072: Everyone's a UX Designer with Jared Spool

Life and career (re)focus this year have brought me to a place where I need to hit pause on this show's production... Keep fighting the good fight, dear Defender! 👊 Jason linkedin.com/in/jasonogle

Video available on the show notes page at userdefenders.com/080 This is the last episode of 2021. After nearly two years of outlining the content for this episode and nearly two months (at time of writing) of recording and editing, here's everything I know (so far) on landing a job in UX. I hope this content is not only useful to you and anyone you know looking to land their first (or next) job in UX, but I sincerely hope this episode is greatly inspirational and even life-changing for you. I forgot to say it at the end of the episode, so Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Joyous New Year dear Defenders! Take care of yourself and each other, and I'll see you on the other side of this year with more amazing UX/Design content! 👊 Jason. Song credit at the end "Comeback Kid" by The Midnight ---------------------------- Origin (4:50) Count the Costs (9:53) Portfolio (21:18) Resume (29:49) Networking (35:03) Applying (40:38) Interviewing (50:11) Negotiating (1:02:32) In Closing (1:09:45) ---------------------------- Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript, and much more at userdefenders.com/080 ---------------------------- This episode is made possible by Editor X. Editor X gives you a wide workspace with total CSS control powered by smooth drag & drop on a platform where every tiny detail has been carefully considered. That means you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can keep trying to describe it to you, but you should really go see it for yourself. Visit userdefenders.com/EditorX and discover a new standard in web design

Here’s a fun treat I’ve never done before. In this episode I shine the spotlight on listeners Jordan Burke + Joel Ryerson who recently landed their first job in UX! Hear them tell their inspiring stories of their journey getting here while gaining some valuable insights on how you can too! I was blown away at the depth, insight, authenticity and value they both added with their motivational and entertaining stories of struggle and ultimately triumph! Like Jordan says in her awesome interview, we can't do this alone. Looking for community? Find yours at User Defenders: Community (community.userdefenders.com). Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links and transcript at userdefenders.com/079 This episode is made possible by Editor X. Editor X gives you a wide workspace with total CSS control powered by smooth drag & drop on a platform where every tiny detail has been carefully considered. That means you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can keep trying to describe it to you, but you should really go see it for yourself. Visit userdefenders.com/EditorX and discover a new standard in web design

Bob Baxley, a Silicon Valley pioneer, takes us back in time through the history of Silicon Valley and gives us a glimpse into the future of it. Spoiler alert: He's got concerns. He reveals how every little interaction matters and motivates us to be proud enough of the work we do to want to show our friends and family...otherwise, we've got more work to do. He challenges us to challenge the status quo and constantly be looking for ways to improve our work by asking, 'How could this be better?'. He also likens our work to building sandcastles on the beach, causing us to reflect on the brevity and temporal nature of it, and inspires us to make everything we make with our friends (for others) count. Crash Course History of Silicon Valley (7:52) Love at First Byte: (Re)Discovering the Magic of Computing (14:17) The Beautiful ‘Burden’ of Doing Great Work That We’re Proud Of (21:11) The Question Steve Jobs Was Known to Ask In Design Reviews (24:55) Technology: Wonderful Servant, Terrible Master (26:53) Employing Analogue Tools for Deeper Creativity (34:10) There Are No Rolling Credits for Interaction Designers (52:51) We Need More Designers and Less Roadblocks (54:45) Is There a Growth Trajectory for IC’s Besides Mgmnt? (1:10:01) What’s Your Recommended Path for Design Leadership? (1:21:54) Where is Silicon Valley Going? Do You Have Concerns? (1:27:35) What’s Your Design Superpower? (1:34:28) What’s Your Design Kryptonite? (1:35:19) What’s Your UX Superhero Name? (1:37:41) Habit of Success? (1:38:23) Invincible Resource or Tool? (1:42:37) Recommended Books (1:45:25) What’s the Best Lesson You Learned From Steve Jobs? (1:48:30) Best Advice? (1:53:44) Connect & Keep Up (2:03:16) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Eli Jorgensen's astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/078 This episode is made possible by Editor X. Editor X gives you a wide workspace with total CSS control powered by smooth drag & drop on a platform where every tiny detail has been carefully considered. That means you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can keep trying to describe it to you, but you should really go see it for yourself. Visit userdefenders.com/EditorX and discover a new standard in web design

