During your first few days at a new job, you spend plenty of time learning about the business of your new employers, meeting lots of new people, and diving into how things get done currently in your new department. And that’s when you start to learn about how things were before you got there.
Use elements of a consulting mindset to take your department from order-takers to creative problem-solving rock-stars! By not assuming that what the client wants is what they need, in-house creatives can create unique and effective solutions to the client’s challenges. Additionally, in-house creatives should work towards shared goals with their clients and include a measurement of success in their creative briefs.
By the end of 2015, after being an in-house creative director for nearly 8 years and working in this field for over 20 years, I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I attribute some of my success as a business owner to my experiences and the lessons I learned by working in-house. Reflecting on that time being in-house, I can also say that my consulting mindset, and teaching instincts, also attributed to my success leading in-house creative teams.
As a design professional with almost 25 years of experience, I have worked in various roles, including as a freelancer, in-house creative services leader, creative director, and educator. There are three career paths available to creative – agency, freelance, and in-house – and choosing which one is right for you depends on four factors: stability, money, advancement, and passion.
As a creative professional, I’ve sent my resume out to dozens of recruiters and agents over the years. I’ve even applied to a few jobs through the online sites. And do you know how many jobs I’ve gotten through that process? Exactly one.
Here’s my point; if you are looking for a great job – consulting, teaching, in-house, agency – you need to put yourself out there in the real world, not just online.
This a personal reflection on my early influences and career heroes and how I am lucky to know early on what they wanted to do, and how my parents encouraged me to develop my talent. I sought advice from industry peers and met my heroes in person, building relationships with them and seeking advice. The connections I made with industry influencers have undoubtedly helped me become who I am today professionally.