Don’t be afraid to take the leap
Ever wondered how people got to where they are today in their career? Where did they start and what were they thinking at the time? In this series, professionals from all walks of life look back at their start and share some lessons they wish they’d known back then.
From Greece to The Netherlands and from geology to design, senior UX designer Anna Messini has seen it all. In this episode of Career Talks, she shares some of the most important lessons she has learnt in her career so far.
Enjoy!
Nico: How did you get your first job?
Anna: I had a bit of a complicated career path since I studied geology for my first degree, worked a bit as a researcher in the university following my master in science studies and decided to study design when I was 27. This means I had the experience of getting a first job in two different fields and different stages of life.
Looking back at this I must say the way I got myself a job in both cases was the same. I was offered a job by my former professors after graduation. This was a culmination of a lot of effort from my side during my studies that created the impression of a hard working individual with growth potential to my hiring managers/ex teachers.
That said there was also a bit of luck and good timing involved and of course maintaining the social connection to my university network.
Nico: How did you get your first promotion?
Anna: I got my first promotion while working as a designer since there was no ladder to climb in sight in my previous field. So I will only talk about my experience as a designer.
I had worked as a designer for 5 years in Greece before I moved to the Netherlands and got exposed to a corporate environment. Before that, the idea of a promotion was not relevant since I was working as a freelancer.
My first promotion happened after working for a bit over a year at TomTom in Amsterdam and it was something I pursued by making a case to my manager. I had taken up proactively more responsibilities than what my role demanded. I did this because I was interested in switching my role to UX designer instead of web designer.
I made a list of all the things I was responsible for and all the extra things I was doing and asked my manager if she thought that was a responsibility profile of a medior designer or a senior designer. She agreed that I needed to get a promotion and helped me with it.
Nico: What is the most important lesson you learnt in your career so far?
Anna: That I should never stop changing.
We live in this fast paced world with access to all this information. My working life is no different, every time I look there is a new tool, method or even specialty within my field cropping up. It is an “adapt or die” game. I am always on the lookout for new paths to pursue that I am curious and passionate about. As long as we are alive our needs and ambitions change and we should adapt our working life to match that.
At the same time I learned that people are important. Both in the personal as well as the professional environment. I learnt that building those connections at work helps me stay motivated and create a meaningful working environment and a robust professional network.
Nico: What is the hardest career lesson you had to learn so far? What do you see now that you didn’t see while you were going through it?
Anna: The hardest career lesson I learned is to not sell myself short.
I, like most of my peers, suffer from the dreaded impostor syndrome. This is the idea that you are not good enough for the position that you are hired in. I learned that I have to constantly look back and reflect on my successes and not only look at how a deliverable could have been better.
There is always space for improvement in whatever I do but that does not mean that my work is not valuable or good. The fact that people hired me to do this job and still pay me to do it is proof enough.
I learned that documenting my work is a nice tool to battle this affliction as well as asking for feedback from the people I worked with at the end of a project. Finally I learned that I should be more confident in salary negotiations. It is hard. I am still learning this lesson.
Nico: What is one career advice you would give your younger self?
Anna: Don't be afraid to take the leap. Get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself.
Once a working situation stops being motivating and you see no growth paths that you like, make the switch. Explore alternatives and pursue your dreams.
Switching to design was the best career move I ever did and switching from a print designer to a UX designer was even better. My life took a turn and possibilities unfolded that I would never dream of having in my previous occupation. I moved to the Netherlands and I have access to so many different career as well as learning and growth opportunities.
I sometimes wish I would have done the switch earlier but then I realise that I owe a lot of my professional skills to my previous career as well. I guess my other advice to myself would be to have no regrets and that nothing goes to waste.
About Anna
If you would like to learn more about Anna, check out her work at the link below.
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