IGNITE@UxPA2012- The Y-Factor: How a 20-something can be a UX leader
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Presented By: Meghan Godin Julia Sloan Pete Kinser James Hartman Laura Laser
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IGNITE@UxPA2012- The Y-Factor: How a 20-something can be a UX leader
- 2. HOW A 20-SOMETHING CAN BE A SUCCESSFUL UX LEADER we happily introduce…
- 3. MEGHAN GODIN ux researcher @ motivate design JULIA SLOAN ux designer @ motivate design JAMES HARTMAN associate director, ux and ia @ disney and ESPN media networks PETE KINSER ux designer @ readytalk LAURA LASER president and executive recruiter @ laser talent group
- 4. MEGHAN GODIN, a 20-something ux researcher, motivate design
- 5. “GENIUS IS 1% INSPIRATION AND 99% PERSPIRATION.” -THOMAS EDISON
- 7. Build a support network
- 9. GET INSPIRED Simon Sinek can help
- 10. “THE DESTINATION IS THE GOAL. THE ROUTE IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL CHOICE.” -SIMON SINEK
- 11. GET INSPIRED Seth Godin can help
- 12. “YOU DON’T MAKE CHANGE WITH ADVICE...” -SETH GODIN
- 13. GET INSPIRED Eventbrite can help
- 14. “NAIL IT AND SCALE IT.” -THE FOLKS AT OGILVY
- 15. GET INSPIRED Other randoms can help
- 16. do you have a support network?
- 17. “ACCEPT THE CHALLENGES SO THAT YOU MAY FEEL THE EXHILARATION OF VICTORY ” -GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON JR.
- 18. I challenge myself to…
- 19. “ACCEPT THE CHALLENGES WITHOUT THE DOING, SO THAT YOU MAY FEEL THE EXHILARATION OF VICTORY ” THE DREAMING IS USELESS -GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON JR.
- 20. JAM OUT
- 21. and don’t stop.
- 22. I found my 1% The 99% wasn’t exactly a breeze But the feeling of 100% was well worth it.
- 23. “… BE UN-WELL-ROUNDED” -Seth Godin
- 25. JULIA SLOAN, a 20-something ux designer, motivate design
- 26. hello
- 27. …
- 28. BE WILLING TO BE UNCERTAIN.
- 31. get people to join your team
- 32. “Your first try will be wrong. Budget and design for it.” -Aza Raskin, designer at Firefox
- 33. “ENCHANTMENT IS AS NECESSARY TO GET PEOPLE TO DIVERGE FROM A CROWD AS IT IS TO JOIN ONE.” - GUY KAWASAKI
- 34. SMILE!
- 35. habits simplify; innovation does not.
- 36. i know it’s scary…
- 37. …but we have to try and break down BARRIERS BOUNDARIES EXPECTATIONS
- 38. “THE BARRIER TO CHANGE IS NOT TOO LITTLE CARING; IT IS TOO MUCH COMPLEXITY.” -BILL GATES
- 39. “TO FLY WE HAVE TO HAVE RESISTANCE.” -MAYA LIN
- 40. THOSE THAT ARE NOT UNUSUAL ARE NOT MEMORABLE.
- 41. picture something you would be impressed by…
- 42. now double those standards
- 43. which one do you want to read? OR
- 44. …how about these? OR
- 45. “EVER TRIED. EVER FAILED. NO MATTER. TRY AGAIN. FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER.” -SAMUEL BECKETT
- 47. JAMES HARTMAN, a 30-something _______, ESPN
- 48. you are responsible for your own career* * accepting responsibility gives you control!
- 49. “If you don't design your own plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else’s. And guess what they have planned for you?” - Jim Rohn
- 50. start with your definitions of success achievement accomplishment What is your vision?
- 51. The perfect job is the one you create for yourself. Consider yourself self- employed.
- 53. keep up with change
- 54. UX IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING.
- 55. “If the rate of change on the outside is greater than the rate of change on the inside, then the end is near.” - Tom Peters
- 56. “The links are not #0000FF”
- 57. “but this year, all the answers are different.”
