“You never know unless you ask the right questions”

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:

“I’ve always been ambitious, passionate about design, and driven to build an exciting, successful career. Last year, I had a baby, and recently I stepped into a new role as creative director at an agency. On paper, this is everything I’ve worked for, but in reality, it doesn’t feel the way I expected it to.

The day-to-day of a senior role means less hands-on creative work, more admin, longer hours, and less time with my baby. I find myself questioning whether I’ve made a mistake. At the same time, I’m unsure what other path might offer both the flexibility to be present for my child and the creativity of actually doing the work I love without going freelance. But maybe freelance is the answer?

I feel stuck, confused, and uncertain about what my next steps should be. I’d really appreciate any advice or perspective.

I’m stuck between wanting the flexibility to be present for my child and craving the hands-on creative work that I love. I keep circling back to freelance, is that the answer? Would it really give me both freedom and fulfilment, or am I romanticising it?”

Alex Bec, cofounder of It’s Nice That, Creative Lives in Progress and If You Could Jobs:

Thank you so much for this question; I can only imagine how many others in our community are having this same battle, so thank you for raising the issue.

Firstly, give yourself a pat on the back! In the last year you’ve not only had a child, but also got a promotion! Woop! Two monumental achievements that you shouldn’t gloss over. Take a bow. I can also say from my own parenting experience, having different chapters, or eras in your journey back into work is not a bad, or unusual thing. Despite what that pesky Instagram feed tells you, it’s very hard (nay, impossible?) to have everything at home and work all working in perfect harmony.

The way you’re looking at your situation feels a little overly-simplistic to me at the moment. You have option A (stay in your job), and option B (go freelance) and I think it might be interesting to explore the more nuanced, grey area in the middle before making your (incredibly difficult) decision.

So the first question I’d ask you is whether you’ve explored all the potential options available to you in your current place of work? Have you explored if there is any flexibility there? Maybe you could speak to your manager and state what’s important to you right now (that sounds like more hands-on creative work, and flexibility to be with your child). You could be honest and say that the current role isn’t doing either for you at the moment and you’d love to hear if there were any other options?

You might find they could offer you more flexible hours, or less days a week, or a job share across a couple of different roles. You never know unless you ask the right questions. If the answer is no, then at least you know. My hunch is that you may find you have an option C, or D to compare to A and B that ticks your key two boxes.

As for romanticising freelance, from speaking to lots of people in our network who are freelance; it’s a bit of a rollercoaster (like parenthood!) When it’s good it sounds amazing; choice of work, flexibility to decide when to work and who for, and good day rates. Equally, when it’s not good, it can be very tough; lots of self promotion, unpaid holidays, worrying about where the next job is going to come from and filing your own taxes. Some people love it, others don’t – so make sure you seek out some freelancers working in the same field as you, and ask them the tough questions.

Either way, I’d spend some time trying to broaden your options before making any big leaps at work, at a time when you’re making huge, beautiful leaps at home.

From one parent to another, best of luck.

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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