Own Your Future: Creative Edition

Are you ready to take action about your career path? No matter what kind of creative careers you’re looking at, the tips, tricks, and methods for getting where you want to be are still the same. The tips you’re about to see are highly practical, easy to grasp, and intended to get creative people moving toward their goals. So… are you ready?

SWBT: Understand the importance of self-ownership and get excited for the course.

(SWBT = "Students Will be Able To...")

What do you want to do in the future? Is it at a big agency? Smaller design firm? Doing your own thing? Start with the end in mind. But if you can’t… the first tip is to get as much exposure and experience as possible while you’re young. Opportunity is worth more than salary.

Get outside of your particular discipline. Test your skills, even the ones you don’t know about. Discover where the money is. Get experience and not focus on a niche. Maybe it’s taking tours, meeting people, school programs, field trips, tours, job shadowing, internships. 

SWBT: Understand the need for diversity in their work and understand their own natural inclinations or focus areas they gravitate towards. 

It’s all about people. Networking groups, professional organizations, school groups or clubs. Find the people doing what you want to do, find the kinds of circles they run in and get in those circles. Once you’re running with those people, ask for help. Show your work. Get around people who you think have “made it.”

There are a lot of programs especially though schools, that connect the marketplace with students. But you have to go out there and get it. Get on social and be visible as well.

PS: Embrace criticism. It will go a long way. The risks are low now. Ask “where can I tighten my craft?” Grow my network? Think about groups, organizations, your church, student clubs, alumni network, etc.

SWBT: Begin to look at their network of people and organizations to identify where to start investing time in building relationships.

Find one person who has done what you want to do, who is in the field you want to be in, and who knows their stuff. It could be formal or informal, really it’s less about the form it takes and more about having that person that can play the part of investor in your life. Job shadow them. Get on their turf. It will help you clarify what you want. What you’ll get out of this will be huge. But a great mentor isn’t just going to come to you. It’s on you to be the pursuer.

SWBT: Realize the power of a mentor and begin the process of identifying some potential mentors and pursuing them.

RESOURCE: Download the first worksheet now. It has some places for you to start making notes and actions about your network and mentoring.

In your actual craft, be diverse. You probably have one focus or application that you gravitate towards. Now, challenge yourself to demonstrate different types of thinking through different types of media or applications. And you have to have your own portfolio. You can use Behance or another platform or just buy your name as a URL and put up a WordPress portfolio site. But don’t just show the final output, try to show the thinking and process as well. Your portfolio should tell the story of your unique approach and problem-solving process, not just finished products. Think about the role that your portfolio will play as employers or admissions counselors look through it.

SWBT: Identify their preferred media types and look at some additional media to begin experimenting with. 

It’s not about making one great piece. It’s about curating the story of your creative approach and method. With everything going on many people forget to do this entirely or just save a few of their favorite pieces. Also, as you curate, get better about critiquing your own work. When you assemble your work together get in the habit of critiquing it yourself and allowing others to do the same. It’s a bit unnatural at first but you’ll get better at embracing critique and translating that feedback into improving your future craft.

SWBT: Understand the value of self-critique and see the value in saving and curating your work over time.  

Talent is not enough. You can’t just be “really good.” Take a moment and think about your future career path. It will probably involve other people, deadlines, projects, and some sort of finance/budget component. Your resume and portfolio get you in the door, but they’re not what gets you ahead. Employers are looking for more than that... because no one produces creative work alone. Emotional intelligence, teamwork, broad experience, and marketability are all part of the “risk taking” trajectory you’ll need to pursue as you better not just your work, but yourself. Opportunities will be drawn to you if you’re taking action and moving ahead.

SWBT: See the need to take positive risks both in terms of creative opportunities but also in personal development and emotional intelligence. 

Yes, you have to be creative. But you also have to be organized. As you go about creating your personal brand and expanding your portfolio you have to be a self-starter, you have to own your future. Time management is a big part of this ownership, especially for creatives. Clients would much rather work with someone who has decent creative chops and is timely/friendly/punctual than someone who is an absolute genius but impossible to work with because of their sloppiness and disorganization.

SWBT: Understand the relationship between being creative and being organized and identify a few areas to improve in self-organization.

Here’s a fun tip: Show off. Show other people your work. Have a gallery showing, have a website, have a show in your parent’s garage. Be thinking about how to show your work off! Whether it’s at your local coffee shop, bookstore, school, or as part of a virtual gallery- it’s important to be thinking about where and how to get your work shown so that you can get your name out there and build your résumé of places you’ve been featured.

SWBT: See the value of getting work show and think of 2 or 3 places to pursue. 

Inspiration and motivation don’t always just come to you. There are seasons where you have to be looking for ways to remind yourself of what you love about your craft… what inspires and motivates you. For some it comes easy, other times we don’t always have professional work that energizes us. This is just the reality. You have to own your own discipline of self-motivation and inspiration. Maybe it’s through books, websites, films, a group or collective you’re a part of, or something else. Inspired people inspire people who inspire people. Check your passion pulse. Fight for it.

SWBT: Realize the need to fight for personal inspiration and think of ways that work for you for getting charged up creatively. 

RESOURCE: Download the second worksheet now. It has space for you to start making lists of places to show your work and assessing your skillsets beyond your artistic talent. 

Where do you need to take action based on what you’ve seen? What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? Is your job or school fulfilling your creative needs? Why or why not? You may not figure everything out from this series but at least you have some new questions to ask about your life, work, and self-ownership.

SWBT: Conquer the world.

In this bonus follow up video Jon shares some updates and new guidance about creating, launching, and leveraging your personal brand. He'll walk you through the philosophy of pairing your skill sets with the needs of your audience and really doing the work to find out what it is that you alone can offer compared to those you're competing with. Don't forget to check out the bonus Personal Brand Audit too for some additional actions and steps when it comes to launching (or overhauling) your personal brand.