UX Research and Me — V2
I’ve been in job search mode since mid-August with tomorrow beginning my 11th week. During this time I have applied for any and every combination of user experience related titles under the sun with the addition of Entry-Level, Junior, Remote — UX Designer, Product Designer, UX/UI Designer, User Researcher, etc. placing tons of applications. I have had literally had ONE interview during this time . I really believed I would have had many more interviews under my belt by now and even felt I would have been possibly employed. And all of these things are ok — I have to rely on the fact that I know the job that is meant for me is out there. When we have faith, we have to understand that everything happens in its own time — not ours.
So, I have been thinking — what do I need to do differently? I have done things relatively the same all this time, so I need to approach things another way to achieve different results. But WHAT do I change and HOW do I make it different?
After overthinking — I realized it is as simple as User Research with the user being me.
User Research is a proven technique that is at the core of the design process — we have to determine our audience, conduct interviews, verify metrics, sketch, test, iterate, test, and so on. Why not apply this process to me and gather data to help get over the hump?
User Experience Designer…if we don’t do the research on the user to determine their experience — we can’t complete the design.
So I began peeling back the layers and putting the UX Research process to the test on myself.
What steps have been taken?: I updated my résumé, my LinkedIn profile, reposted inspiring posts, liked, commented, mentioned, connected, attended workshops and meetups, read articles, opened a Twitter and Medium account.
How did that make me feel?: I STILL felt I had no tangible results and hadn’t moved forward. But, after further investigation, that wasn’t true at all.
The data: I have a top-notch career coach, I connected with a couple of people, we stay in touch and check up on one another and I have an old classmate who is an amazing inspiration. Each of them gives me open and honest feedback. I have met a couple of managers at companies that I maintain contact with and they are very supportive — one, in particular, personally referred me to her company for a position which made me feel AMAZING! I am blessed in the fact that I have the strongest support system anyone could ask for. I had been doing everything I was supposed to, so what was left?
The results: The data pointed to the fact that the rest falls on me and where I have been lacking — my ability to feel a part of the design community. I had to be honest with myself and realize what was a contributing factor to the issue. I made a major life decision last week and changed my surroundings and. So far — it has changed my perspective. My career coach says the worst thing you can do to a designer is to stifle their creativity and that is what I had allowed my life to become — stifling.
I feel better, I am making strong choices, I am more confident as each day passes, and I can feel the creativity resurfacing. This is the power of UX Research that is allowing me to redesign myself into a more efficient version…Joné V2.
