“Find somebody to speak to confidentially, someone you can lean on”

Creative Career Conundrums is a weekly advice column from If You Could Jobs. Each week their selected panel of professionals from the creative industry answers your burning career questions to help you navigate the creative journey.

This week’s question:

Over the past year, I made a couple semi-big mistakes on design projects because my mental health was at play.

I truly believed I navigated the situation the best I could, but in the end, I made some work I wasn’t proud of, which could shine a bad light on the place that I work at. Even though I was struggling, my job didn't really act as a support; they instead became hesitant to give me work and/or were micromanaging me. I do think that I am feeling better mentally, but my bosses can’t let up on the mistakes I’ve made, despite my progress and improvements on certain projects.

In a world that cares so much about mental health, and knowing the design industry is on fire, how do we navigate innocent mistakes that could hurt your work in the long run?

How can I navigate mistakes and earn trust again?

Shanice Mears, co-founder and head of culture & communities at The Elephant Room:

Firstly, to be able to hold yourself accountable and recognise when you’ve done something wrong is great self-awareness, because at the end of the day we all make mistakes. Everyone. It’s probably worth starting by having an open and transparent conversation with your leads about what had happened and how the behaviour of some individuals is making you feel.

I know that is a lot easier said than done, but in the long term I think you’ll be happy that you said all you needed to. I think it’s better when you share what’s on your mind and everyone is clear, so you can gracefully move on without having to rehash anything over and over again.

When it comes to starting to feel better or maybe yourself again, I would think about doing some personal work for joy. If you’ve now got yourself into a better place mentally, think about how you can just do some stuff for the love of it. I would also find somebody to speak to confidentially, someone you can lean on but specifically for what you’re doing and going through. Don’t underestimate the power of opening up and just sharing.

Lastly, I would like to suggest maybe looking back at the work you are proud of, because sometimes when we are in the present we forget about the things we once did or have done that made us proud. Just remember that it’s temporary and this feeling and situation won’t be forever.

In answering your creative career conundrums we realise that some issues need expert support, so we’ve collated a list of additional resources that can support you across things that might arise at work.

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