One of the best pieces of interviewing advice I’ve received goes as follows: When you interview, you are being judged on how you seem and not on who you are. By making this slight adjustment, each step of the interview process becomes an opportunity for you to stand out to any potential employer… the first step in finding the next job of your dreams. — This article begins a short series about how to break into UX. I’ll be using examples from my background in UX Research, (Since that’s what I know), but the advice in this article can be applied to getting noticed in just about any field. …

Authenticity is misunderstood: it isn't about being all smiles and rainbows. Learning to be your authentic self and allowing others to do the same allows you to create more meaningful connections with others. This is an essential skill for everyone, but especially for UX Researchers who rely on developing connections with other people in order to improve their lives. — My journey towards embracing Authenticity started by learning to listen to and embrace being myself. Two years ago, I posted this quote above from, “Self Reliance,” a classic American essay by transcendentalist great, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I was having a hard time being myself because I was in the midst…

Management and Leadership are different things. One is not the prerequisite of the other nor does one does precede the other. What makes a good manager is not what makes a good leader. What makes a good leader is not necessarily what makes a good manager. When we tease apart how these roles interact, we learn how to be good at both. — My personal journey While I am drawing on my experience as a UX Research Manager at a big tech company, these concepts and principles equally apply to Design Management and UX Leadership in general. …

Remote research is not just a viable option to be considered but an integral part of the process of doing good research with some important benefits that you may not have considered. …

I started developing these frameworks several years ago and have since whiteboarded them hundreds of times, each time followed by a series of Ah-ha! moments. These frameworks (which started out as my own, Ah-ha! moment) have since become my trademark. …