Career moves - an employee's perspective

Image: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Working as an art director in the advertising industry is a job that I enjoy greatly. Since joining Native VML I have really started carving a niche for myself in an agency that's going from strength to strength.

Recently, I was headhunted by a large corporate and asked to join its team in a more senior position and, as a result, was faced with a career decision that was more difficult than any I had previously faced. When you're standing at a crossroads in your career, how do you know which avenue to go down?

Everyone has their own interests at heart, and so should you. I went through an arduous process where both parties made every effort to get me to walk down their road. It was both flattering and confusing as my mind was constantly going back and forth between the two options that lay ahead of me.

The opinion of an expert

When in doubt, seek the opinion of an expert, so I sought out the advice of a highly regarded creative director who had no vested interest in either of the parties vying for me. We discussed my reasons for choosing my career path, and what I liked and disliked about it. Talking through my reasons for being in the industry in the first place gave me a lot of perspective on my career, and it was only when I took a step back from the negotiations that I began to understand what I wanted.

I realised that a future in advertising, doing great design and conceptual work, is what I craved. A move into a corporate company would have taken me away from the opportunities that I currently have.

My reason for studying graphic design in the first place was my deep-seated passion for creativity and expression in design. Working at a large corporate would inhibit a core part of me, who I see myself as, and what I love doing: being as creative as possible. Gaining insights into key areas where clients want to market themselves and expanding those insights into ideas that resonate and make a real difference to consumers is what truly excites me about working in advertising.

Stick to your guns, you know what's best for you. Having made the decision to stay I realised that that is what I wanted to do all along. If you do what you are passionate about, the extra effort you put into it will come easily. I believe that if I follow my dreams and passions my future will be much brighter, and this is the road that I have chosen to go down.