- 58. The key to long term success is for you to dedicate yourself to continuous improvement.
- 60. watch a video seminar rather than an infomercial listen to a podcast while in the car read a book on the bike YOU HAVE THE TIME
- 61. embrace failure* * and anything “less-than-perfect”
- 63. “It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.” Charles Kettering
- 64. 1) Do the wrong thing perfectly? 2) Do the right thing poorly? (if it’s worth doing, you won’t do it perfectly the first time)
- 65. PRACTICE
- 66. Your goals can withstand minor setbacks. Look at the big picture. Give yourself permission to make some missteps along the way.
- 68. PETE KINSER, a 30-something Empathizer, ReadyTalk
- 69. 3 THINGS
- 70. it’s all about empathy, people…
- 71. HOW ABOUT EMPATHY FOR DEVELOPERS?
- 72. do you even know what developers do?
- 73. THIS IS WHAT THEY DO.
- 74. AND THIS …
- 75. HTML & CSS
- 76. IF YOU DON’T KNOW HTML & CSS…
- 77. IF YOU DON’T KNOW HTML YOU’RE GONNA HAVE&ACSS BAD TIME
- 78. DONT FEAR THE INTERNET .COM
- 80. EMPATHY IS BORNE FROM EXPERIENCE.
- 81. LISTEN.
- 82. BE THE STUDENT.
- 83. BE THE EXPERT.
- 84. SVPI.COM
- 85. context is key.
- 86. GET TO KNOW THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT (Culture)
- 87. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOUR LEADERSHIP?
- 88. HBR.COM
- 90. LAURA LASER, a 30-something president and executive recruiter, laser talent group
- 92. PROTECT YOUR BRAND - FACEBOOK - LINKEDIN - TWITTER vs.
- 93. A UX DESIGNER’S RESUME SHOULD BE AN EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF.
- 94. BE CLEAR BE BRIEF
- 95. TELL A STORY
- 96. BRING YOUR STORY TO LIFE CREATE A NARRATIVE
- 97. show me what you can do
- 98. I sure hope it’s a lot (i.e. web, mobile, tablet, etc.)
- 99. I WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN CREATE GREATNESS OUT OF MUNDANENESS.
- 100. WE ALL KNOW THINGS CAN GET COMPLICATED IN UX.
- 101. I WANT TO SEE HOW YOU SIMPLIFY IT.
- 102. user flows process diagrams personas story boards wireframes
- 103. * NOTE: WIREFRAMES DO NOT HAVE TO BE UGLY.
- 104. ONCE THE WORK IS DONE, THE PORTFOLIO IS PERFECTED, THEN THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE INTERVIEW…
- 105. WHILE YOU’RE SITTING ACROSS FROM THE INTERVIEWER… MAKE SURE YOU KNOW…
- 106. WHY YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB
- 107. WHY UX
- 108. 5 REASONS WHY THEY SHOULD HIRE YOU
- 109. WHAT INSPIRES YOU
- 110. remember… the person interviewing you likes you on paper
- 111. JUST RELAX & HAVE A CONVERSATION
- 113. Q&A
Editor's Notes
- In the next five minutes, I’m going to talk aboutthe importance of inspiration and its role in sparking your passion… and as a result making you a better leader… I have a passion for helping people, but wasn’t sure how to work it into my role in ux. I think I might be on to something…
- - With the constant immersion of new design blogs, technologies, and motivational speakers, pretty easy to get inspired. Pick that one inspiring element or maybe a few elements from various sources that compliment your passion… and then work really REALLY hard to accomplish your end goal. I’m just starting to realize what inspires me and sparks the fight in me… this, I believe, is my niche.
- When I first started out in UX, I had no clue what I was good at. Sure, I liked research and the analysis was cool too. I also enjoyed product development, so our staffing venture, UX Hires, was a great gig as well. But I needed the two to relate to what I really care about… which is helping people. I needed inspiration to piece them together.
