A Time to Focus on Your UX Career
It’s an unsettling time. As of this writing, we’re grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. Like you, I’m nervous about many things, including keeping my UX job. I don’t know what the future holds for me or our industry.
A Time to Look at Your Career
When times are good, many of us focus so hard on the UX work itself that we don’t think much about our UX career. Perhaps now is a good time to sit back, evaluate our career situation, and prepare for any changes that may come.
I’ve written before about the benefits of regularly preparing for your next role. You get to boost your career confidence, grow your design skills, and build your professional network as you prepare.
I recommend preparing at all times — even when your job is going great, when the economy is strong, and when the UX job market is flourishing.
You don’t need to spend countless hours working on your résumé or portfolio to prepare. Instead, you can take simple, manageable steps now in case you end up on the job market.
Think about this preparation as proactive maintenance for your career. Maybe you’ll:
- Spend a few hours this week building your self-learning skills, making you a more valuable asset to a design team.
- Learn a few new UX techniques so you qualify for more jobs.
- Update your Career Management Document (CMD) with work evidence so it’s ready when you need to make a résumé or portfolio.
At any time, even when the economy is strong, your job situation can change. You could come across an awesome new job opportunity. Or, you could lose your UX job and have to seek another one. You’ll want to be ready if any of these situations arise.
Despite the uncertainty around us, one thing is clear: It’s always a good time to invest some energy into your next UX job search. And by investing this energy, you make time to gather career accomplishments for your résumé or portfolio. As you review those accomplishments, you get the added benefit of seeing your professional growth. That’s a nice way to boost your confidence in a time of uncertainty.
Hopefully, you’ll keep your UX job and won’t need to find a new one. And if you do find yourself on the job market during an economic downturn, you’ll be glad you did some of the preparation ahead of time.
Thanks to Tasha Stukes for her input on this article.
