Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Josie Brough What would I have told myself when I was first starting my career? [Image from stocksnap.io]

Six years ago I started out in the UX industry, fresh out of university. At that time I told myself that once I’d been doing this for five years I’d know my sh*t; I’d be able to stop doubting myself, and stop waiting for someone to “out” me as having no idea what I was doing.

I haven’t really thought about that self imposed five year deadline in a while, but over recent weeks I’ve found myself in the position of giving some career advice, the odd pep talk, and being a referee when people I’ve worked with before are applying for new jobs. The realisation hit me all of a sudden — I’m now the person that I was planning on being all those years ago when I first started out.

So now that the five year mark has come and gone, I thought I would put together some advice that I would love to be able to give my junior self. I do this in the hope that some of it might strike a chord and resonate with you if you’re still somewhat fresh (or even if you’re not!), and also to try and start a conversation — I’d love to hear what advice you would like to give your past self.

The deep end is daunting, but it’s the best way to learn.

Anyone who has been thrown in the deep end when they started a new job will sympathise with that feeling of all consuming panic when you realise there’s a deadline looming and you have no-effing-idea about what you’re doing or how to go about it. Your armpits prickle, time seems to speed up to sprint ahead at an unimaginable page, you feel like there’s a neon sign above your head saying “Rookie”, and the work you’ve been tasked with seems to progress with a pace somewhat akin to a snail on sleeping pills.

Dear Junior Me,

Take a breath and remind yourself that if people didn’t have faith you could do this, you wouldn’t be in this situation. You just need to find that same faith in yourself; it won’t come immediately, but little by little you’ll get there. In a week, a month, six months, and then a year, you’ll look back and you’ll see how far you’ve come and how fast, and you’ll be grateful that you were given the opportunity to grow.

Also, master the art of a prioritised to-do list to stop yourself drowning in the unimportant but time consuming tasks. For each piece of work, note down your “must dos” (what can’t this piece of work be complete without), your “nice to haves” (things that would take it from fine to great, but aren’t necessary), and then what are the bits of “final polish” (to add if you have time). To do lists have hand on heart saved my sanity more times than I can count.

No one knows everything, and you don’t have to either.

When I first started out, I thought it was a sign of weakness to admit that there were things I didn’t understand or know how to do. I’m sure I’m not alone in the following scenario…

My manager: Josie, can you please do [insert task I’ve never done before and have limited knowledge of] by tomorrow?
Me (With a big smile trying to conceal rising panic): Yes , absolutely, definitely, right away, I’m on it.
Me: *Frantically Googles “what is [insert task I’ve never done before and have limited knowledge of]”, “how to do [insert task I’ve never done before and have limited knowledge of]”, “Deep breathing exercises”, “One way flight to Siberia”*

Dear Junior Me,

Nobody knows everything, and nobody should have to. I’m learning things every day, and I know that will continue throughout my career. Admitting what you don’t know is, in my view, a sign of strength — especially if you follow it up with a plan for how you might advance your knowledge.

When you first start out, it seems like everyone knows what they’re doing and everyone is totally in control. In reality, that’s probably half true and the rest of the time we’re all just winging it!

You’re fresh, and that’s ok.

When I first started working I felt like people were constantly judging me because of my age. It probably didn’t help that my first team consisted of me, about 20 men over the age of 40, and one other woman. In the best way possible, it was like working in a team of dads — they were supportive, kind, funny, and incredibly smart. But the very obvious age gap made me hyper aware of how young I was, which sometimes led to me being defensive about my lack of experience and trying to compensate by acting like I knew more than I did (see above).

Dear Junior Me,

As long as you’re doing a good job and you’re a good person, there are very few people who care whether you’re 21, 31, or 41 — there are bigger things to worry about in the workplace than whether someone was alive when Eye of the Tiger was released.

You’ll have moments of doubt, everyone does.

You’re doing a piece of work, maybe you’re about to speak up in a meeting, or you’re partway through having a chat to someone. Maybe you’ve woken up at 3am, or you’re waiting in line for your morning coffee… and your mind starts to wander.

You hear a whisper in your subconscious, “youdon’tknowwhatyou’redoingandeveryoneknows”
Huh? The whisper becomes a little bit louder, then a bit louder again, until all of a sudden it’s ping-ponging around in your head and all you can think about is how you don’t know what you’re doing, and everyone knows, and how long is it until you’re going to be found out, and should you just hand in your resignation now?

Dear Junior Me,

The bad news is that this probably won’t go away. The good news is that with any luck you’ll have those thoughts less and less. And over time as you get more experience, you’ll have the ammo to blow them away pretty bloody quickly when they do start! Just remember, you DO know what you’re doing, and if you don’t — ask someone who does know… admitting what you don’t know is a strength, not a weakness, remember?

Don’t believe me? Just Google “Imposter Syndrome”.

Don’t let anyone, or anything, steal your sparkle.

I’ve moved around a bit in my career, because one of the things I know about myself is that I thrive on challenges and learning new things. Looking back, I’m really proud of my past self and how I made some hard decisions about when to let go of a job because I was no longer thriving in it, or passionate about the work I was doing — it was time to pass the torch to someone else.

Dear Junior Me,

Be yourself, and love what you do. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in the monotony of a job and to lose your joy, or to assume it’s normal not to really enjoy your work. In reality, you work in an industry that you love, and when you stop loving the job take some time out to think… is this job still right for me, and am I still right for this job? Now in no way am I advocating quitting when things get hard; almost the opposite in fact! You thrive on challenges and I have no doubt you’ll rise to the occasion, but make sure you decide to stay or leave for the right reasons.

So that’s it, my advice that I would give to my 21 year old, fresh out of university self. I’m sure I’ll look back on this in another 6 years and realise how little I know even now, but hey that’s the beauty of learning new things right?

What advice would you give to yourself when you were first starting out in your career?

Dear Junior Me was originally published in prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dear Junior Me

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