Ep 205| Competitive World of Creativity - 7 Steps to standout

When I'm applying for a job, I feel very competitive. I feel really really heavy competition in order to make myself stand out to get hired by a recruiter in design. How do I really look at this? Sometimes I have a feel of like let's say self doubt what I'm doing is right or not. I have a feel of imposter how as a designer I can really overcome and get a job. Many people ask this question. Some people don't ask us ask this, but I know they have this problem. This podcast is going to give you statistical why this is completely a myth and it's all in your mind why this fear is not really true and how you can really stand out using the seven powerful steps. Take a lot of notes. Let's jump into this podcast. Welcome to Design for Change. Thank you for staying tuning in with me. I'm on a mission working with students to achieve a creative lifestyle for more than 1 million people or 1 million designers before 2030. Even when they have a degree or experience that doesn't matter. I'm on a mission to help them through this program and this podcast is an initiative in order to help lot of students through a very free, valuable information. Right? Look at this in Spotify, in Apple Podcast, wherever you're listening. It's going to be a free of cost. But I wanted to give you one more information guys. If you're really someone looking for an education or if you wanted to have a free education like let's say every single day, 30 minutes, how about you connect with me live. I have started a very new initiative guys called Creative Morning Boosters. According to Indian Standard Time, every Single day morning 6:00 clock to 6:30. We have 30 minutes call. It's going to be a very, very powerful pack session and I'm pasting the link below in this podcast as a token of exchange and gift. You can click that and you can book a slot with me so that I'll have a small interaction with you first and then I can take you for that program. There is no cost, free of charges. Absolutely. You can tell your friends and other people to come and join. Lots of people will be there. I know lots of people will register but they'll not come because it's a morning session. Right? People have a problem in waking up in the morning. That's where I filter out serious students and not serious students. Okay, thank you guys for this tuning into this podcast. By the way, I appreciate you and please take advantages of the gift and also subscribe me for further Episodes. Today I have a very interesting topic. You know what? People have a lot of heaviness when it comes to finding out a job. When it comes to standing out, let me tell you guys, this is completely normal. It's not the problem you as a designer are only facing in this career field. Can I tell you something? People who are in the design colleges after studying two or three years, they still don't have the job. So what are you really worried about? Some of my friends, to be very honest, three years they've completed masters and they took one year or two years to find a job. On the flip side, there are students who get job even without a degree also. So do you think degree, all these things matters? People who are getting job is because of the efforts and the right implementation what they make. In my program, I get students results. Less than two months, less than three months. Some of the designers who are already working in the field, I help them get results. Even 2x3x their salaries in just 15 days, students have got results. So it is about the focused implementation and the support what you really are getting. Yeah. You can learn anywhere. YouTube is there. ChatGPT is there. In this day and age, information is not a problem. All it needs is a focused implementation. So first have a feel that it is completely normal.

Okay?

It's all in your mindset only. Don't have a very different thought. Let me tell you. According to a national skill development corporation, okay. India's design market is expected to grow by 188 billion by 2025. It's just 1/2 years left. Huge opportunities is there already in the design sector. Indian design industry is witnessing a huge demand across various sectors. Guys like E commerce platforms, fashion industry, automotive, AI technology. Creating a competitive landscape for design professionals is really huge.

Okay.

And also with the rise of digitalization and E commerce, you know, the intensive competition of design role in India is also there. But the opportunities is also opening up. Like anything companies are seeking for skilled designers guys. They want people who can do visual stuff, they can do experience stuff, they can do creative stuffs. According to a survey by nakri.com, the competition for design job in India has increased by 25% over the past 25 years. That means vacancies are there. See if vacancies are less. Do you think this kind of traffic will happen? Traffic? I mean is the people who are rushing for that. So you have to really find out differentiating factors in the job market. Which is what I'm going to tell you the seven steps. Okay? Just wait for it. Research conducted by IIT Bombay. They have a center called idc Indian Institute of Design Center. So they suggest that imposter syndrome is very prevalent across the design students, particularly professionals also in India. Okay. It's not only students. So factors such as academic expectation, comparison with peers, even if they go for office self doubt, it is completely normal. Guys, can I tell you something? 70 percentage of the design professionals and designer students are encountering imposter symptom on a day to day basis. A study by Paulin Ross Clonz and Suzanne Eames found that. Okay, at some point in their career it is very normal guys to feel that. If you're not feeling that, I would say that is abnormal because you have not still motivated enough to really go and find a job. You will be like you are very casual guy then you are a very casual person then I mean I would say that is danger because sooner or other you will lose the interest or you will go back to your old field or you will feel very frustrated. Why did you choose? If you have a pressure, if you have a doubt, if you have an imposter, 100% you are in the right track. Trust me guys, this is the first symptom I I see from the students. If they're serious, then only I'll start helping them. Or else whatever I teach world class syllabus, this, that and all, nothing is going to go inside them because they are not serious. Imposter is definitely a growth mindset symptom.