Josh Mauldin shows us how resolving conflict not only makes us better humans, but better designers. He challenges us to approach conflict with a growth mindset and the question, "What can I learn from this?" to help us become less anti-conflict and more pro-resolution. He articulates the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict and teaches us why healthy conflict is good and even worth pursuing. He reminds us that it all comes back to empathy which does not mean agreeing with someone, but making an active effort to understand where they’re coming from. He also reveals how embracing conflict is the catalyst for building the best teams, the best products, and the best you. How Long Have you Been Thinking About Conflict Resolution? (4:38) Has Team Conflict Increased Since We've Gone Remote? (9:48) How Can We See Past the Emoji's? (13:53) What Does Your Conflict Resolution Framework Look Like? (18:54) How Does Your Cranky Conclusions Approach Work? (20:53) Conflict Resolution for Leaders (28:14) How Do You Address Conflict with Your Leadership? (32:08) What's the Difference Between Healthy and Unhealthy Conflict? (35:10) How Does Healthy Conflict Create Better Products? (38:28) Is Agile a Double-Edged Sword When it Comes to Team Conflict? (41:20) Design Superpower? (46:13) What's Your Design Kryptonite? (47:08) UX Superhero Name (47:57) Habit of Success (48:36) Invincible Tool or Resource (49:26) Best Advice (54:11) Connect & Keep Up (55:44) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Eli Jorgensen's astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/077 This episode is made possible by Editor X. Editor X gives you a wide workspace with total CSS control powered by smooth drag & drop on a platform where every tiny detail has been carefully considered. That means you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can keep trying to describe it to you, but you should really go see it for yourself. Visit userdefenders.com/EditorX and discover a new standard in web design

Join the UD Email List at userdefenders.com/join through March 2021 and enter to win a free signed copy of Steve Bromley's new book, "How to be a Games User Researcher"! Steve Bromley shows us how to level up our user research skills. He illuminates the path to getting started as a Games User Researcher. He inspires us to use our user research superpower and insights to make things better for our users. He teaches us techniques he's used to actually enjoy synthesizing data more. He reveals how many user's is enough–spoiler alert...it depends. He challenges us ethically to be responsible for the consequences of what we're designing. He also motivates us to document as we go, but also to be sure and stop to reflect every once in a while. Most Important Question (4:40) History + Evolution of Games User Research (6:59) Differences Between Games UR vs. Software UR (16:55) How Do You Measure Delight? (20:30) The Dark Side of Gaming (26:39) Who's Responsible? (29:59) Recommended Path to Games UR (37:42) The Light Side of Gaming (42:21) How Can We Enjoy Synthesizing Data More? (46:00) How Many Users is Enough? (49:59) What's Your Why? (53:32) What's Your UX Superpower? (55:30) What's Your UX Kryptonite? (57:35) What's Your UX Superhero Name? (60:00) Habit of Success (60:33) Invincible Resource (61:24) Best Advice for Aspiring Games UR's (62:09) Connect & Keep Up (63:00) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Eli Jorgensen's astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/076 This episode is made possible by Editor X. Editor X gives you a wide workspace with total CSS control powered by smooth drag & drop on a platform where every tiny detail has been carefully considered. That means you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can keep trying to describe it to you, but you should really go see it for yourself. Visit userdefenders.com/EditorX and discover a new standard in web design

Jessica Gaddis motivates us to realize that we belong here. Not only in the field of design, but in this often painful and perplexing world we call home. Why? Because somewhere, sometime, somehow...someone needs us. She inspires us to find our community because they’re already out there, searching for us and waiting for us to connect with them and even lead them. She reveals how she was able to on a very limited budget go all in and learn UX and go on to get her foot in the door as a Product Designer. From 0 to Netflix, and now Twitter. She touches on the unwelcome voice in many of our heads known as imposter syndrome, and reveals how she’s been able to successfully combat it. She also shares with us how advocating for black women in design by opening up her calendar as a mentor has been one of the most rewarding and impactful design decisions she’s ever made. Origin Story (5:05) Growing Up In a Techie Home (8:48) Journalism + UX? (11:42) The UX of Learning UX (18:21) Teaching Should Be Every Company’s Core Value (32:15) Have You Overcome Imposter Syndrome? (44:14) How Do We Find Community? (50:00) The Deep Value of Mentoring (57:59) What Do You Want On Your Headstone? (70:13) UX Superpower? (74:09) UX Kryptonite? (75:37) UX Superhero Name (77:38) Habit of Success? (78:02) 
UX Resource or Tool (81:04) Recommended Book (83:11) Best Advice (84:56) Connect & Keep Up (87:21) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Eli Jorgensen's astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/075 This episode is made possible by Editor X. Editor X gives you a wide workspace with total CSS control powered by smooth drag & drop on a platform where every tiny detail has been carefully considered. That means you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can keep trying to describe it to you, but you should really go see it for yourself. Visit userdefenders.com/EditorX and discover a new standard in web design

