Lessons I learned as a product design intern at SurveyMonkey
This summer, I had a chance to work as a product design intern at SurveyMonkey. It was a challenging but fulfilling journey, so I’d like to share some of the things I learned about being a team player in tech. It is my hope to help others those trying to start a career in product design, especially non-native English speakers like myself.
A little about SurveyMonkey
With an energetic and supportive culture, SurveyMonkey prioritizes design. Every product area in the SurveyMonkey suite has a dedicated design resource. This summer, I worked on the core product experience.
I was fortunate to have a responsive mentor who worked closely with me and always gave me support. I also had a helpful manager who always answered my questions, not just from the aspect of design, but also communicated our values and gave me guidance on my career path. I had a whole design team that were not only work partners but also friends outside of work.
Inside the product design team, there were intense collaborations and communication. There was a lot of design critiques, brainstorming, and whiteboarding sessions to ensure every aspect of the product (design patterns, user behaviors, and experiences) were aligned and consistent. Research is another big part of the design as well. It helps us understand the needs of our users in a much better way so that the required product can be tailored appropriately. Most importantly the team supports each other and works through problems together.
Lesson 1: Embracing your vulnerability and impostor syndrome leads to growth
Learning how to deal with imposter syndrome is the biggest takeaway from my summer internship. Most designers struggle with perfectionism, and I’m not an exception to that. When I first joined the team, I wanted to show everyone my best sides so that I could impress them. Pressure and insecurity swallowed me for the first week when I tried to share designs with others.
So how did I eventually overcome the fear of sharing my design work the team? As I spent more time with the team, I realized that SurveyMonkey cultivates a great culture that encourages designers to share their design work early. They help each other to overcome the fear of socializing designs by celebrating each milestone achieved along the design process. I needed to cultivate that same mindset — that every sharing experience is an opportunity to learn that should be celebrated. It was definitely uncomfortable at first, but with practice, I was able to establish confidence and ultimately become friends with my imposter syndrome.
The lesson I learned from this internship is that although it’s embarrassing to expose your true self, it’s okay. Being aware of your strengths and weaknesses can help you grow, and being transparent can give you allies that can help you. So remember, everyone starts somewhere, so don’t compare your start to someone else’s middle. Instead, be honest about where you are and seek help along the way. You may even make some good friends in the process :)
“Own your process and be flexible. You can solve a problem a thousand different ways so you have to trust yourself and keep exploring until you’ve reached your solution.” — Malia Eugenio, Product designer at SurveyMonkey
Lesson 2: Making mistakes should be encouraged
So what happened after I showed my first draft of designs to the team? Let’s say I got A LOT of feedback on the areas of improvement I never thought of. This was great and super helpful, but had I been more willing to share my designs earlier and expose my “mistakes,” I could have gotten to the point faster and accelerated the whole process. From this internship, I learned that it is okay to make mistakes, ask questions, and show my vulnerability my manager, mentor, and team because ultimately it leads to better outcomes.
“Make the mistake as early as possible so you can get to the right solution faster.” — Jonathan Remulla, Product design manager at SurveyMonkey
It’s true, making mistakes and having them exposed could be embarrassing and knock down your confidence, especially at the start of your career, but there is another way to think — consider it as an opportunity to take risks that lead to personal growth. Really, it’s all about how you handle the mistakes you make, not the actual mistakes themselves. Instead of trying to cover up failure, learn to be vulnerable and embrace mistakes as a first step to growing ourselves. Learn from your mistakes and accept you’ll make more. Hopefully they’ll be different ones and you’ll be a better designer because of them.
Lesson 3: Effective communication is an important skill to build
Design is communication.
At SurveyMonkey, I had the privilege to work on a feature that’s actually going to be implemented, meaning I needed to ensure the design is acceptable for our paying clients. This meant I needed to effectively align many different cross functional partners and stakeholders to convince them of my design decisions.
In order to socialize my design, I needed to be use their different styles of communication to make sure everyone was engaged and on the same page. I learned the importance of knowing your audience to effectively convince them why they should care.
“You can have great ideas, but if you can’t communicate them they are pointless.” — Jasmine Rosen, Product designer at SurveyMonkey
Lesson 4: Your language barrier doesn’t have to be an obstacle to your success
When I first joined SurveyMonkey there were so many thoughts going on inside my mind knowing English is not my strength. When you’re new to the states and are not a native english speaker, it can be uncomfortable at work, but there are some strategies I found very helpful.
Accept yourself.
Stop always questioning and pushing yourself too hard. Accept the fact that English is not your mother tongue and your accent may never be as good as native speakers, but it doesn’t mean you are not able to communicate your ideas. Trust in yourself and your abilities.
“Imagine if you have an English accent. Do you think you’d have insecurities speaking with that accent? Probably not. Don’t automatically discount your accent as inferior because of how you think others may perceive it. The barrier is in your head.” — Quan Nguyen, Product designer manager at SurveyMonkey
The magic of a smile.
Smile is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart, a universal language that makes people feel welcome and comfortable. Sometimes it’s stressful when you are insecure about your language but you still need to show that you are also willing to bond and connect with them. So here’s the trick — always smile first, and let the vibes naturally flow when the conversation happens.
Curiosity is power.
Make an intentional effort to be curious and proactive about what is happening around you. Don’t be scared questions about things you don’t know (even when your coworkers are making American jokes that you don’t understand.) If this sounds scary to you, start out small by asking one question in a meeting to demonstrate your interest in their work. Over time, increase that number. Pretty soon, your conversation skills will improve naturally. And remember, practice makes perfect.
To sum it all up
Interning at SurveyMonkey, an enthusiastic and communicative environment has made me grow stronger in the hustle and bustle of starting my career path as a product designer. I’ll admit that working in a non-native language and adapting to a foreign working culture professionally is challenging, but incredibly fulfilling! Thank you to everyone who supported me at SurveyMonkey and inspired me to write down this post and be a part of my design journey! And Special thanks for Malia Eugenio and Jasmine Rosen for helping me with this post.
Are you interested in learning more about what it’s like to intern at SurveyMonkey? Check out this video!
