Insights on Landing Your First Job!
Industry’s leading designers and creative entrepreneurs spill the beans on landing your first job in the design realm with their valuable opinions and insights on the yesterday, today and tomorrow of design.
Aashish Solanki, Lisa Rath, Itu Chaudhuri, Lokesh Karekar and Pravin Shah
Entering the world of design can be an exhilarating journey, and landing your first job in this creative domain marks the beginning of a thrilling career. As a design enthusiast, your first job offers a chance to channel your artistic vision into tangible projects and collaborate with like-minded professionals. Embrace the challenges, fuel your passion, and embark on a path of growth and self-discovery as you carve your niche in the fascinating realm of design.
Q. As design studios begin to recruit new talent, what are the key qualities or skills you are seeking in this year’s design graduates?
Aashish Solanki. Curiosity & drive to learn are extremely important traits. As a design studio, we are looking for candidates who have the never-ending zeal to pick up challenges, new skills and the right attitude to live through these challenges. We are a studio who value the right attitude above their skills and if they are ready to learn, grow and produce results then we are happy to help them achieve their career goals. They need to be proficient in understanding design trends, ease of using the design tools that are applicable for their individual roles and own their work responsibly.
Itu and Lisa. As in 1996, so in 2023.
• Portfolio. We look for a spark somewhere in the portfolio — of originality, craft or something else, even in one project. Sloppy spelling, incomplete work is a big turn off.
• Openness, curiosity and honesty. Openness means showing a willingness to see things differently from one’s own POV. Curiosity Is self-explanatory. These two answer the question: what will this person be like to work with? Can they grow? Potential, not the present is the decider. About Honesty. It becomes more important in this age where seamless copying is a temptation. Students should realise that employers have been around the block too. Portfolios catch the eye, but sincerity, the capacity to be reflective about one ’s weaknesses; to express genuine doubts wins our hearts.