- - SO what I did was… reconnected with peers in the industry/ took a top dog who runs an IxDA group in NY out to lunch and picked his brain for an hour. The lunch ended with a new friend and new contacts. From that hour, I gained new insight, knowledge, and really felt revived. He encouraged and motivated me.
- meetups. Are. Amazing. Lean UX, Tech nerds, Product Design, all of it. I tried, failed, but am on the way again to assure I attend at least one meetup every week to 2 weeks. Behance! Behance inspires me visually. As do so many other blogs out there… 99% percent is another amazing one. With sites like Behance, I can contact the artists directly and ask really anything I want to. Maybe a tip on design or just a quick convo- what were you thinking when you did this?
- Simon Sinek rocks. He spoke at this thing called Creative Mornings- its a worldwide event. And its free! He stresses the impact a happy job can play on the elements in your life. And how if you Inspire people to do the things that inspire them,together we can change the world.
- - Create your own road map. You know, one thing I love about interviews is just being able to sit there and play the game 20 questions with your participants. It’s a great way to learn about people and how they work. From research and the analysis thereafter, I learned about peoples’ tendencies, myself, my company… all of it is so valuable.
- - Seth Godin. Huge marketing dude. Yea… we’re not related, I wish. I volunteered for a conference of his the other month. He thinks that everyone should create an environment for themselves that makes them indispensible. One of the coolest things he said was “Dance on the edge of danger.” Where's the edge of danger that you can be on because there are no excuses anymore (the resources are there). You need to be proactive and utilize them.
- - Everything I talked about earlier… gaining advice and insights… but You don't make change with advice. You make change with creating a road map for it to create change. You have to have a plan for implementation. Collect the advice, think, think again, draw a map, draw a new one, and work towards a final roadmap. This, in turn with solidify a vision and allow for it to happen.
- - Ogilvy threw a big event the other month… they actually throw many. AOL has many many events all target for UX folks. GO TO THEM. If you cant, see who attended and ask for their notes of a synopsis of the event. Again, its all about putting yourself out there. Julia and I went to Ogilvy and the talk was all about Lean UX. We didn’t have much knowledge of it, so we learned a lot.. Good advice and knowledge to discuss with the rest of the team.
- Such as the fact that:"Research is so much more than usability testing... ”Have fun with it, collaborate, create an..Evolution wall: with sketches Research wall: with an idea or hypothesis; a tracking pivot
- YOU! CONFERENCES! I was at IA Summit the other day talking to a gentleman about UX Hire, our staffing gig. He said if he’s looking to hire someone, he’ll pull out a picture of the brutal packaging system in his apartment building and ask the person to share their thoughts. If he likes the answer prospective job offer!
- All of these create a support structure.No- build one. Really. I know theres the issue of pride… I get it, but I think its vital to have one.Yes- Question how you’ve built and maintained it; Does it mainly consist with people inside your realm of work? If so, I encourage and challenge you to go outside your circle.
- Now, lets get personal.Every day, I think you should force yourself to do something you wouldn’t normally do. It builds character and confidence. It creates a sense of accomplishment. I created this thing called “I challenge” and every day I set a new challenge for myself. Whether it be go to a museum alone, talk to a complete stranger, try to turn any negative thought or frustration for the day into a positive, come up with a new business idea and test it.
- - These challenges played on me personally and gave me a sense of accomplishment and and confidence. As a result of feeling good internally, they helped me grow professionally. I challenge all of you to start these. To go after what you want and to consistently build yourself into a leader.
- Nothing in life comes easy, you have to go after it. Yet again, I thrive off and have a passion for helping people. I assumed maybe I’d meet someone through the nonprofit I volunteer with who would help me find clarity and direction for creating an environment at my workplace that supported my passion. CREATE THE OPPORTUNITY. Don’t waste time.
- Jam out at Jam Sessions. Bi-weekly we bring new ngo’s into the office and give them sound ux advice on their website for an hour. I pull in a senior ux guru to join who enlightens us with more seasoned feedback. I was inspired by creative mornings, yet wanted to focus on nonprofits. The feedback I’ve gotten thus far has been really impactful for myself and my team.
