Career Advice for an Interior Designer

Interior designers create inspiring and beautiful spaces by choosing functional and complementary elements within the area. They use lights, colours, and materials to decorate rooms to fit a specific brief. A designer can work in both commercial or domestic design.

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How to Become an Interior Designer

Choosing your career path and learning how to become the person you aspire to be is not always straight forward; getting a job in your chosen industry will take dedication, focus and the right qualifications.

When you have chosen the career path you wish to follow, you will need to learn how to become an Interior Designer

Should you wish to work as an Interior Designer you will need to evaluate what courses are required, their cost and what qualifications you need. It is important that you also assess whether you have the right credentials from a personality point of view, what the demands of the job are and whether they complement the lifestyle that you desire.

Another factor to consider, should you wish to fulfil your career aspirations, is the number of jobs you will need to have to reach your ultimate job, and the length of time it will take to reach this goal.

Common Qualifications for an Interior Designer

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs
  • Diploma or degree in interior design or art and design
  • Construction Skills Certification Scheme for working on construction sites

Key Responsibilities for an Interior Designer

  • Meeting with clients to determine design objectives
  • Creating design sketches and computer designs for each project
  • Adjusting plans or design elements following client feedback
  • Creating mood boards to show material and colour samples
  • Prepare budgets and cost reports for projects
  • Setting deadlines for project completion
  • Sourcing and purchasing material and products to complete the design
  • Collaborating with painters and other services on projects
  • Inspecting finished project to ensure it meets clients requirements
  • Staying up to date with the latest trends in interior design

What to expect as an Interior Designer

Interior Designers work by visualising and creating design plans for interior spaces. They create design themes and projects according to clients' requirements and work with other services to make these plans a reality. Interior designers will choose items and materials based on colour and aesthetic to fit within the design brief. To excel as an interior designer, you will need to comply with building regulations and use space and colour to create an inspiring design.

Recommended Interior Designer Jobs

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How to get Interior Designer Jobs

Our advice on how to get an Interior Designer job is to focus on preparation and personalisation.

Preparation

This occurs before you write a CV cover letter or complete an Interior Designer application. If you have not held an Interior Designer position before, it will help to research the industry and review what a typical career path might look like. If you have held an Interior Designer role, focus your research on the company where you are seeking employment.

Valuable resources that will help you learn about the employer include the company’s career page, social media page, blog, job ad, and job description. Helpful information will consist of the company’s mission statement, values, and vision. You could also use an employer review site to gain insights on average salaries, what current employees say about the company culture, and what it is like to work for the organisation.

Personalisation

You are now in a position to use what you have learned in your Interior Designer CV, cover letter, and application. You should personalise each Interior Designer application, cover letter, and CV; prioritising job skills and relevant experience and providing examples that show you have similar values and goals.

This pre-application stage is a crucial step in how to become an Interior Designer in the UK. It puts you in a superbly informed state, ready for forthcoming telephone, video, or in-person interviews.

Students: How to Become an Interior Designer 

As with all professions, choose your study topics carefully. Review the qualifications needed to be an Interior Designer and the subjects you will need to enrol in certification courses, higher education, or online courses. 

Aligning your study subjects

The more closely you align your study subjects with your career path, the more likely you will be to have projects and modules that you can refer to and show a prospective employer that you have practical or theoretical Interior Designer experience.

How to get Interior Designer Experience

What does it take to be an Interior Designer? The best way to find out is to get work experience, which will be invaluable when applying for Interior Designer jobs. You can learn how to be a successful Interior Designer through internships, apprenticeships, or volunteering for a local business.

How to be an Interior Designer Part-Time 

If you are wondering how to get into Interior Designer part-time, there are several possibilities. You might find a new employer looking for a part-time Interior Designer or find your existing employer is amenable. Often companies recognise the value of flexible hours and having more staff at work during busy times of the day. 

Interior Designer freelance work

If you have impressive Interior Designer qualifications and experience, you could take on the challenges of working freelance with control over your schedule.

Making a Career Change

How to start a career in this profession if you work in another industry may require studying for qualifications online and focusing on transferable skills when writing your CV and attending job interviews.