary but maybe achievable? Maybe itās public speaking? Perhaps itās sharing your work publicly? Or it could be reaching out to someone you admire and asking for help. Make a list of all things that feel slightly scary, and pick one ā then do it!
I always get nervous when hosting a workshop or doing a public speaking event, I always thing āGod! Why did I say yes to thisā But, after Iāve done it, I feel amazing, and proud. Proud because I did the scary thing. And that dopamine rush undoes all of the fear from beforeā¦ until next time of course.
šŖ The Power of Reflection ā Looking Back to Go Forward
I probably should have started here first. But taking a moment to reflect is crucial before you leap into your next big adventure. Look back at your last six to twelve months in design. What have you created? Which skills have you honed, and where do you feel youāre lacking? Being brutally honest with yourself can shine a light on what you need to work on.
Itās about recognising your strengths and pinpointing areas for improvement, making sure your ambitions are in line with reality. If you're at the start of your career, expecting to jump to a senior position overnight might be a stretch. Instead, use your past experiences as lessons to build upon.
š Learning from the Best
One of the quickest ways to rise the ranks in design is to be surrounded by people who excel in their craft. Itās about soaking up the wisdom from experienced designers, observing their processes, and applying those learnings to your own work. These people donāt have to be official mentors to you either, seeing how others have navigated their careers can provide those all important insights to help you shape and navigate yours.
Just the other day, a uni student let me in on her worries about getting in touch with the pros in our field, a bit spooked by what might lie ahead. But it's key to remember that we're all in this creative journey together, searching for that lightbulb moment, that next level of skill. The design world? It's big group of individuals all trying to figure it out, with many of us on passing tips, tricks, and tales back and forth, always ready to lend a hand or an ear.
Many senior designers are keen to help out those entering the industry, so if youāre looking to level up, get in touch with the designers who are where you want to be, dive right in, soak it all up, and flourish.
š Your Actionable Next Steps
Mapping Your Journey:
Identify where you want to be in one, three, and five years. Write down specific roles, skills, and achievements you aim to have.
Create a self-assessment based on job descriptions you aspire to and identify gaps in your skills or experiences. Plan how to address these gaps.
Challenge yourself to work on these goals each week at work. Document your progress ready for annual reviews or promotions.
Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone:
List down areas outside your comfort zone that could impact your career positively. Commit to tackling at least one item from this list every month.
Schedule the task youāve chosen to confront. Whether itās a presentation, sharing your portfolio online, or sending that email for mentorship, set a date and do it.
The Power of Reflection:
Conduct a quarterly review of your work, noting successes and areas for improvement. Use this reflection to adjust your career plan accordingly.
Check in often on progression frameworks and ask feedback from your team and keep a document of clear impact and improvements.
Learning from the Best:
Identify designers whose careers you admire and follow them on social media, attend their talks, or reach out for a coffee chat.
Aim to take away at least one actionable insight from each interaction.
Until we chat again ā Liz š
Before I go, here is this week's top jobs I found that I wanted to share with you.
š¤ Jobs
Vitality: Product Designer
āAs product designer you will be dependable for designing and shaping unique, user-centric products and experiences. You will thrive working in a fast-paced environment with the ability to rapidly prototype, test and iterate. Working collaboratively with product, content design and business stakeholders you will be able to make deliberate design choices and to translate any given user-experience journey into a smooth and intuitive interaction that helps to achieve the overall journeyās vision.ā
šš» Read more and apply
Urban Intelligence: Junior Product Designer (UX/ UI)
āAs a Junior Product Designer, you will help with end-to-end product development. From getting involved in product strategy workshops and researching usersā needs, through to creating Figma designs and testing them with real users.
Youāll work closely with our Lead Product Designer, Product Manager, and software development team to ensure that your ideas can be effectively turned into a reality that meets our clientsā needs.ā
šš» Read more and apply
Port: Product Designer (part-time / contract)
āJoin us as a Product Designer and be a driving force in the evolution of Port's e-mobility solutions in Europe. In this role you will help us to build user-friendly products, focusing on Port user app, but also overseeing internal tools and contributing to the growth of Port business globally while being based in London, UK.ā
šš» Read more and apply
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