#WCW September with Consuelo Valdes
It is such a pleasure to have Consuelo Valdes as our new guest of Women Crush Wednesday series! Consuelo works as a Sr. UX Designer at CarGurus. She is especially dear and near to our hearts since she is working with us to jump-start our new mentorship program.
Welcome, Consuelo! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Howdy, LTUX Boston internet folks! 👋
In my 8 years of experience, I’ve been an academic HCI research fellow, worked at a company that went public, another company that got acquired, a 12-person startup that (sadly) folded, and met an epic group of awesome people along the way that I call framily.
At CarGurus, I work with a wicked smart and insanely kind group of people that are passionate about making the car buying experience as pleasant as possible for all parties involved through data, trust, and transparency. PS — We’re hiring! 😉
When I’m not at work, I love to be in nature with my wife: hiking, biking, kayaking, or anything else that will get us outside. I’m vegan and love vegan baking/cooking. I am a proud cat and plant mom. I, also, serve in my local cultural council and ran for office once upon a time.
How did you get involved in the tech industry and specifically in UX Design?
I discovered Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in college and fell in love. I had been studying Computer Science and found that HCI had the missing piece for me, the human piece. I tried being an academic researcher for a few years and found that it wasn’t for me because the output of all your work is the academic findings; not products. That’s when I made the jump into industry and I haven’t looked back since.
What does a Sr. UX Designer at CarGurus do?
Working at CarGurus is an interesting challenge because it serves consumers and businesses. This results in lots of discussions with stakeholders from a wide range of departments: marketing, product, engineering, and others; to make sure that what we design for each user in mind to accomplish the user’s goals while satisfying business needs.
As an extremely data-driven company, we test everything with users from messaging to full workflows; balancing quantitative and qualitative research to strive for the best user experience.
What does your typical day look like?
My day starts at 6am with a hot yoga class a few blocks away from my house or I bike 13 miles into the office. I love to start my day with an intense physical activity for that sense of accomplishment, mental clarity, and focus for the rest of the day.
Once I get to the office, I usually get an hour or two of work in before my first meeting. I have a few working sessions with product managers, developers, brand managers, and design reviews before lunch. Then there’s catered lunch with my co-workers in the cafeteria or outside overlooking the river. The work day continues as I bop between product teams and meetings until I head home around 5.
What do you love the most about your job?
The people. A work family is something that I cherish and strive for in every company I have been. It makes collaboration, challenges, solutions, everything so much more satisfying and makes it so every day I’m excited to go to work to see my people.
A lot of our members are recent UX design graduates. What advice would you give to those that are trying to find their first job as UX designers?
Where do I start? 😅At a high-level, there are a few questions that you need to answer around the culture and company you want to look for:
- What are the company values or missions that speak to you? This will help you target specific industries or companies.
- What skills do you want to hone? This speaks to what you’ll be looking for in job descriptions.
- What kind of an impact do you want to make in your first job? This speaks to the size of the design team and company.
Once you’ve answered those questions, you can look at designers that are at companies like that ones you’re thinking of applying to and review their portfolios. This will give you a starting point for your portfolio so you don’t go down the generic UX portfolio design rabbit-hole.
When you’re working on your portfolio website, emphasize your problem solving strategies and design process over the aesthetics of your site. Hiring managers and designers want to know how you think more than your graphic design skills.
Once you have a foot in the door and are going to present your portfolio, remember that the portfolio presentation is more than a showcase of your previous work; it’s a design review simulation. Be prepared for pointed questions and don’t take them personally. Part of the UX interview process is figuring out how you defend your design decisions and how you handle yourself in potentially antagonistic situations.
You recently joined us to help launch our new mentorship program. Where did this mentorship journey begin for you?
I’ve had mentors since I was in high school! I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my math teacher, Dr. Barbara Schpilberg. She took a confused immigrant kid who knew nothing about college and helped her get into Wellesley College. Once I got to college, I stumbled a bit and found my way with Dr. Orit Shaer, who helped me find my career path. Throughout my career, I’ve had the honor of working with dozens of awesome people who’ve taken me under their wing and helped me get to where I’ve gotten so far.