- - It strengthens our team internally- we bring the interns in to hear and learn. Based off the feedback given from our team- ux designers, visual designers, business managers- my knowledge grows and my understanding of what they do and how they think grows, too. Not to mention, these are the start of a flourishing relationship and potential business.
- - JAM Sessions is my first attempt at connecting the work and passion. I didn’t know if and how I’d be able to connect the two. It builds my knowledge of ux; yet also allows me an hour to help a company that really needs feedback and advice in order to gain more users, which in return brings in more money and ultimately a greater impact in the world.
- When you’re doing what you love, and you’re inspired by others, specifically by that support structure I mentioned earlier, then you will become your own leader.
- Hello everyone! As you saw I’m Julia – I’ve been a UX designer at Motivate for almost a year nowSo I graduated from Parsons School of Design n May of 2011 I was lost…the thought of finding a paying job actually seemed harder than cramming this presentation in to 5 minutes
- But after spending hundreds of hours applying for jobs I thought I knew how to do online, I had dinner with a friend of mine, you might know her… we graduated with the same degree, design and management, and I was pleasantly surprised (and a little jealous) that she found a job actually using hersSo she told me to come in and help out.
- My first point-And This is not something that I had to work for. Starting off in a field that I thought I knew…I knew all aboutHuman centered designOrganizational structures that foster innovationCollaboration toolsDesign research methodsVisualizing data with Information graphics and so on…But had no clue what the rules of “usability” were., or what a standard client deliverable entailed, how to put together a screener or how a proper finding should be worded Little did I know this is something that would benefit me greatly.
- So my boss, on my first day of work, Gave me 10 spreadsheets of participant data and told me we had to WOW stakeholders; give them a presentation that would command attention (and hopefully get us a follow up project)And that was it, before I could ask a question she was out the door. So here is Coca-Cola…A multi-national enterprise…and me…a 20-something with a portfolio of student projectsSo I figured hey, what do I have to lose…and just went with itWe ended up presenting the deck 5 times.
- I realized my uncertainty, fresh perspective, blank slate was actually my greatest value- not something to be insecure about Fyi – I was offered a full-time position right after Because we don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeWe have not yet been bogged down by corporate politics
- In our careers I think its vital to try to find or maintain optimism—To approach a problem “guns-blazing,” and with the actual belief that we can change itI mean…Why notThink BIG?!But toapproach a problem “guns blazing” you must…Get the people around you to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – that it is a necessary and beneficial part of the design process
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.To do this you must- first show value, and then…get people to like you. Enchant them- as Guy Kawasaki put it.
- The simplest way I’ve found to do this is SMILE!People like working with happy peopleNo one wants to listen to the ideas of a frowning personPeople automatically want to play on your team if you seem like you’re on theirsPeople feed off excitement and positivity
- Brings me to my next point—In a young, ever-changing industry we must lose habits that are comfortable to us.If surprise ends, change ends.Technology changes faster than we can blink, experiences must keep up.Being new, fresh, and uncertain allows you to live outside a business/system/org’s entrenched habits.
- And thus far, in my short career, when I have this in the back of my mind as I’m coming up with a design- they are a hit.Clients (or most clients love to be surprised.To see that someone else has made the big change they didn’t know they wanted yet
- Because breaking down those ___ causes memorable and noteworthy change
- Usually change is a big deal within organizations, therefore we must make a big deal to make it happen. One of the ways to do this is to make sure everything we put out there commands attention.As UX designers we know how to design experiences, systems and processes- BUT if we do not know how to design those findings then they will fall by the wayside of someone who does.
- SO important, especially when you are starting off- to make sure, even if it is not within scope or budget that what you put out there is memorable and impressiveGets attentionGains momentumProves your capability
- So here’s a few examples:Which one of these seems more engaging?Which one would you feel like had more interesting insights?More up-to-date and relevant?
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- ONE DAY during his tenure as a professor, Albert Einstein was visited by a student. "The questions on this year's exam are the same as last year's!" the young man exclaimed."Yes," Einstein answered, "but this year all the answers are different."
