Progress in Failure - Week 2 of The PATH

This week has been rife with missing my goals, yet staying on track with my intent.

I started the week planning to apply to at least 20 jobs to maximize my chances of finding a new role this month. But instead, I ended up going to the opening ceremony of a new WeWork location in Atlanta. It's the first Startup Labs facility in Georgia! Despite not really knowing who I wanted to connect with, Joey Womack(1), the host and Startup Labs manager, was quick to welcome me, ask me about my interests, and promptly introduce me to Eddie Liu, the CEO Of UpLift. Uplift is an app that helps people combat their depression via Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. 

I had a great talk with Eddie about depression and virtual reality. He even gave me some ideas that I will most definitely use on my next 3D website iterations. XD

Once you get past the hard part of finding someone to introduce yourself to, networking is pretty awesome indeed!

As if to drive the point home, I then met Diegratia Daniels, the Operations Director at Futurus. I've been a long time fan of them, and was excited to see how I could get more involved now. We soon after set up a meeting with him that I’ll be going to this week. ??

I spent a whole day helping my friend, Kerry (2), really hone his portfolio.

It's amazing what he can do. I told him about Lambda School a while back, and kept asking him why he wasn’t taking advantage of a program like that to further his artistic skills. He finally enrolled last year and is now able to craft stuff like this:

He added these to his portfolio project after we went through how he could include more insights, in addition to all the other visuals and process descriptions he had. 

Talking with him made me realize the incredible importance of having a support group and ‘network’ of people who are doing things you aspire to do. Our conversations throughout the whole day got me inspired, motivated, and humbled to see what it looks like just a few steps farther down the path of a product designer.

To wrap the week up, I Finally applied to one of my top five companies I really want to work at (as a designer in the future, but via a role I can do with my current skills now).

I really hope I’ll be able to stand out as a positively impactful coworker.

I am seeking to hone my skills I’ve learned in the past 4 years of working on super small/early/bootstrapped startups into something far more focused. I figured I could get into an Operations, Customer Success, Customer/Tech Support, or an Onboarding/Implementation type role.

It’s been difficult to try and take everything I’ve done so far and mold it into a presentable, concise package. I think I’ve gotten a little better at it, but going forward, I know this ability to craft engaging stories out of my experiences and skills will allow me to show how I can provide value to any number of people.

Here's to establishing a strong career along my Path!! ??

Thanks again for reading! What is your career path like? If you have a nontraditional background, how did you break into your industry?

Notes:

1. Perhaps I should @ them… buuuut I worry about bothering these folks, so feel free to just search them up on your own time. Joey Womack founded GoodieNation as well as Amplify 4 Good!
2. Kerry loves to talk (about music, art, or design) and to network. So feel free to reach out to him, especially if you’re a hiring manager who wants to see his portfolio ;)