I am two years in my current role and applied for a position advertised as a ‘Web Designer’. However, not much of my role is actually designing. Maybe I am naive and don’t understand the everyday tasks of a Web Designer. I do understand that no design role is 100% creative work every day, but this role is perhaps 10% designing.
There is a lot of work with Additions and Amendments, Analytics, Looker Studio, Google Tag Manager and IT support that I did not envisage in my current role. I feel like I’ve been duped a little. It is all experience and good to expand my knowledge, but I am a designer and need more creative work, even 50% on average would suffice.
Am I naive or is this just the reality of being a web designer.
A web designer designs websites (obviously.) But the job of creating websites means studying the company in question, following the analytics and doing the mundane tasks as well as the designing.
You don’t say whether or not you had experience before this job. You might be appalled to know that in an entry level job, 10% of creative design is probably pretty good.
When you interviewed, did you ask for the job description? Did you get to speak with the people you’d be working with? Did you ask questions?
Have you had any discussion with your boss about moving up the design chain?
If you continue to work while feeling angry at being “duped,” you will always be unhappy.
If you want our permission to job hunt, go for it.
Every job is different from every other job, despite the job title. I’ve never had a job as straightforward as I assumed it might be when I took the job. I’ve also never had a job that didn’t evolve into something a little different after I eased into the position.
Sometimes, work needs to be done, but there isn’t enough to justify hiring someone only to do that work. In that case, it’s divided up between others. Every company defines the work that needs to be done differently and assigns titles they think most closely correspond. These titles differ dramatically from one company to the next. Large companies often have a list of specific job titles, and no matter what someone is hired to do, it must be assigned to one of them.
I once had a job with the unofficial title of Communications Director because I directed the public communications staff of a government agency. However, the government bureaucracy didn’t have that title in their list of permissible titles, and all the close titles paid less than I was asking. The agency ended up classifying me as a wildlife biologist, which enabled them to pay me enough to take the job, even though my job had nothing to do with biology.
I wouldn’t want a job that was more than 50% design work. I’d get burned out fast with the expectation that I would always be at the top of my creative game. In some ways, the routine, non-creative work is a respite from that burnout and makes us look forward to the creative part of the job.
The bottom line, I suppose, is liking or not liking the job. If you don’t like it, by all means, look for another that more closely matches your preferences. And before accepting that job, ask many questions about what the day-to-day work entails.
It’s essential to communicate your concerns and expectations with your manager or employer. Your tasks can vary widely depending on the company.
You can better communicate with your superior about your concerns, let them know for more creative work.
Do check for clarification on the expectations for your role.