for the lack of performance tarnishes your brand. Soon others will not know if you can be trusted to do the work required by the deadlines that exist.
You no doubt wonder why the same designers win awards year after year or consistently obtain the great jobs. It is not magic. It is because they have established a brand and the performance characteristics that clients can depend upon. The client then has no qualms in hiring that designer again and in recommending that designer to others.
There are numerous ways to develop and establish your personal brand. A few have already been mentioned. Here are several more:
Clearly understand who you are professionally and what you stand for.
Don't promise what you cannot deliver.
If you make a mistake, correct it quickly and work hard to not make that same mistake again.
Reevaluate your goals (and brand image) annually to be sure that what you thought you want is still what you want.
If you don't think your design philosophy meshes with a client's demands, then don't take the job.
There are numerous books available about personal branding. A few are mentioned in the General References at the end of this book. Many others will be found on the Internet.
CAREER DECISIONS
Your first real job in the interior design profession is a significant milestone. For everyone, it is the first step on a journey that can lead to a rewarding and successful future in a career full of challenges and excitement. That first position can also chart a direction toward a goal for the future; more often, it becomes a stepping‐stone to other opportunities.
Interests in specific kinds of design work obviously influence career options. Outside interests or experiences from a previous career can move you toward a particular specialty. Understanding who you are and what your interests are will help you make the decision as to which area to go into in interior design. Completing the sections on goals in this chapter can be quite helpful.
Few designers remain with the same company for decades. It is likely that you will be with three or more firms before you retire. Some sources say graduates may change jobs as many as 10 times before they retire. And that's okay: It is important to keep yourself open to new opportunities, especially after you have gained some on‐the‐job experience.
At the beginning of your career, be advised that employers will expect you to “pay your dues”—and this does not mean to a professional association. Despite the new employee's training and talent, the interior design firm will want to train and observe the employee for some period of time before giving him substantial project responsibility. In many cases this means doing what graduates refer to as “menial work,” such as maintaining the library, calling for pricing, gathering materials for presentations, and organizing sample boards. There is nothing wrong, however, with maintaining the library. All of these tasks are part of the design process and are undertaken by the most experienced professional as well as the beginner.
It simply takes time to transition from entry‐level recent graduate (or new employee) to having the responsibility of dealing directly with clients. Internships play a vital role in speeding transition.
Here are several factors that may influence your career decisions:
In a small firm, the new employee might be able to work on a variety of projects sooner than those who begin work at a larger design firm.
Expectations for productive work—alongside experienced designers—will be high in a small firm.
Entry‐level designers generally progress more slowly in larger firms.
Larger firms give an entry‐level designer the opportunity to see how a variety of bigger projects are handled by playing a role on a team.
Compensation and benefits should be weighed carefully; sometimes working for a firm at a lower salary is the better choice because of the experiences that the new designer can have with that firm.
Promotions come slowly in design; it most likely will take an entry‐level designer two years or so to move up to the next job level in a design firm.
One of the fascinating aspects of the interior design profession is the variety of ways in which an individual can work in the field. Although some areas do require training or experience beyond the undergraduate level or the normal interior design degree, many offer positions that the trained interior designer can achieve with work experience in the field.
This is a challenging, exciting—sometimes frustrating—profession. But it is also a great way to make a living! A certain amount of patience is necessary in this profession.
DESIGN CAREER SPECIALTIES
One of the interesting things about the profession of interior design is that there are numerous ways in which someone can work in the profession. Of course, most readers are familiar with residential interior design, which is the design of houses and private living spaces. The other is commercial interior design, which is the design of many kinds of public businesses and private or government facilities. However, there are many other career options beyond these two traditionally considered careers.
There are many specialty career areas that focus on a narrower or even an additional range of knowledge and skills. Such options as lighting design, barrier‐free design consulting, design of housing for seniors, and interior design management are only a few.
This section explains many of these career options so that readers can get an idea of the work of the specialty. It is not all‐inclusive, because one could argue that a focus on any one type of space or service also creates a specialty.
Preparing for Career Specialization
There have been lots of arguments as to whether interior designers should be generalists or specialists. It is believed that when the economy is slow or flat, a generalist can find projects of some kind while a specialist might find himself twiddling his thumbs. Both arguments have merit.
The generalist feels that she is able to design any kind of space, whether it is a residence or a commercial facility of some kind. However, clients have increasingly indicated that they like to hire experts. A client who hires someone to design a private residence wants that designer to understand the needs of residential design. A client who hires someone to design a store or medical office wants to know that the interior designer is familiar with that client's business and design needs. This brief section discusses decisions the designer must make if she wishes to specialize rather than be a generalist.
Many specialty areas require extensive job experience and even additional education. For example, a designer does not become successful at the design of healthcare spaces without experience and knowledge about healthcare practice. But how can one find out what experience or education is required for any specific career option in interior design?
A very practical way to prepare for career specialization is to interview designers who already work in that segment of the design field. Interior designers are like most people: They love to talk about what they do and are flattered to find out that others are interested in their work. It is suggested
