CVs and Rejections
I’ve been actively applying, going on interviews, and communicating with recruiters, design directors, and HR managers for quite a while. RealWORKs content was incredibly useful in terms of optimising my current CV (for instance, dropping the PDF format in favour of DOC that is meant to be more ATS-friendly, or including my full name in the CV document title).
The biggest takeaway from completing the course was approaching the rejections from a different perspective. I still take every rejection very personally, unless I am being rejected for an unavoidable reason (i.e. company cannot sponsor a work visa). Although I have grown a lot recently, it still hurts to see ‘no-s’ piling up in the inbox.
The new approach demonstrates that every ‘no’ is more than a lesson: it’s a paid rejection, a brick that lies in the foundation of the job you secure at the end of the journey. It would be naive to expect that out of 5 applications, all 5 will end in an offer — it is rather obvious, but calculating how much each no costs in terms of final gain is something new and promising. I will give it a try next time I receive a rejection (apparently, very soon).
Thoughts on personal branding
As Greig (2016) puts it, branding begins with things that define you as a professional and a person. He recommends beginning with filling in a simple bran message form:
I help (audience) to (reach primary benefit(s) or solve primary problem) . I’m different from other (category) because (differentiator).
I decided to apply the formula to my persona and derived the following statement:
I help companies transform their operations and scale up through design thinking, problem-solving, and creative strategy. I am different from other designers because I come with years of professional expertise, great presentation and facilitation skills, sharp mind, research-fuelled brain, and a creative eye.
I have been posting on LinkedIn for a while now. I started actively writing posts for LinkedIn earlier this year, and since then, I noticed that:
- Recruiters reach out to me at least a few times a month;
- Around 10 new people follow me every week;
- My posts receive an average of 5 reactions, despite being relatively long;
- Most importantly, I managed to get over my fear of writing in English, and became significantly better at writing in general.
Gothelf (2010) describes personal branding of a corporate employee, regardless of occupation, as something that ‘differentiates the designer, developer, marketer, etc, from the rest of the pack within crowded disciplines’ and functions as a self-promotion agent. Apparently, maintaining a consistent branding image should at the end of the day start working for me, attracting new opportunities.
He then goes on to claim that personal branding should benefit the company, first and foremost, and if it does not, the practitioner should consider becoming independent. That is in an interesting take, considering I rarely include or reference my company’s value, practices, or products in my attempts to build a solid branding. Perhaps I should consider embarking on an independent journey?
Setting new SMART Goals
In any case, research would be useless without setting some actionable goals. I decided to narrow it down, considering I am already working on building my brand image:
- I will set up a mailing list with Mailchimp in the coming 2 months for anyone to subscribe. This will help me strengthen my connection with my current and potential clients, help grow my brand;
- I will start a personal blog and talk more about my own accomplishments, failures, and thoughts, rather than theoretical topics. I will keep posting actively, at least twice a week, as I do on LinkedIn;
- I will finish building and launch my website by the end of this year, and will make sure to keep its content up to date at all times.
References
RealWORKs. The art of the approach. [course content]. Available at: https://realworks.careercentre.me/resources/elearning/hub.aspx [accessed 30/11/2021].
GREIG, J. 2016. “Don’T Start Your Personal Brand By Designing A Fancy Website Or Logo”. James Greig [online]. Available at: https://www.greig.cc/personal-branding/ [accessed 30 Nov 2021].
GOTHELF, J. 2010. “How To Maintain Your Personal Brand As A Corporate Employee — Smashing Magazine”. Smashing Magazine [online]. Available at: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/how-to-maintain-your-personal-brand-as-a-corporate-employee/ [accessed 1 Dec 2021].