4 Methods To Build Your Confidence As A Junior Designer
By: Echo Yiran Xu
Tags: Imposter Syndrome, Design, UX, UX Design, Motivational

As a Junior designer, it’s very common for some of us to feel defeated or have imposter syndrome sometimes. But that’s not a big deal. I have tried the following 4 methods to rebuild my confidence. I hope it’s helpful for you:)

1. Get mentorship

The Junior designers nowadays are fortunate because we have way more platforms to connect to those senior designers. For example, the ADPList is my favorite website to get mentorship. Thanks to it, I can get help from all the mentors from all different-sized companies, including the Silicon Valley Big Tech Compies and small-mid-sized design agencies.

All of the mentors gave me a lot of confidence, even sometimes I asked silly questions or not doing very well in my case studies. Their kind languages really helped me a lot to continue my design career.

From my personal experience, it’s better to build a long-term relationship with the mentor because they have different professional backgrounds. Not all of them fit your career goal or style. So if you can find one that really matches, try to build a long-term mentorship or even friendship with them. It will benefit your design career a lot—also a great way to build networking.

2. Give appreciation and feedback

The best way to receive is to give! If you want to get affirmation or appreciation from others, don’t hesitate to give your genuine appreciation. For example, when you read a pretty insightful article, please find a way to reach out to the author and give them your positive feedback. Trust me; the author will be very grateful for your kind words. And it will be easier for you to ask some questions or help rather than send a cold email.

Everybody likes and needs affirmation from others. Be specific when you appreciate them. Say something like Your article about the mistakes to avoid as a new designer is very inspiring. I talked to my coworkers they all agree with you…something like that. Don’t just say: I like your article…

3. Complete small projects

Rome is not built in one day. Suppose you gave a big dream or plan and frustrated about the difficulty of realizing it. Please don’t be too harsh on yourself and separate it into small steps. Like running a marathon, the 40 km seems unattainable, but you set the small goals as running 2 km 20 times. It seems not so scary, right?

Let’s say you want to build an app. You can set a plan with a specific time frame and tasks each day. Focus on the daily tasks such as how many interviews I have done yesterday, how many data and feedback I have collected today, and tomorrow I will complete the analysis report, etc. The big picture might sound stressful, but the small daily tasks accomplishment boosts your confidence for real.

4. Watch inspirational videos or articles

Last but not least, find a way to motivate yourself. I have written an article :

This method is beneficial for me because I am a person a bit moody in life. A motivational video will affect my feelings positively. Drug me from down to up.

When you are browsing social media, save some motivative or inspirational videos like :

I hope these tips help!