Okay?

And also you're also constantly pressurizing inside you in order to make yourself stand out from the market. That's a good symptom to have that positivity in you.

Okay?

I hope everybody would have been clear. A study published in Indian Journal of Health and well being found 60% of the designers in the Indian experience feel the imposter syndrome. See this is India data. 70% what I told you is a global data.

Okay.

So this indicates a huge need for addressing the mental health challenges also in the design community. But it's totally fine guys, I would say it's pretty normal. Okay Jagdish, what is the seven steps? Give me that fast. You need to be aware first guys. That's the reason I told you awareness is very important. And then we'll go into the tactics.

Okay?

First is be ready. Be ready with your self introduction. You should be able to tell yourself who you are, what you are doing, what skills you've got, how you can help the industry. In just two minutes, can you do it. Pause this podcast. Think about what you can tell in two minutes. Make sure you do it parallel with this podcast. Guys, don't just listen and leave. I know you might be traveling somewhere, you might be doing some multitasking and then you're listening this podcast. Or maybe you're closing your eyes and listening. I'm not sure what kind of a state you are in, but I can, I can see and resonate with you. If you're not taking this action, you will not be taking any other action through this podcast or learning. And also grab your notepad, pens or digital note taker, whatever you have in your phone. Just write few hint points what you can talk about you in two minutes and pass this podcast. Okay, I think you would have done it. So now you can see. You'll be writing about your profession, you'll be writing about your work experience, you will be writing about your past, you will be writing about why you are fit for the job. Something right? I'll give you a structure for it. Make sure you first write about you. Where are you coming from, which place? What is your professional experience? What's your personal, what's your hobbies, what's your passion, what's your strength, what's your weakness, what's your threat, what's your opportunities, what you're seeing, which is called swot swat. Okay, and then write how your skills can help the design field as a whole. Then write what skills you got in order to help this company. What you're applying can improve. And then take one project and explain. See when you're explaining project, don't just bluff, bluff, bluff, talk, lot of things. Tell the brief of the project, what problem you're solving. Tell what outcome you got. Show the before and after. Before this the project was completely zero. Nobody was visiting the landing page. Then I designed a new landing page. Now Every single day 1600 plus people are reviewing this website and rating. I've improved the conversion ratio to 1600 which is like insanely high. It's 16 times. It's like huge. 0 to 1600 is like 1600 times. You've improved. So that's the metrics. And I've implemented a UX strategy. I'm implemented a UI strategy. I've used a color psychology. I used to use applied all the skills in order to make that conversion happen. See how easy it is. First tell about yourself. Where are you coming from, your professional experience, your personal, your strength, your weakness, your threat, your opportunities, your hobbies, your passion and how you can help through your skills. To the design field as a whole how you can help this company, what you're applying through your skill. And explain about one project brief and its outcome. Show the before and after using a proper metrication data. If you are able to express this in just two minutes, you are hired guys. If you are able to express this in just one minute, you are 100% hired guys. There is no chance that they will leave you. If you are able to express this in just 30 seconds, you are going to be an irreplaceable asset for that company.

Hey Jagdish.

What you are. You're saying opposite. How do I condense this in 30 seconds? Should I speak fast? 30 seconds? No, I'm not meaning that pick the right information, whatever you want to talk in 30 seconds and tell. Hey, hi, I'm Jagdish. I have total of nine years of experience. I've did over 70 plus project. You know what one project. What I did got a national award. I've designed 33 screens in a span of just 30 days. And this product got launched in hundred days. And we have touched more than 15 hospitals by installing this particular facility. And you can look in the Google. This is award winning product. I myself as a designer can come into your organization and help you with building certain similar products which can go national international. Would you like to have an interview with me? Would you like to have a design task with me? 30 seconds, right? It's even less than 30 seconds. You can't tell anything. Guys in 30 seconds 1 minute you can be a little bit elaborate. Hey, I'm Jagdish. I have so and so experienced. I've got this skill, I have got this strength. I'm a person who is outspoken. I'm a creative designer. I'm good in ideation. You can see my portfolio. You can do it for 1 minute. 2 minutes. RM say people are not organized in what they're saying. If you're not organized in what you're saying, how can you be unique? Guys, leave your skills. That's second. But you should tell at least what you got already. Very first important point. Second is have a unique expression of your touch in your portfolio. This is. This is going to blow your mind. Guys. I'm telling you how very important. Okay? Stay focused here. Take the characteristic and attribute of yourself. What kind of a person you are. Are you angry? Are you sad? Are you emotional? Are you outspoken? Create five to 10 attributes of your own characteristic based on that characteristic. Select your one project which you want to talk about to your Recruiters and make sure you create a story around your character. Like let's say if you're an angry person, you normally get angry with people. That's fine. That's your nature. You don't have to act. Don't copy portfolio from other people and do it. Because that's fine. You can do it. But be authentic first. You can have inspirations. That's different. So if you really want to show you're angry, like let's say you are solving a big problem of healthcare industry which is very low infrastructure facilities in primary health centers of India. You want to address this through a design solution. And you did a project tell. Hey, totally. There are thousands of thousands of primary health centers in India. Completely poor infrastructure background. And after I did a research, I found that 50% of the people are dying in the primary healthcare industry with diseases which can be prevented very easily by taking simple measures. My project is to really help these guys. See, I used my angry tone but I created the problem brief and statement accordingly. Now you create illustrations and pictures and data accordingly. Now you align your project in your portfolio according to your emotion. See the main which you are as a character. You express your project through that. Don't create any kind of a portfolio structure. Copy from somewhere. That will not work. Guys. If you want to be a substandard designer, work like a laborer earning 20, 30,000. You do copy from Behance, you copy from Pinterest, you do anything. Nobody cares when they see structured portfolio which is like hey, I'll do user research, I'll do empathy, I'll do ideation, I'll do prototype, I'll do testing, blah blah blah. You will never get job.