I wanted to pay that forward in any way I could. I don’t get to mentor professionally as an individual contributor (IC) so I sought it out through the Big Sister Organization of Greater Boston. I’ve been doing that for 2 years and really cherish the relationship I have with my “little.”
What are the top learnings for you, from being a mentor in the past? How did it impact your life?
Being a mentor is a great opportunity to grow and challenge yourself. The relationship is similar to personal ones with the exception that the power dynamics are very different. As a mentor, all you can do is advise — no matter how much you want to do the work for your mentee or save them from the struggles you’ve gone through. Each challenge with a mentee, helps you gain perspective in your professional and personal relationships. It’s really a valuable experience.
In your opinion, what are the benefits of being a mentee in the Ladies that UX Boston mentorship program?
The biggest benefit is getting a mentor that isn’t in your company. Early in your career your professional network is so small, it’s hard to get an independent perspective and advice about your career. By joining the mentorship group, you’ll have a confidant that’s invested in you without any ulterior motives.
It also takes the pressure off of professional gatherings of finding a mentor, which is something I struggled with when I started my career. That way it’s all about casually building professional relationships in our community.
What are the top benefits of being a mentor in this program?
As I mentioned in my mentorship experience, it’s a great way to scratch the mentorship itch without taking on a management track if you’re not ready for it or just looking for a taste. It’s a great way to meet new designers and help them grow. It allows the mentor the opportunity to reflect on their own career and recognize their achievements and growth.
What were the difficulties you personally had to overcome while advancing your career as a UX designer?
I really struggled to get my first job in industry because I only had academic research experience when I graduated. When I finally entered industry, I had to manage some difficult personalities that eventually made the workplace toxic for me. Recognizing a toxic work environment was a challenge I didn’t foresee and how to gracefully bow out of that company was another ordeal. After some successes in my career, the startup I joined folded; recovering from that blow was difficult, as well.
Did you have a mentor to help you work through those difficulties?
Absolutely! I leaned on a variety of intelligent and strong individuals throughout each challenge. I consulted with coworkers to help me identify the toxic work environment for what it was. I consulted with others in my network on how to gracefully exit. When the startup folded, it was my network that got me through. Leaning on them for comfort and guidance, as well as, opportunities that might be a good fit for my next position.
What are the challenges that you are facing at the current point of your career?
The challenge I’m currently facing is a familiar one for many: how to avoid burn out. I love my work and I can get lost in it. The challenge with burn out is that you don’t realize you’re heading for it until you’re too late. Finding balance and setting boundaries so that I recharge outside of work without getting overwhelmed with volunteer activities is a skill I’m still honing. 😉
How do you overcome those challenges?
In the same way that I’ve managed the other challenges, I lean on my people: my partner, mentors, friends, family. They keep me grounded; help me gain perspective and balance.
Where do you draw inspiration?
This isn’t sexy, but my everyday tools are competitive research. I’m wary of getting too adventurous with my designs because I know from experience that the coolest or most innovative design doesn’t always make for the best user experience.
What are the three things you cannot live without as a UX designer?
I’m a simple lady 😂 so my must-haves are:
- A writing implement and something to write on to sketch out ideas quickly and explore the problem space of whatever I’m working on. I use a combination of an erasable whiteboard notebook/correctable pens, dot grid moleskins/ooly splendid fountain pen, and an iPad/Pencil.
- Sketch + Overflows plugin to illustrate workflows and annotate it for review with the design team and stakeholders.
- Slack threads and reactjis to share #all-the-things with the interested parties and capture each iteration as we tweak the designs.
Best advice you’ve ever gotten?
The advice I wished I had gotten early in my career is to live a full life to avoid burn out. Burn out is such a huge risk early on in your career when you have so much to prove. You forget to do the things that recharge you outside of work: time with people you love, nature; taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. It’s important to find balance and form an identity outside of your job so that you have perspective and feel grounded when things aren’t going well in any one of those areas.
Favorite brunch spot in the area?
My favorite brunch spot is Bistro781 on Moody St because it’s a 2 minute walk down the street from my place and they have the yummiest vegan options.
Thank you very much, Consuelo! We are so grateful. Thank you for being part of our team and for helping us make our community better and stronger!
Thank YOU for creating such a supportive and inclusive community for UXers in Boston! 💖
