Introducing Maresa Caesar, Lead User Researcher
What is your role and current job?
I work as a Lead User Researcher at Made Tech. I’m currently working on a discovery project for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It’s an exciting time as we’re growing the user research team!
How did you get into tech?
I’d spent quite a few years working in market research and at the time was in a role where my career progression in the organisation was quite limited. Pre-pandemic being based outside of London, I felt quite limited by opportunities in the industry. A friend of mine had just completed a coding bootcamp and suggested that I give it a go. I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to leave research completely, but I saw they also offered a part-time evening UX design bootcamp. It was the user research portion of the course that really caught my eye (particularly how transferable my current skills were). Not long after I’d completed the course, a secondment for a user research role came up, which I ended up moving into permanently. The rest is history!
What have the biggest challenges been as a woman or non-binary person in tech?
I was raised on the saying “you have to work twice as hard, to have half of what they have”. There’s definitely been instances early on in my career where as a woman of colour I feel like I experienced that in terms of opportunities and progression. And in some instances on client facing projects, a lack of confidence in my capabilities that some of my peers didn’t get.
Made Tech prioritises creating a diverse organisation, and for me this is the most diverse team I’ve ever worked in, but it can always be better. I’m also really excited about our new design and research academy. Acknowledging bias and privilege means acknowledging barriers and working to remove them. It’s a challenge to make sure that you’re reaching the right people but we’re aiming to provide opportunities to work in this space regardless of professional experience. As a user researcher I’m working on projects speaking to people from so many different walks of life, I want to work in a team that reflects that.
Have you overcome any of these issues? If so, how?
I’m grateful for the women early on in my career that mentored, inspired and gently nudged me when I didn’t have the confidence to back myself. Confidence is something that I still work on today.
Seeing women in senior positions with differing styles of leadership was invaluable. I think sometimes there can be a cookie cutter approach to how we should work. Despite working in a role that involves speaking to users and facilitating workshops I’m more of an introverted person. It’s important to challenge yourself at work and step out of your comfort zone. But I think that should be balanced in a way that is also more natural to you and your personality. I love sitting in on sessions with other user researchers and seeing different styles in how they moderate sessions!
What advice would you give others in a similar position?
Look at your career as a journey and be comfortable that there may be bumps in the road and changes of direction. Take the time on projects to continually reflect and assess. I’ve worked in a few different sectors, and agency and client side. I’ve explored what I enjoyed working on. It really helped me to identify what I wanted to focus on and where I wanted to develop. And I’m at the stage where I’m able to really draw on those experiences now on new projects.
Another point is to make use of the community to help you, and also share where you can. Coming from a quantitative research background I’m still appreciative of some of the excel shortcuts passed onto me when I joined my first research project! I love working in an area that encourages us to collaborate. No gatekeeping here!
Are there any resources you recommend sharing?
I still refer to The User Experience Team of One by Leah Buley, as well as Nielsen Norman Group and the service manual.
When did you first hear about Triangirls?
I heard about it from Nicole Eaton, a talent partner at Made Tech.
What have you learnt about yourself in the past year?
My role is focused on speaking and understanding users and their needs. It involves bringing empathy and understanding to services, and I think we all need to apply the same level of empathy to ourselves. It’s been a challenging few years that has impacted us all in different ways. It’s okay to step back sometimes and find that balance.
Triangirls are looking to raise the profiles of women and non-binary people in tech. Interested in participating in our spotlight series? Email us at hello@triangirls.com
Also our International Women’s Day event is now live, you can join the waitlist here!