Okay?

I mean it. A lot of recruiters have told me directly, Jagdish, if I see any structured portfolio, we will not reject. We will not even see this inside content. Whatever we look for, we'll just simply reject. They won't even go through your portfolio. One of the powerful recruiter in India, he said even he's like a top 10 design studios in India. Top five I would say some of the times they got number one award also. So if these people are saying you need to understand, okay, you need to have a unique expression of your characteristic for your project. Whatever you're going to explain, if you're an outspoken smile person, show your project accordingly. In that way, tell your story accordingly. Okay, Third important point, show your existing project. Guys. Don't be afraid. Let's say if you're an engineer, let's say if you're a graphic designer. Let's say if you're a programmer, let's say if you're a lawyer, let's say if you're an artist, let's say if you're a doctor, doesn't matter. Show one good project what you're really proud of. People will be happy to see that. Guys, don't think I don't have design project. Nobody, nobody cares. Guys, you don't create pressure on yourself.

Okay?

Go to the first point. Explain it in that structure clearly.

Okay?

Fourth is, see, people hire you for who you are. Don't try to impress anybody. The question itself is wrong. Sometimes people ask me, jagdish, how do I impress recruiters? Wrong way of seeing this thing. You will never get impression, you will never get hired. Show who you are authentically. Tell this is what I am. If you want, you can take me or else leave. Thank you. You need to have that kind of an attitude and mindset.

Okay?

6Th is design is not a competition. Guys, please understand this. Design is all about networking and collaborating. If you're able to network effectively with the people and collaborated, you can create a huge impact in this design field by connecting with the right designers, connecting with the right client, connecting with the right design studios in the world. And you will be attracted based on your interest. Guys, let's say if you are a person who wants freedom, you will go to a studio where there is huge freedom. Right now I am in that kind of a studio because I have attracted that Law of attraction really works better. If you are someone who wants a very strict boss, then and only you will work hard. You will attract strict boss and then you will work hard like that. Whatever you are, you will attract that guys. It's not a competition or something. Please be very clear on that last and important thing. Diamond comes under the pressure, guys. You know, diamond are the hardest structure, hardest carbon structure in the world. Diamonds become diamond because of the pressure. What it is going through underground. If you really wanted to become a great designer or if you really wanted to start your career, you really wanted to be a excellent guy in design, please understand pressure is a part of life. It's good to have a pressure. It's good to have an imposter. It's good to have that heaviness and competition around you. Then and only you will stand out yourself in a unique way. I hope this point would have given you greater clarity compared to any other point. Okay, reflect on this, guys. Pause this podcast and recollect the points. Whatever you've written and create a very good introduction for 2 minutes, 1 minute 30 seconds. And make sure you create your one good project based on this structure and people will love you for that reason. Guys. Okay, let me repeat to these points, guys. Be ready with your introduction. Have a structure. Tell about yourself, your passion, your profession, your strength, weakness and threaten opportunities. Show your skills, show your project. And second is show your unique expression of touch in your portfolio. Third is show your existing one good project. Fourth is people hire you for who you are. Fifth is design. Design is not a competition and networking and collaboration of the last point is diamond comes under pressure. So accept this pressure. Grow ahead guys. I hope this podcast would have given you a greater clarity on this. Thank you so much guys. If you're resonating with this podcast, share with the other people and give me a best start reading in Apple and Spotify and get notified for the further episodes and make sure you claim the free gift which I've given and book a slot with me. You can spend 30 minutes of the everyday creating session with me for your lifetime. It's not going to be a one month, two months, it's going to be a lifetime. But if you are serious, you will come there or else you'll just switch off Spotify or you'll go to the next audio. You'll be back to your normal life. Nothing is going to impact it for sure. If you wanted to change your life, take action. And take action now. Not later, not tomorrow, not day after. That will never come. Okay, Taking action will change your life, guys. Which is I'm ending this podcast. Thank you so much for listening and and we'll see you in another episode. Bye bye guys. Take care.