Pek Pongpaet teaches us how to be business-minded designers. He reveals how designers with business knowledge and more tools in their tool belt will get hired more often than ones without and with less. He shows us how to get a seat at the table while challenging us to count the costs of actually having one. He motivates us to measure and quantify our designs. He also inspires us to get out of our comfort zones and talk to other disciplines and become consumers of information in the area(s) we desire growth in. Why Should We Listen to Pek? (05:04) Why Should Designers Understand Business More? (7:07) How Do I Begin to Care More About Business? (11:05) How Do I Learn More About the Business Model? Who Do I Talk To? (14:22) How Can Designers Influence Product/Business Strategy and Quantify Their Work? (16:52) How Do I Know That Something I Designed Achieved Its Business Goal? (20:18) What Do You Look For In a Designer When Hiring? (24:50) Why You Should be Best Friends with Your Analytics Person/Team (26:20) How Can Designers do a Better Job Communicating the Business Value of Design to Non-Believing Stakeholders? (30:21) How Does a Designer Get a Seat at the Round Table? (33:29) What's Your Best Advice for Designers Wanting to Grow in Business Side of Design? (40:45) Best Way to Connect and Keep Up? (45:45) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Cesar Lemus’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/074 This episode is made possible by WhiteHatJunior.com: the world’s best one on one coding classes for kids between the ages of 6 and 14. WhiteHatJunior's unique teaching methodology makes it easy to absorb tough concepts because the teacher is able to focus completely on one student. Give it a shot: go to userdefenders.com/whj to book a free coding class to see for yourself just how easy it is for your child to learn coding!

Jeff Gothelf tells us how to be unstoppable designers. He debunks the mythical creature known as Phase 2. He shows us what a designer effectively working in Agile looks like, and enlightens us to how new UX teams can show immediate value. He articulates the need to differentiate between outputs and outcomes. He also motivates us to stay humble and curious since you can teach anyone technical skills, but you can’t teach someone humility and curiosity. How do Designers Most Efficiently Integrate into Agile? (6:43) Why is it Important to be a Facilitator? (16:32) Phase 2: Reality or Myth? (20:45) How Do You Convince ENGINEERS to Get Out of the Software is Done Mindset? (28:06) How Do You Convince DESIGNERS to Get Out of the Software is Done Mindset? (31:15) Why is MVP the Most Bastardized Phrase in Software Development? (33:49) Why Designers are Scientists Long Before We're Pixel-Pushers (37:34) How Does a New UX Team Show Immediate Value? (41:17) What's Your Why? (46:40) What's Your UX Superpower? (48:23) What's Your UX Kryptonite? (48:52) What's Your UX Superhero Name? (49:34) Invincible UX Tool or Resource? (50:52) Recommended Books? (51:55) Best Advice for Aspiring UX Superheroes? (52:45) Best Way to Connect? (53:45) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/073 This episode is brought to you by Webflow: The modern way to build for the web. Get a great, Defenders-exclusive offer of 10% off your annual subscription at userdefenders.com/webflow using code USERDEFENDERS. Hurry, offer expires on Halloween (10/31/20)!

Jared Spool has been doing and defining UX long before many of us existed and/or even knew what it was. He invites us in to hear his fascinating yet seldom discussed UX origin story. He reveals how and why we’re all UX designers. He demystifies the arduous and often frustrating process of landing a job in UX. He articulates what it means to learn how to learn. He addresses the important, but oft-forgotten business part of the design business. He also inspires us to be great design leaders by illustrating what one actually looks like. Jared's Compelling UX Origin Story (5:56) How Do You See the UX Job Landscape Evolving? (14:50) UX'ers Have to Do What We Promised (17:31) Is Everyone a UX Designer? (24:57) If Design is a Team Sport, How Does the Team Win? (35:30) What Makes a Great Design Leader? (38:40) The Most Important Thing Designers Should be Learning (46:22) Best Advice for Designers Trying to Break In and Getting Rejected? (52:10) UX Superhero Name (1:09:23) Check out the detailed show notes including mentioned links, transcript and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/072 This episode is brought to you by Webflow: The modern way to build for the web. Get a great, Defenders-exclusive offer of 10% off your annual subscription at userdefenders.com/webflow using code USERDEFENDERS. Hurry, offer expires on Halloween (10/31/20)!