How to plan your next career move in the design industry

4 key points to consider

Today, I want to focus on professionals who, after their first or second job, want to bring their career one step higher. If you are at this point, you have a better understanding of who you are professionally and where you want to be or maybe you just have a feeling that you will benefit from a change.

Are you considering changing company?

I still remember the time when, after four years of work experience, a recruiter reached out and offered to interview with a studio. The description of the company looked good and they were doing different kinds of buildings than what I was used to. I took a chance and decided to explore it. Why not, right?

As you can imagine, that story did not continue as expected. After 3 months in the job I decided to leave the company. Some family issues at that time made me make the decision, but the reality is that I didn’t see myself happy there and the family matters were just the tipping point.

My previous company found out that I had quit and offered to interview me to take me back. I felt so lucky to get offered my previous job again in the end!

Did I move too fast leaving them in the first place? Was it a poorly informed decision?

I often reflect on that experience. I was lucky enough to go back to my old job but not everybody has that chance, or maybe you just don’t want to go back to it!

What could have I done better before accepting that offer to change jobs?

The following points are a compendious selection of thought I have gathered over the years and are not related solely to that experience.

1. Review the ethos of the company, it is their soul!

The ethos of the company is something that is easy to forget to check. It is not something that will jump right to you at first glance, but you need to do some due diligence.

When the company you work for and your ethos are not aligned, it is one of that things that will over time start to generate discomfort in your day to day. It will show in the way of clashes during the design process.

Your design is informed by your values and your buildings will reflect that and vice versa.

If you have a strong sense of community, your designs puts people interactions in the centre of the project, and that will inform your decisions during the design process. The building you will imagine are very different from someone whose main goal is sustainability, for example. Their focus is more on the balance of earth, sun, shade, wind, carbon footprint and energy performance. All paths are equally good, but they seek different results.

Knowing what is your mission and values when you design and making sure they align with the ones from the company you are working for is key to success.

2. The size of the company

It can seem trivial or irrelevant, but depending on the moment where you are in your career, you might be looking for different things. The size of a company doesn’t have to translate specifically in the following points being right, but there is some truth in them

A) Small companies (1–10 people)

This companies tend to have a very family approach. You might be involved in many aspect of the company beyond your scope of work and your relationship with management will be very close. This can be a good thing if you like proximity, but is important to make sure you genuinely click with your boss before accepting an offer. Small companies are great for people who value this kind of relationships and also for professionals who enjoy mentorship.

B) Mid size companies (11–100)

The larger the company it is, the more likely that there will be more distance between you and the boss. So if you are looking for a mentorship approach at work, keep that in mind, since your boss might be more busy with other things. This group of companies are the ones that present the biggest advantages for growth. If the company is doing well over time, the structure will grow. It is more likely that new intermediate positions are available than in small companies.

These are companies where you can grow along with the company and if you are aligned with the way they do things you will love it.

C) Large companies (+100)

Large companies are very hard to assess. When the teams are so big, you will be likely reporting to a director and your experience will depend largely on the team you land on.

When you ask two people who work at the same company, they might give you totally opposite opinions. These companies have large HR departments, promotions and advancement are structured in a way where it is easier to track your performance and have valuable feedback.

Large companies tend to have higher budgets so if research or innovation are things you value make sure to check this kind of companies as well.

3. Social Justice

Social justice and equity are different from the ethos and mission. This relates to how the company acknowledges their employees. In particular, how diverse is their workforce and how they promote equity among their peers.

How many female people are being promoted to management roles? Is their staff diverse? What about the LGBTQ+ community, are they out at work?

It is important to belong to a company where you feel you matter as a human being, feeling safe and empowered.

The easiest way to have a first look at this is by checking the company’s social media and do some LinkedIn research.

If they don’t post about social justice issues, it means it doesn’t matter to them, so take that into consideration.

4. Salary Expectations

This is a tricky one. Who doesn’t want more money, right? Jokes aside, make sure you salary supports the life you want to build. I’m not talking about wanting an Aston Martin or designer clothes… However if you would like to have a family and you are planning on it, think carefully before moving to a job that would make you postpone your life goals.

Work is important but your personal life is too and the frustration of not being able to achieve your personal goals will affect your job and vice versa.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Would love to read your comments and points of view below. And if you liked it don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter!

Peace!