My first job experience in tech as a visual designer

Self-doubt is part and parcel of every designer.

I graduated from an applied arts college and always loved creating concepts for Advertising Campaigns, Branding, Creative Posters, etc. In my final year, I was very sure about what I wanted to do next and was working towards that goal.

But, nothing worked as planned. Sometimes it is better to not plan and go with what is already planned and coming our way.

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. John Lennon

After 2 months of training for UX. I was transferred to my base location. I was excited to start my journey in tech as a junior visual designer.

Every day seems quite different in the outside world than in college. Many people in my UX team were into different projects with various domain knowledge. I used to talk to each one of them and ask many questions out of curiosity. I was so charged up every morning that today I will learn something new. Day by day my curiosity grew that is because of the culture around me.

We were not assigned any project yet but we were making ourselves comfortable in a new space with new people.

I had 2 more colleagues with me who were located as freshers in Mumbai. I was the youngest among all of them so people in a team made me comfortable and helped me at each stage. Also, Most of my time was spent in our UX Lab with my senior managers talking about all the topics related to design or sports, culture, and finance and discussing them for hours. we used to go to the pantry and discuss over coffee hundreds of plans which were just plans but felt like executed already bwahaha….

Observing people how they work, how they communicate with clients across locations, and their journey as UX designers was something amusing to me and wanted to dig deeper every day.

I then started helping everyone in my team and tried understanding their process and I was always curious to know about things they did.

At one point everyone who was trained with me as a fresher was allocated to different projects so they used to share their experiences and I was the only one who was left with no project. I was so tense about why I was not getting the project, I was not doing good or what could be done to get on a project.

Patience is Key to Your Success in Life; Without It, You’re Dead In The Water

I used to chase my manager always saying, “Please, allocate me to a project ” and let me know if any improvement is needed and I am always open to feedback. Then after a month or so, I was allocated an internal project, and trust me I was so nervous as I had never given an interview for a project before. However, I managed to communicate with the team and learn a lot of things in that project. I understood how people coordinate, and communicate and how a designer works with non-designers. It was a short-term project but it was fun. I couldn’t deliver the best designs, and I used to panic, and doubt my designs but I never gave up and they did teach me a lot.

I failed at many things, but I was satisfied that I tried.

what I wanted to convey here was that everyone will face difficulties in their first job, but never give up. You will learn many things through hurdles on the way. You will learn when and how to clear those hurdles.

Trust me, I also couldn’t write a proper official mail, this is how it started.

So, the First job is all about learning and understanding the outside real world, and people and building connections.

Yes, some days you will feel dejected, feel pressurized, will make mistakes, and hesitate to ask doubts due to fear of what will they think. But slowly you will understand many things and fit in that space.

As a Fresher, few things I have learned are :

1. Always ask for feedback, good or bad you will learn.
2. Learn to say no. (Prioritise and Act accordingly) that does not mean you should not help but know that you can do one task properly at a time.
3. Work with passion. If you don’t love your work, it will be stressful.
4. Work doesn’t define your life, so take it easy. ( There will be days when you will feel low).
5. Communication is key. ( Don’t hesitate to put your views)
6. Ask relevant questions.

This is my first article, I hope you all liked my journey. And don’t forget to read more in the future.

CHEERS !!!