Hexagon UX AMA: Career Journeys with Global Leads

This week was my first time joining Hexagon UX’s virtual event! For those of you not familiar with Hexagon UX, it is a design chapter that hosts community events and mentorship programs to empower womxn and non-binary folx. Hexagon aims to make the UX space more inclusive of womxn and non-binary folx, as they are underrepresented in the field. Hexagon prides itself on the following values: 1)Community, 2) Mentorship, 3) Inclusion, 4) Empowerment, 5) Growth, and 6) Leadership. If you are a designer, someone who works with designers, someone transitioning into the field, or someone just interested in design, I encourage you to visit their site https://hexagonux.com/ to learn more!

This week’s virtual event was Career Journeys with Global Leads. It was a chance for me and those who attended to hear from these incredible women talk about their experience in the field, the lessons they’ve learned throughout their careers, and most of all, how they’ve grown as leaders in their lives! In case you missed this great event, I was able to collect a few bits of information, quotes, and bits of advice from the panelists.

The panel consisted of the following leaders:

• Natalie Nakai- Design Manager at CourseHero
• Karen Ng- Interaction Designer on the Google Team
• Fiona Yeung- Designer at Google
• Amy Kleinerman- A designer with 10 years of experience currently searching for her next design job
• Rani Manoharan- Engineer, to Designer at Google, to Product Manager at Google

The Q&A consisted of the questions and answers below (Not every person answered the same question)

• How did you get started in your career?

Rani Manoharan started her career by making websites! She taught herself HTML, CSS, and started making random websites for herself. She loved coding and ended up majoring and working in the Computer Science field! However, her internship in CS made her realize that she liked User Interface better, so the company she worked for hired her based off of her engineer experience as a designer. Now Rani is transitioning into product management.

• How did you transition into UX?

Karen Ng talked about her journey into UX starting with economics in undergrad. When she first graduated, she wanted to become a lawyer, so she became a paralegal, but ended up not liking it. Then she transitioned into a business analyst role. However, she knew that she was looking for a creative career.

“I taught myself classes in a few areas of design and discovered interaction design. I put a portfolio together and applied to several jobs…any jobs that would give me a chance. I heard back from 1 place and I didn’t make it past the initial phone interview. I evaluated other options. It took me 6 to 8 months to put another portfolio together.”

• What’s a piece of advice you have for those transitioning into UX?

Natalie Nakai stressed the importance of getting your work in front of people and feedback. She also pointed out that it’s important to be able to share the goals of what you’re creating and what you hope to accomplish because having people respond to that will help you now and in the future.

“Getting feedback is important because it helps you improve your work. Getting different opinions will help you build up your skillset.” “If you’re just starting, be persistent. Have grit! Someone will hire you! Do side projects, look for problems to solve. Put your work in front of people and network like crazy because this lets people know you’re looking for opportunities.”

• What are the basic skills you need? What are the skills you’ve found most worth improving on and skills you don’t stop learning?

Amy Kleinerman discussed how tools can be a hurdle and that “there is so much variation that mastering the tools is important.” However, she also pointed out job skills that can get you further in your career such as holding effective meetings, facilitating, leading design critiques, taking feedback, and presenting your work.

“Most importantly, learn from mentors, people above you, and go beyond your job. Ask yourself what skills you want to push further!”

• How do you approach career growth? What do you look for when evaluating the next role?

Rani: “Look and be aware of what’s out there and talk to as many people as possible. Design jobs can vary a lot, so ask yourself if it’s the type of job you want to do for 5 to 10 years. It’s also important to figure out what your particular strengths are and what you bring that other people do not.”

Finally, Rani gave us a hopeful and optimistic reminder, “if you got hired it means someone believes you can do this job! Hiring is difficult because you see all sorts of candidates and they want you to join their team!”

• How have your career values changed over time? How did you figure out what’s important to you?

“Certain things are important at different times”

Natalie studied design in school, joined Teach for America (TFA) to focus on education, and then transitioned to an e-commerce startup to do graphic design. She then made the switch to UX Design. “A different times, different things have been important to me like location, commute, the manager I’m working for, type of mentorship, money earnings, company prestige, etc.”

• When do you know if you’re ready to move up to the next level?

Natalie: “look at the level of impact of work you’re doing. How are you impacting those you are working with?”

Fiona: “If your work meets the next level already. Some roles have ladders or rubrics as to what should be expected for you. If you’re overachieving those then it’s a sign you’re ready to move on.”

Rani: “Don’t wait to be acknowledged. Leadership is like being seen as a leader. Do more than what is asked of you. Go from things being delegated to you, to you being the one delegating things. Then people will see you as having the capacity to lead.”

Karen: “Moving up to the next level can be someone transitioning from a big to a smaller company and leading design there. Which is great because there’s a different set of skills you’ll gain. Even if you were a designer with 3 years of experience at a bigger firm and then move to a smaller place that’s good!”

• How do you find your confidence as a designer struggling with self-doubt/imposter syndrome?

Amy: “If you’re hired then the person who hired you is confident in you and your abilities. At this point, I still feel that. It exists. Don’t think we don’t feel imposter syndrome anymore!

Fiona: “A lot of people attribute confidence to how people perceive you. But it starts with the question, “do YOU believe in yourself?” before convincing anyone else that you’re good.”

Rani: “It has to do with believing in yourself and if you need someone to validate it too then that’s okay!”

Fiona: “It might be true that you need extra guidance and that doesn’t mean you can’t be confident in yourself. You have strengths and you have your weaknesses!”

After reflecting after what was discussed in this panel these were my main takeaways:

1. There’s no one way to become a designer! Design is a field filled with diverse experiences and people from various fields. You don’t need to already be a graphic designer or be in a design-related field to become one! (Although, graphic design would be helpful)
2. Don’t be afraid of sharing your work and projects with people. Getting feedback will help you develop a thick skin as a designer and help you not get too attached to your designs. It’s easy to get defensive about your work because you took a great deal of time to create something that you think is beautiful, but remember that there are people out there who will be using your product/mobile app and they are the best ones that can provide honest feedback!
3. Have a passion other than design! With hundreds of people applying to the roles you are, you need to find a way to set yourself apart from everyone else. Figure out what you can offer that no one else can. Explore new hobbies or learn new skills and think about how those non-design experiences can help you become a better designer!
4. Everyone has a story! You have your own set of values, skills, and talents and there’s something you can offer that no one else can. Find that!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about these fantastic womxn in the design and tech field! As always, please reach out to me if you’re interested in collaborating on projects or in learning more about Hexagon UX! Have a great day:)