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Confidence is Essential For Your Business

I was elated to land my first in-house design job. I was so excited to begin my journey of working my way up the ladder. My goal was to be the one running the design department within a few years. I had a lot of misconceptions about working in-house and building my career. Keep in mind that I already had a ton of experience from my extensive internship, and the fact that I have been working legitimate freelancing gigs the whole time before I’d gotten hired. Let’s take a look at what I learned about confidence and working in the real world.

So, I worked and worked in my department. The more I worked, the more I learned that my misconceptions were delusions of grandeur. I was a better designer than anyone in the company, the supervisor over the department didn’t know anything about design, or even how to use the computer beyond basic use, and I was stuck in a glass ceiling situation.

Learn About How the Company Works Before Volunteering for Stuff

Whew, this one was a doozy. I was hired for print design, but when they learned that I could build websites, too, they wanted me to handle that, too. My thought was that they would see what I could do, and then offer me a better position and higher pay. It sure as hell couldn’t get any lower. I could have gotten welfare and made more than what I was working full time there.

Well, my dreams were shattered when I learned that they expected me to build their websites, along with the duties I already had. I flat out refused. I didn’t care if I ended up homeless, but I knew that I deserved better than that. They expected the work, and I did not deliver. The plan was to just let them fire me, and I was contemplating a lawsuit. I even spoke to a couple of lawyers, who said I definitely had a case.

It helps to have friends in high places

It turns out that working your ass off and doing a consistently better job than anyone else gets you noticed by the right people if there’s anyone working there that isn’t a piece of garbage. He was the Vice President of the company and oversaw most of the business, including our department. His portion of the company had their own expenses. I’m glad I went and spoke to him, because he thought the entire situation was a screw job, too. He said “This is what we are going to do. You’re going to build the website on your own time. I’ll pay you time and a half (I was paid hourly) and you’ll charge enough hours to cover what you should get paid for each site. We’ll just bill it to the department’s expenses. They will pay you one way or another.

That Bought Me Some Time

The VP making thing right made it so I didn’t have to outright quit my job out of principle. After all, I am married with and at the time our first child was very young. However, I quickly realized that in order I didn’t want to work for a company whose owner cared little about whether I was getting paid what I deserved. The whole scenario opened my eyes to the fact that I needed to shift my outlook on my career. In order for me to make the money that I deserved for my services, I would have to venture out on my own.

So Why Am I Telling You All Of This?

In a nutshell, confidence. You need to have the confidence in your abilities to know that your services are worth every penny you say they are. Never work a low paying, dead end job, letting employers or business owners take advantage for your need of employment.

Keep Your Options Open

Always keep things flexible. This field is great in the fact that no doors are ever completely shut for good. You can always go back to freelancing if you are in-house and you can always go from owning your own business, to working in-house again.

Which ever one you choose, don’t let anyone devalue your work. We all need jobs, and we all need employment of some sort. However, you don’t have to and shouldn’t settle for less than you’re worth.

Here are some ways to build your confidence:

  • Always be working! Find new clients, take on new projects, do side projects, and more. The more you do, the better you get.
  • I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but keep studying! Just because School is over, it doesn’t mean the learning process has ended.
  • Gather Testimonials – As you work with each client, don’t hesitate to ask for a testimonial from them. You earned it!
  • Connect with other designers. You can do so through groups like the AIGA, which offers support for graphic designers.

If You Display Confidence, Clients Will Have Confidence in You

When you display confidence in your work, clients will, too. You’ll also feel confident while quotes a good rate for your work. You should get paid well for your talent.