Why not to despair when you're on the road to nowhere

Are you struggling to gain traction in your career? Do you feel like your efforts are exhausting you, yet getting you nowhere? Do not despair, your efforts will prevail. This is not an advert, and it's not a promise, it's merely the thoughts of someone who has been there.

For a long time I thought I was doing everything right and getting nowhere. Then for even longer I felt like everything I did was wrong, I lost confidence and lost my way.

I moved to London after graduating, with a suitcase full of confidence, expectations of glory and not a lot else. I applied to every major agency and studio that every design student dreams of working at, fully feeling that I deserved the role. I turned up at studios (without an appointment) with my portfolio, a confident smile and a head filled with stories of success. The stories we're told over and over; of the graduate who just turned up, and got the job on the merit of their potential and brazen approach. I was certain that I had an edge, I was not afraid of speaking to anyone, nor the (high chance) of rejection.

My approach failed. Maybe it was just a reflection of the state of the industry during the recession, but more likely it was my failure to properly understand my value. I was fresh out of university and should have been looking for an internship or a junior role, not pushing my face under the noses of industry leaders like some fame hungry, wannabe actor.

When this didn't work, I fell back on my work ethic, employing a scatter-gun approach on every job seeking website I could, applying blindly for every job within the entire gamut of design, spending every available hour on the web.

Again this approach failed. There are several reasons why:

1. My email was everywhere and possibly appeared as spam (not verified, just a suspicion)
2. Recruiters didn't trust in my abilities, because I'd spread myself so thin and was so unclear on what I was looking for.
3. I was missing out the important part of applying for a role, applying myself

I didn't really see what I was missing for a long time, because I was so focused on appearing to "try" for fear of appearing too similar to everyone else in the queue at the job centre.

The funny thing is, I knew the answer. I worked in several sales roles that taught me this simple rule:

work smarter, not harder

I had applied the theory to sales, but just couldn't see how it affected my approach to my life and career.

I finally "clicked" and understood how my approach had been wrong when I'd been in a stable design role for about a month. The truth is, I hadn't applied to the role, it didn't even exist when I met the director. I had actually contacted him to see if his studio could use an external designer, a freelancer.

I had changed my approach, in fact I had given up on trying to get a role within a company or studio and had instead started seeking freelance opportunities. I started phoning design companies in north London, no-longer over-brimming with confidence, just with a clear objective in mind. My objective was to arrange a face-to-face meeting with the directors or studio managers of small to medium studios and get myself on their books as an external resource.

This was going well and I started meeting lot's of the people that I'd failed to get in front of as an ego-filled, over ambitious applicant. I was taking on bits of freelance work from studios and end clients, and working part-time in a print studio, when out of the blue, I received a call. A studio director that I had met with a few months earlier to discuss freelance work, was looking for a new designer and had remembered me.

I accepted the role and my career has moved rapidly forwards ever since. Which is the exact point I wanted to make; don't give up, change your approach.

Some pointers for despairing job seekers:

• Consider your market, is it saturated with other graduates vying for the same roles? If so consider how you might stand out.
• Use LinkedIn. That sound obvious, but I mean really use it, post links to relevant articles, join groups within your industry or trade and make yourself known to your professional peers. I have been head-hunted numerous times through LinkedIn just because I do these things.
• Be humble. There's is nothing wrong with having a confident approach, but know your worth, accept that you have to start somewhere. Ambition will help, but it's so much more effective when you know where you're starting from.
• Be patient. If you're putting in the effort, calling the right people, applying for the right jobs and working hard, then the law of averages will come into effect. Eventually.
• And finally don't give up. Sometimes you just need to step back and look at your approach, is what you're doing working? If you're not getting responses, you might need to change your focus. Who you contact, how you contact them and where you are looking. Don't be afraid to change your tactics, and remember in the age of emails, a phone call goes a long way.

I hope that this has been useful, and if it has please do comment. Good luck!