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeNot bogged down by corporate politicsTry to find or maintain your optimism—Approach a problem with “guns-blazing,” and actually belief that we can change them, haven’t been jaded yetThink BIGAspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- Hi I’m Laura Laser, I’m the founder and owner of Laser Talent Group, a recruiting agency that specializes in finding the best talent for the best advertising agencies and brands. I’ve worked in the digital space for over ten years and especially love working with experience design and usability professionals.
- Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process
- It is important to make a good first impression – and I’d like to start with social media. If you’re “out there” looking for a new job – the first thing that someone who might interview you will do is to Google you. And they will see your linkedin, facebook and twitter pages. Be careful what you say, what pictures you put out there into the world – you don’t want pictures out drinking with friends, or with a knife – yes this is something a potential candidate for my office had on his facebook page – I cancelled the interview. You want a clear, close-up photo of yourself as your profile picture and the same profile picture should be on linkedin, facebook and twitter – you are your brandit is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.
- If you’re selling yourself as a usability designer, By all means your resume should be usable!It should look good when printed!
- Emphasis should be placed on companies and job titles, followed by clients and/or projects and super brief description of responsibilities, deliverables and/or project highlights.
- Your Portfolio should also be an exercise in UX.Talk through it with yourself as if you’re standing in front of a room presenting to make sure that you’re literally telling a good story. You’ll be doing this when you get the interview for real. Don’t go too deep into any one thingUse simple portfolio site like coroflot or wordpress, update your portfolio after each project
- When you meet in person, you have the opportunity to bring the story to life. People are going to be especially interested in hearing what the challenge was and how you solved it. If you worked as part of a team, they will want to know what your part was in the solution
- Present key designed screens from the end product and supplement that with samples of documentation that led to the design
- I want to see that you’ve worked on multiple platforms WebMobileLarge format screensTelevisionEtc.
- Show me that you can make something great out of the most mundane briefShow me the briefShow me the project before vs. after
- Show me something simple and elegant out of a complicated brief or a complicated web site or mobile page. Show me the brief.People hire other people to solve their problems. Show how your work was part of the solution for the task at hand.I want to see how you think.
- I want to see what it might be like for us to work through a project together. How did you get from point A to point B – what was your approach?I want to know what its like for you to partner with me
- – for complicated projects, include user flow/process flow diagrams, ‘personals, storyboards and a couple of annotated wireframesTake pictures during workshopsShow the processIf you interviewed people on video – show the video
- Just because they’re black and white boxes, wireframes don’t have to be ugly. For simple projects, show storyboards and/or wireframes to compliment the creative.Advocate for the user experienceThe interview is a way for the interviewee to see how you presentAnd they want to see how you present to both internal and external clientsIf you can make black and white wireframes exciting you can do anything.
- Interview is all about checking chemistry and seeing if the person can work with the other personFind out who you will be meeting with ahead of timeLook that person up on linkedinAsk your friends who work there what that person likes/dislikesBe prepared
- Make sure you know the corporate culture – make sure you are dressed appropriately.Don’t assume anything Don’t assume this person saw your resumeDon’t assume this person looked at your online portfolio and read every case studyQuite the opposite -
- Show that you are interested in the company and the positionTell them WHY you are interested in this job – what does THIS job have that you are looking for.
- Why are you PASSIONATE about UXWhy have you chosen UX as a career?What do you want from your next job?
- Think about this ahead of time before every job interview and you will be 5 steps ahead of the copmpetition
- What is your dream project?What do you want from your next IA jobWhich books are your favorites? Which blogs do you read?Who do you follow on Twitter???
- Its ilke you passed the photo test on a blind date already – they want to meet youThey want to get to know youWhen you walk in, they WANT to hire you – show them why they are right. Don’t disqualify yourself.
- If you think of five questions to ask the interviewer ahead of time, you will not have to try to think of them off the top of your headWhen they ask if you have any questions, make sure you do – it shows interest and commitment.