Making the Leap: Practical Advice for a Career Switch to Product Design

Product design, by its very nature, demands curiosity, care, diligence, and follow through.

If you had asked me two years ago what Product Design was, I would have said, “Huh?” As an Implementation Specialist (at the time) on a Client Services team, I would sometimes walk past meeting rooms where groups of highly-focused people were huddled around whiteboards covered in sketches, or surrounded by millions of brightly coloured sticky notes. I’d think, “That looks interesting! I wonder what they’re doing?”

Fast-forward to today. A new company, a new career - in a previously unheard of discipline. I moved from Client Services to Product Design, and the shift was hard, but surprisingly natural.

If you’re thinking of doing the same, of moving into Product Design from a totally unrelated area, way to go! It’s a rewarding choice, but as with me, it could be a pretty wide chasm for you to cross. Read on to find out how I made the leap in case my experience can help you do the same:

Long story short

1. Do your research! Beyond sticky notes on whiteboards and visual aesthetics, what even is Product Design? What does a Product Designer do all day? Hint: it’s not all about art, although aesthetics are a part of it.
2. Immerse yourself in all things Product Design. This could mean anything from reading articles, listening to podcasts or hosting coffee chats with the Designers in your company. Hint: Ask lots of questions!
3. Have an honest chat with yourself. What’s driving your interest? Why do you want to be a Product Designer? Make sure you can clearly answer these questions before going any further. Hint: Make a list of pros and cons, and of reasons why you want this.
4. Harness the power of your transferable skills. There is definitely something special that you can bring to the table. Learn what skills are typically required for an entry-level Product Design position and map what you have to that. Hint: If Product Design truly appeals to you, then dig deep for times you put your hand up for design-like assignments requiring similar processes or outcomes.
5. Fill in the gaps with self-directed learning. Most career paths or skills disciplines come with their own vocabulary, tools and methods. Get on top of how people speak about the work, what systems or platforms are commonly used and whether there are processes (there are) that you need to understand. Hint: Look for online courses or cross-functional projects that can help you close your gaps.
6. Take the leap! Start applying to open positions whether internally or externally. If you don’t have all the required skills, make an informed case for how you intend to develop those skills while on the job. Hint: Start within your current company by meeting with the hiring manager to explain your interest.

My career change story

If you ask me today what I think Product Design is all about, I can confidently say that it's about building experiences informed by the users’ needs, pain points, and goals. These experiences cannot be created without a solid foundation and alignment in business strategy, technical constraints, and design research.

In other words, I did the work to understand this career path. How?

In addition to (much) online reading, I volunteered for side projects where I got to closely collaborate with the Product Design team. One such project was to audit and re-organize the information architecture for one of our product’s in-app knowledge bases.

As part of the Client Services team, I knew the product’s strengths and weaknesses as well as client pain points and goals.

I thought it would be easier to solve problems with the product.

I was blown away by how much research, “question-asking”, and intention went into every design decision. I was surprised to learn how many different stakeholders weighed in to ensure alignment on product direction. From the outside, it was easy to begrudge a few sticky points complained about by customers. I had no idea the effort behind every part of the final product.

I realized Product Design was so much more than just making things look “pretty” and became obsessed with learning more.

I found myself asking a lot of questions about why they made certain design decisions. I even (carefully) provided feedback using my knowledge of how customers used the product - all the while feeling like a complete fish out of water!

I set up coffee chats with each Designer to grill them on all things Product Design and how they got started in the field. Why is accessibility so important when designing? Why did you decide to use a modal here instead of taking the user to another screen?

I also listened to podcasts to complete my immersion. My absolute favorite podcast is “Wireframe” by Khoi Vinh, but I’ve also been listening to a new podcast series called “Optimal Path” by Maze which goes into great detail about product decision-making.

This taste of working so collaboratively and creatively across Design, Product, Engineering, and Client Services, of leading a project through to deployment, and of seeing how it benefited our end users solidified my decision to transition into a design career.

Shreyak, we need to talk

Before making my career intentions official, I took a big step back and asked myself why I wanted to become a designer.

The honest answer? I wanted to do more for the customer.

As an Implementation Specialist, I had introduced our product offering to hundreds of clients which meant receiving both positive and critical feedback.

I felt limited in my role. It wasn’t enough to “pass along the feedback”. I wanted to roll up my sleeves and make change happen. I kept thinking, “What if I was in a position to truly advocate for clients and carry out these product improvements?”

It was not lost on me that I was coming to the table with no formal Product Design training or schooling.

But I felt there was a lot I could bring to the table

I researched the required skill set for an entry-level position and mapped out how my experience applied. I believed that working closely with clients to understand their goals and pain points would be a key selling point.

I had worked with clients across different sectors and stakeholder levels. I had routinely managed and synthesized multiple streams of client feedback. I had learned the detailed workings of a complex platform. I had both product knowledge and customer empathy.

Direct customer engagement experience put me in a great position to advocate for users with Leadership, Client Success Managers, Product Managers, Product Owners, Developers, and other Designers. I already had collaboration experience!

I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to documentation

So (obviously) I created a spreadsheet and put my client-facing skills in one column, the required entry level design skills in another, and I connected them with arrows to help my manager visualize my transferable skills.

There were still some sizeable skills gaps that needed to be addressed. So (obviously) I also built a spreadsheet tracker template with my skills goals on one side and space to track my monthly progress against each one on the other side. I devised a colour coding system to paint an honest picture of where I was already meeting expectations, where I had room to grow still, and how I could fill in those gaps.

Tracking your progress is key to growing your design skills

For example, it was very evident from my tracker that I needed a foundational understanding in UX design, so I took a short course at Brainstation to address this gap.

Creating this tracker helped me visualize my development journey and also helped me make a case to my manager that I could make the leap. And I did!

My first product design job was incredibly challenging, I won’t lie.

After all the work I had put in I still suffered from imposter syndrome. For example, every weekly design team showcase would consist of heaps of jargon being thrown around that I had no clue about. WCAG 2.0? Breakpoints? Responsiveness? I felt totally lost.

That said, my customer empathy, cross-functional experience and product knowledge made other things easier. I was able to identify the right stakeholders to work with and ensure consistent alignment between the business, technical, and design perspectives.

And as a happy bonus, I was able to open more doors for the design team to work more closely with the client-facing teams and meaningfully leverage the feedback coming in from our users.

In time I developed the confidence to admit to myself that I had arrived. It was time to set a path of career development within my new field. I decided to look for a role that offered greater opportunities for learning and growth.

I applied for – and landed – a Junior Product Designer position at Q4

The interview process consisted of an HR phone screen, one on one interview with the hiring manager, and a white-boarding session with a Senior Product Designer.

I was very open about the fact that I only had seven months of formal experience, but had come a long way. I used my tracker spreadsheet to showcase my progress – and my journey – by pointing out the skills I was looking to improve by joining the team.

Since joining Q4, I’ve sunk my teeth into many complex discovery and delivery projects, adding experience to my tracker along the way. What I love about this company is that there is a strong emphasis on cross-functional collaboration and taking the time to explore problem spaces. We believe that true cohesion between the business, technical, and design perspectives is required to meaningfully address the problem at hand.

While there’s still much to learn, I’m looking forward to the challenge. If there is nothing else you take away from this post, please remember this: product design, by its very nature, demands curiosity, care, diligence, and follow through. If you want to work in Product Design, just devote these attributes to yourself. You’ll be there in no time.