Ask Anna: How can I progress my creative career?
Moving upwards in a career can be a complicated business, which often forces people to jump from company to company to gain forward motion. But it doesn’t — and shouldn’t — always have to be that way, says CR’s agony aunt Anna Higgs
Dear Anna,
I’m an editorial print designer specialising in magazine design for a large UK newspaper. The work we do in my department has radically decreased over the past few years.
I should, by now, be a senior designer but am not progressing any higher in my current role. To progress I feel I need to leave my current company, but I also feel I need to diversify the work I do – venture more into digital to be able to get a job. I don’t know where to start. Can you help?
Anon
Dear Anon,
So, you have two really big things to consider here: the challenge of internal progression, and the need to keep up in ever-evolving times. They’re somewhat interrelated, but let’s try to untangle them a bit to help weave a useful answer for you.
Internal progression or career development within organisations is a fascinating and complex area. So much so that whole consultancies make their living helping companies grapple with this one – mainly because not many businesses seem to do it well, if they consider doing it at all.
