8 Tips For Starting Your First Job in User Experience Research
By Miriam Ross-Hirsch, User Experience Researcher @ Chewy
If you’re looking for a user experience research (UXR) job, a quick Google search will give you tons, and tons, and tons, and tons, and TONS of articles to help you break into the industry. I read many of them before I transitioned out of nonprofit management and landed my first full-time UXR gig at Chewy.
If you’re an aspiring researcher, this blog post won’t tell you how to get a UXR job, but it will give you tips for starting your first UXR job, especially if you’re transitioning from another industry.
After a few months at Chewy, I’m thrilled to share that my transition has gone incredibly well. I’ve had the opportunity to shape our research process as a new team member and take on some exciting projects to help move our business forward. My unique knowledge and expertise is celebrated, and I’m empowered to learn and grow as I charge ahead into some exciting work. I’ve also carved out my own space and identified my impact. I’m excited to share these tips with you!
1. Find your own unique way to add value.
Every researcher can add value to their team in a way that goes beyond strictly doing research. There are so many ways you can bring your full self to your new workplace. If you’re newer to the user research world like I was, UXR methodology might not be your strongest asset at first. If so, determine what you can authentically bring from your past experience. Are you great at event planning? Plan some team-building events. Are you a process-driven organizer? Help create templates for your research team and organize research write-ups to make them easier for stakeholders to access. Are you a networker? Build relationships with new stakeholders and use your new perspective to identify new opportunities. These are just three ways I’ve been able to contribute to the Product Design team at Chewy.
2. Learn from your fellow researchers.
Find the researcher(s) on your team who excel in the methodologies or skill sets in which you are weakest, and create opportunities to learn from their expertise. Ask why they do things the way they do. Ask to see their study plans. Ask them to look over your studies. If your team is as supportive and diverse as Chewy’s UXR team — as all research teams should be — you’ll have a wealth of easily accessible knowledge before you even turn to online resources (which are also extremely helpful).
3. Identify new opportunities and methodologies that would benefit your company.
It’s easy to identify a new opportunity and dive right in. However, make sure to check yourself. Do you have all the knowledge necessary to understand if it’s the best decision? Find out if there are circumstances or details that might affect the feasibility of a new methodology.
4. Take advice seriously, but stay true to yourself.
When you seek advice, be strategic in how you seek and incorporate feedback. I could ask every researcher on my team the same question and get different answers. As researchers, we know everyone has a unique perspective. You have to integrate others’ advice with your own truth. I want to be clear that I am not diminishing the importance of industry standards or your team’s best practices — however it’s important to learn why a best practice is used so you can be confident when you feel an alternate approach is needed.
5. Embody collaboration, but know when to work solo.
In UXR, you’re working with stakeholders who have a range of knowledge, expectations, and experience. You won’t work only with designers, but with engineers, product/project managers, and even your business strategy or marketing teams. Get to know as many people at your company as possible, and understand what collaboration looks like at your company. How collaborative do they want to be? What balance do you need of meetings versus heads-down time? When do you pull others into your research? Working collaboratively requires a mindful balance that you’ll have to create for yourself.
6. Don’t forget that research should always have a goal.
How can you be an example for all departments as a champion for the user? How can you spread this approach through your company? Keep asking your stakeholders how your work connects with business strategy and how the work helps your end user. Above all, effective research connects with business strategy and the end user.
7. Understand what success looks like for you and your team.
Speak with your supervisor about how you will be evaluated and where you should be in three months, six months, and one year. This helps ensure you and your supervisor are on the same page. Have an open conversation about your career trajectory, and ask your supervisor what you need to do and where you need to be to take the next step in your career.
8. Slow down and breathe.
Learn and grow, but be patient. Don’t try to go from 0 to 100 in one month. If you’re like me, you want to know everything yesterday and be perfect by tomorrow. But if you’ve presented your authentic self and found the right fit for you, your team will know who you are and what you can bring and not expect you to be an expert researcher immediately.
I’m thrilled to have found a positive, supportive space in Chewy’s research team, who have given me the opportunity to grow as a user experience researcher. If you’d like to join our expanding team, check us out at designchewy.com and feel free to reach out!
by Miriam Ross-Hirsch
User Experience Researcher @ Chewy
If you have any questions about careers at Chewy, please visit https://www.chewy.com/jobs
