I'm in a horrible situation so I need help from the blind community.
I'm in a terrible mental state due to working in a terrible environment so I'm asking the design community to lend me a hand. I never thought blind was toxic btw, which is why I'm comfortable asking for help and talking about stuff other than TC:
I work in an offshoring company in a developing country. They're client oriented so they treat developers like a bill. Hr is horrible, senior management will have us work from the office 5 days/week starting May despite COVID-19 still being a big fuckin thing and ppl dying. Last week I was defacto told I have to pay lip service to the HR and the senior manager guy she sucks up to or else life in the office will be a lot harder l for me.
I've already been through a terrible past experience where the environment was just as toxic and I didn't stand up to myself so I still have major regrets to this day.
The company's offshore client - the one I work with - is in Europe so I thought if I have 6 months exp on my resume working with a European client + maybe an exp letter from my Manager there, I can land a remote job here or better yet, abroad.
The thing is, my portfolio is 2 years old and at a junior UI/UX designer level. This is what I need help with. I've been procrastinating for a year on it because I don't know if creating 3-4 personal projects is enough to make a dent... I honestly believe anyone can redesign gmail, trick is to do it with real life constraints. Personal projects don't have that.
If anybody has a similar experience, knows for sure that taking the time to create personal projects for my portfolio + having a European startup in my resume is going to work, or just want to offer me a virtual hug, please share it.
TC 🥜
Yoe 2+
Bachelor's of Architecture + post grad diploma in UXD
comments
Also, virtual hug!
Thanks for the advice, especially the fact that they're interested in the thinking process. Knowing this helps a lot.
1. It sounds like you are burnt out, so first things first, take some time off to improve your mental state. If working on a portfolio is relaxing for you, feel free to do it after a few days of not working. If not, no worries, just take a break and don’t worry about your portfolio or work for a little while.
2. Your instincts are right that redesigning Gmail or some other famous app is not a valuable project to include in your portfolio, especially if you already have real world experience. However, if you build a personal project that is real and solves a real problem, that can be valuable. From your post, my recommendation would be to include real projects from your job during the last two years.
3. Do NOT mass apply to a bunch of job applications. Not only is that very time consuming, it will also likely result in hundreds of rejections/ghosts, which can further shatter confidence. Instead, I recommend connecting with a few design recruiters at companies you are interested in on LinkedIn and see where those exploratory conversations take you. This is much better than applying through a website, since it guarantees a human is actually looking at your resume and work. As long as you are polite and courteous, recruiters may give you advice for improvement, even if the conversation doesn’t lead to an interview.
4. Finally, don’t lose hope! Job searching can be stressful, but it’s important to remember that you are interviewing the company just as much as the company is interviewing you, so don’t take rejection too personally. You may find after some conversations that you actually don’t want to work at a place you thought was your dream job, and that’s ok. It’s hard when you want to leave your current job ASAP, but I find it’s better to first try and relieve as many sources of stress at your current job first before putting pressure on yourself to find a new one. The best way to set yourself up for job search success is to put yourself in a better mental state in general. You got this!
I don't think I can and I don't want to.
It's a LOT more common than you think