\n<\/p>\n
When you’ve got a few years under your belt and have learned a thing or two, it’s a great feeling to pass those learnings to juniors. Especially if that’s advice you wished you’d received when you were younger.<\/p>\n
It’s worth reflecting that some professions don’t do this regularly. In some cut-throat sectors, people feel like promotion is a zero-sum game and keep hard-won information close to their chests, lest they get overtaken by rivals, even people who are technically below them. <\/p>\n
Gary Stevenson’s excellent book The Trading Game, for instance, details how he started as a trader at Citibank, only to spend months being ignored and literally sitting at his desk all day, not knowing what to do. Thankfully, creatives are a friendly and supportive bunch, and generally keen to encourage, instruct, and mentor others. <\/p>\n
But maybe your colleagues just don’t have time, maybe you work alone, or maybe you just haven’t asked the right questions. With that in mind, here are six pieces of advice from the Creative Boom community that are worth passing on\u2014whatever stage of your career you’re at. <\/p>\n
“Measure twice, cut once,” says creative director Asa Rodger<\/a>. “Your work is going to go for review as a brand new junior employee: it’s probably not going straight out the door. So try hard to first become a ‘safe pair of hands’, then you can build from there.”<\/p>\n Asa speaks the truth. Junior work rarely makes the final cut: it passes across several desks first. But that’s expected, so don’t be disheartened. Instead, make sure your work is as polished as possible, and reaches those desks punctually and efficiently. That’s what people will admire: not the work itself, which will probably need a lot of changes. <\/p>\n Everyone remembers the junior who needed chasing, whose files were a mess, whose typos made it halfway to the client deck. Don’t be that junior. You don’t need to be brilliant; you just need to be reliable, and people will start to trust you.<\/p>\n Designer, artist and creative leader Matthew Gallagher<\/a>‘s biggest piece of advice to juniors is this. “Ask all the ‘stupid’ questions,” he says. “Avoid digital comms in favour of face-to-face interactions that build real relationships, which may lead to mentoring opportunities.”<\/p>\n I couldn’t agree more. Yes, the instinct to stay quiet rather than admit you don’t know something is the most natural thing in the world. But it’s also the worst thing you can do as a junior. People don’t know what you don’t know, so you need to tell them; otherwise, they may get very frustrated with you. <\/p>\n Worried they’ll think you’re an idiot? Honestly, don’t. Every senior was once in your shoes, so they know exactly what it’s like. Which is exactly why I’ve always said to juniors and interns (and I’ve used this exact wording): “Please ask questions. There are no stupid questions. If you don’t ask me, I can’t help you.”<\/p>\n In an extension of the previous point, book cover illustrator Nosheen Ahmed<\/a> urges you to “Put down the phone! Be willing to talk to people. If you’re on your socials on your phone, you’re missing out on so many real-life conversations.”<\/p>\n My take: this piece of advice doesn’t expire after month one. In fact, many seniors might learn from this too. Why am I so sure of this? Because hands down, the best contacts I’ve made in three decades of freelancing came from actual conversations in real life, not from scrolling on a screen. <\/p>\n Most seniors will think it’s rude that you’re paying more attention to your screen than them. So stop it, basically. Your phone will still be there in 20 minutes. The person standing next to you might not be.<\/p>\n Designer Kultar Ruprai<\/a> is clear about what he’s looking for in a junior. “Good attitude and energy,” he says. “You don’t need to know it all. You’re gonna make mistakes: that’s okay. Be prepared to defend your design, your art. Justify, explain, present every design decision and why.”<\/p>\n That last part is the one juniors often miss, and the one plenty of more senior creatives could also step up with, if I’m honest. <\/p>\n Nobody expects you to be perfect on day one, or even day 1,000. But what they do expect, though, is that you’re able to explain why<\/em> you made a choice. “Because it felt right” isn’t enough. “Because it does X, for Y reason” does. Even if the senior doesn’t agree with your decision, as long as they respect your reasoning, you’re golden.<\/p>\n Networking is a dirty word for many people. But it’s not about being insincere or pretending to be something you’re not. It’s just about making a personal connection that may help both of you in the long term. That’s why brand and web designer Matthew McGuigan<\/a>‘s advice is to: “Connect with people, whether they are in the industry or someone you’ve bumped into for the first time whilst getting coffee. You never know what might come from it. I got work from chatting to someone whilst waiting for a padel court to free up.”<\/p>\n In truth, this is the one people find hardest to act on, because it sounds like luck rather than advice. It isn’t, really, whatever stage you’re at. It’s just proof that being mildly sociable and genuinely curious about other people, wherever you are, tends to pay off eventually. <\/p>\n You can’t schedule serendipity. But you can show up ready for it.<\/p>\n Our final piece of advice is wonderfully simple. “Relax,” says 3D artist Andre Schneider<\/a>. “Nobody really knows what they’re doing either.”<\/p>\n Personally, I vibe with this one massively. It speaks to imposter syndrome, which is widespread throughout the whole profession. It’s particularly obvious in juniors, but many seniors feel it too: they’re just better practised at not showing it. To paraphrase the great science-fiction author Douglas Adams: “Imposter syndrome? Oh, everyone in the universe gets that”. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n2. Ask questions<\/h2>\n
3. Talk to people<\/h2>\n
4. Explain your thinking<\/h2>\n
5. Get out there and network<\/h2>\n
6. Don’t beat yourself up!<\/h2>\n