From Healthcare to Bootcamp to UX Designer: 5 Tips I Learned on the Journey
I believe that every designer has their own community, whether they know it or not. This was something I quickly discovered when first starting to learn about UX. Coming from a background in healthcare, I knew very little about the design world, but was welcomed with open arms (and many coffee chats!). There is this amazing sense of collaboration, empathy, and support from fellow designers that makes this field so interesting.
Now, as I’m more settled into my role, I’m getting a chance to sit down and reflect over all of the knowledge that my own community has given to me. Through many hours of informational interviews, panels, conferences, and mentorship calls, I received so many amazing bits of knowledge and pieces of advice. I hope that sharing a few here may help a fellow designer looking to take that next step in their career.
1. Networking
The dreaded word.
I know that not everyone has positive feelings toward networking, but there is so much merit from making these connections. Changing your mindset for these interactions helps to vastly improve on your experiences and results. Instead of thinking of it as a required chore, I try to frame it as more of an opportunity to get to learn more about someone and the interesting things they do. In this way, you don’t set any expectations since you honestly never know what you will get out of a connection.
There are many ways in which you can network, but I have found the most success recently in reaching out to other designers on LinkedIn. There definitely isn’t a magic formula, but I do find that I make the most positive connections when I am able to find a specific common point with an individual. Did you love their panel talk? Let them know what you learned when connecting. Do they have a unique career path that is similar to what you are going through? Ask what made their journey successful. Do you both have a shared love for the same video game? Definitely a conversation starter.
There are endless possibilities, so don’t be afraid to get out there and start talking to others!
2. Informational Interviews
So you’ve made your initial connection, hit it off with a few messages back and forth, but now what? If you are wanting to learn more, ask to see if they are willing to schedule an informational interview. Although sometimes I still call these coffee chats, very often they are no longer over an actual cup of coffee. In our now more virtual world, you can sit down with anyone from around the globe at any time of the day. Honestly, it’s an amazing ability and really allows you to expand your connections.
Even though it may not be in a more casual cafe setting, I still try to treat these sessions for what it is at its core: a conversation. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to prepare. Going into my sessions, I always take a look at the designer’s profile and work, crafting a list of questions to guide the conversation. I only use these as a rough outline though and really let the flow of the conversation take over as necessary. One of my favorite questions to ask is:
What advice would you give yourself as you first started?
You get such a wide array of answers that provide great insight as a newer designer with this simple question. The bottom line for these sessions is, be genuinely curious, be thankful, and enjoy the time.
3. Portfolio Personalization
The portfolio is an essential part of any designer’s arsenal. There are many different opinions out there about the best way to approach creating one, but it is difficult since there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some of the best advice I received about my own portfolio was to think about it as a “branding” of myself and my own personality. In this way, you are not only able to show off your design skills, but also reflect a little of yourself beyond what you can represent in a resume.
With all of the website builders out there, it can be a daunting task to figure out where to create your portfolio. When shopping around, it helps to consider what you are trying to accomplish. For example, for myself, I fell in love with the sidebar navigation of a portfolio I saw and wanted that in my case studies as well.
When I went to browse my options, I wasn’t able to find the side navigation in the template portfolio builders out there. Therefore, I decided to take to Webflow to learn to create what I wanted. Although an amazing experience for myself to better understand the thought behind how a website is built, I know that not everyone has the time to dedicate to learning a whole new platform. Figure out what are your must-haves and explore to see what will work best for you.
4. Leverage your experiences
This was one of the most important pieces of advice that helped take my thought process to the next level. There are many people trying to take that first step into design believing they don’t have the background experience to bring to the table. If you think like this, you are almost writing yourself off before giving yourself a fighting chance. If you don’t believe in your own skills, who else will?
I started with that feeling as well. How do I connect my customer service and healthcare background into the design world? As I began thinking about it more, there are aspects of empathy, problem-solving, and communication that were key skills that would transfer over to any UX design job. I used these ideas to create my narrative that I used to introduce myself in my personal branding and while in interviews.
Take a step back to evaluate your own experiences and think about what skills you bring to the table. Don’t be ashamed of your background and leverage your unique experiences instead.
5. Seek Advice Kindly
It may seem like a common theme throughout this article, but I definitely didn’t learn any of this on my own. Ask for help from those around you, but do so in a respectful way. As you make these requests, remember that everyone has their own lives going on and may not have the time at the moment. Respect their boundaries and be gracious in your responses.
Also, don’t forget to thank those that help you! I was amazed by how many people were surprised to receive a thank you message after a call. It’s something that takes just a few minutes of your time, but makes a huge impact on the relationship. A simple thank you can go a long way.
