A successful career is not a ladder, but a circle

Learn how Product Designer, Manuela dos Santos Pinto, achieved her design ambitions through Zalando’s unique development pathway.

A successful career is no longer defined by promotion, but by mastery. Not a ladder, but a circle: passion finds purpose; purpose fuels potential; potential uncovers new passions. We encourage everyone in our community to leverage Zalando’s internal career mobility to explore their interests, to expand their knowledge and skills, and, ultimately, to grow. As Head of Product Design, Jay Kaufmann put it, “We help each of us become better, together.”

For Manuela, who had been searching for a more creative and fun workplace, the career boxes were checked when it came to Zalando’s design practice and culture. Though she originally joined as a Visual Designer, product design began to pique her interest as a new way for her to explore her skill set. Manuela now works as a Product Designer in the Customer Acquisition Experience team, which drives demand and deepens customer relationships through meaningful fashion inspiration.

What does internal career progression look like at Zalando? We chatted to Manuela about her move from B2B visual communications to B2C product design.

Tell us about your path to Zalando.

My Masters in Digital Experience Design, from BAU in Barcelona, gave me an overview of what a digital company would need in terms of visual communications needs. From there, I had the option to shape my practice around product or digital. I came to Berlin and started working for a FinTech company in early 2020. After a while, I started looking for a new job that better aligned with my values and my personality — something more creative and fun than finance. Zalando had a good reputation for its design practice, work culture and ethics. The company’s sustainability commitments were very important for me too. So it was an easy choice to join Zalando as a Visual Communications Designer in November 2020.

“I’m now in a sweet spot where I can use what I know about the business, while learning and growing into a new area.”

What attracted you to product design?

Working on the B2B side was a great way to get to grips with Zalando’s setup and processes. I also gained expertise in marketing design. However, I was looking at the product design side because I felt that I wasn’t using my education and my skills to full capacity. I’m now in a sweet spot where I can use what I know about the business, while learning and growing into a new area.

One key motivation behind the change was that I wanted the impact of my work to be more measurable, and I feel, in product design, you have a direct way of doing that. In B2C, we conduct careful research, run A/B testing, and constantly measure the impact of released products.

Tell us about the internal transfer process.

Zalando supports internal development. We have an overview of open roles, which can all be filled by internal candidates. I was interested in a few of them and was able to meet with the hiring managers to see if any of them were a good match. I had a good feeling about the role in the Customer Acquisition Experience team and I decided to apply for it. I also knew how community-oriented the team is, so that was a big factor in my decision making. My lead was super supportive and understanding. She agreed that the position was a good opportunity for me to develop my career and was happy to support the transition. After that, the standard application process followed.

“Everybody said that the lead was great to work with and that the energy in the team was really good.”

Why did you feel that working in Customer Acquisition Experience was a good match for your skills?

The department looks after customer engagement: onboarding, the early stages on the app, and how to keep people coming back. My marketing background is quite important here; I know how much the first impression matters. I felt that there was a lot of opportunity for me to contribute visually, and, in fact, the team was looking for somebody with visual focus. I also thought that my expertise in marketing would contribute a lot, as well as my knowledge about Zalando and the B2B side.

I met some of my new colleagues and had a really good feeling. Everybody said that the lead was great to work with and that the energy in the team was really good. One of the reasons I moved to Zalando in the first place was because I knew how warm and community-oriented the product design team is. I’m really looking forward to developing my expertise in this area!

Are you interested in joining Manuela’s new team as a Product Manager? Take a look at our multiple Product Manager openings across B2B and B2C.