Don't Be Afraid to Speak Up as a New UX Designer

I never thought I’d have to say this, but one of the nice things about working from home is that if you need to move away from an area with too many hate crimes, you can.

My wife and I have had some serious discussions lately, ever since the mass shooting down here in Atlanta. My wife is Korean, so this hit close to home literally and figuratively. And hearing a police officer basically make excuses for this guy because he was having a “bad day” and was “sexually frustrated” certainly didn’t help.

I’ve lived in the south since I was seven years old: Alabama to Florida to Georgia. Sometimes I wonder if we should stay in this area. Violence and hatefulness is never okay. And maybe you can’t really escape these problems no matter where you go. But at least working from home means not being tied down to one place, if we ever made that decision.

Anyway, let’s talk about some less depressing things, alright?

My New Job

I’ve officially started my new job at Fetch Rewards. If you’re not familiar with Fetch, go check their app out and see for yourself; it’s pretty dope.

So I’m Fetch Rewards new senior product designer, and I’ll be working with another junior designer on the team. She seems cool and I think we’re going to be able to make some really great things.

So far I’ve just been doing the classic onboarding and admin stuff, plus trying to get my bearings. I need to build up my domain knowledge before I can bring in too much of my own perspective. 

But speaking of my own perspective…

When to Speak Up

When you’re coming into a new work environment or starting a new project, when is it time to question things, to speak up? I’m talking about the times where you see something that just doesn’t make sense to you.

Over the years I’m learning that it is okay to speak up, and it’s okay to ask questions. Because if you are really going to thrive in your environment, you have to think like a stakeholder or an entrepreneur. Especially if you’re in a startup where you are getting some equity in the business. 

Their success is your success. So if you see things that don’t point toward success, what are you going to do about it?

As a person who owns my own business, that’s how I have to think. What do my choices affect, and what’s the long-term impact of good or bad practices? And I extend this to any company that hires me.

Does This Make Sense?

When I say “make sense,” I mean it on more than one level. You’ve got to think about your user base and the sustainability of the business. No matter what you’re working on, you’ve got to find the sweet spot between those different levels.

A few things to consider:

• Do users want this?

• How will we measure success?

• Is this a scalable process?

These are the kinds of questions you and your team have to ask.

To stay profitable and to give the users a good experience, you have to clearly define problems and develop your direction from there.  Every business is different, and so every team’s processes and goals will vary. But you have to look for the underlying non-negotiables. You need nuance, but no one can afford 90% nuance!

So like I said, thinking like an entrepreneur is a big part of asking the right questions.Who are you designing for? What are the users’ pain points? Why is this a problem worth solving? Does the solution already exist in some form? Is this too feature heavy? Darren Hood’s podcast has a lot of great content about this, so definitely check him out.

Learning From My Team

At this stage I’m new to my team, so I’m taking as many opportunities as I can to interview teammates and get a feel for everything. A lot of this is a balancing act between the forest and the trees: getting used to the details and keeping the big picture in mind.

From a UX perspective, you can’t only focus on wireframes, journey maps, or things like that. You have to be able to step back and see how it all relates to the IRL business you’re involved in.

That’s why the team is so important. We’re not just a bunch of people with ideas, we’re stakeholders with ideas that will affect the whole business. If it breaks, everything breaks. So I don’t ever want to be the person on the team who’s not pulling my weight. We have to build together, and that’s what all this onboarding and questioning is going to help me do.

The cool thing is, as I interviewed everyone I started hearing patterns in what they were saying: the same things kept coming up again and again. That’s no coincidence! Those are clues about where to put my attention as a team member, and also what to question if I don’t understand something.

Thoughts on Design Process

If you look at the double diamond model, you’ll see discover, define, design, and deliver. But you know what I think? Too much focus has been placed on the design and delivery parts. What happened to define and discover? Why don’t we give those more attention?

If you can really nail defining and discovery, the next steps are a breeze. Why? Because that’s where your focus and direction can come from. That’s where you can see the problem and the project more holistically.

My new boss told me she put me on this particular team because she sees me as a bridge builder. I love making connections, not just between people, but mentally between the different components of applications that have to work as a whole. (That’s where that holistic vision comes in again.)

Leaving and Looking

So, here’s something I haven’t really addressed yet. Why did I leave Primerica? Well… how much time do you have?

Okay I’m kidding, but here’s the gist of it: I wanted to work remotely full-time, I wanted something different, and I wanted to try working at a startup.

That first one (like I mentioned right at the start of this post) is a big deal to me these days. Being able to work out of my home just makes sense at this stage of my life. But I was willing to come into an office setting if the job was the right fit. And I kept track of all my applications so I could compare my options.

The application process is tough, folks! So if you’re out there in that cold cruel job search world, I feel your pain.

I ended up applying to 46 companies. There were 14 straight up rejections, and I got 9 interviews.

For the record, sites like Indeed and Strategy were a waste of time. They mostly attracted recruiters who wanted me to jump through so many hoops, and for what? So they could take a commission off the top of whatever I earn in the future? No thanks.

So I did a lot of direct website applications, and that was what got the most results. I did multiple interviews including four (four!) at Microsoft, and a few other places that had a very extensive interview process.

Out of everywhere I interviewed, Fetch Rewards just felt right! It seemed like a really positive environment, everybody was so freakin’ nice. I could see myself being part of the squad, and bringing my own value to make a big impact. And like I said: I’d rather work at a small company or startup right now. So once I got to that point, Fetch was the obvious choice.

(By the way, if you’re not my Ugly Unicorns chat group, you’re probably missing out! Because these are the kinds of updates I’m more likely to put there then make a whole podcast episode or blog post about.)

Talking Rejection

Somone said they couldn’t believe I rejected a job with Microsoft! Well hey, lots of other places rejected me. So there’s rejection going both ways. And that’s okay, because I can’t take all the jobs and not everywhere is going to be the right fit.

At this current moment in my life, a big billion dollar business just isn’t where I want to work. Sometimes you have to go with your gut.

I know a lot of people dream about working at a place like Google or Facebook, big names like that. And there’s nothing wrong with setting your sights high! But don’t fear rejection. And give yourself a chance to think about whether those companies’ values and work culture is something you really want to be a part of.

Because it’s okay to say no to the big names. It’s okay to choose a place where when you speak up, your voice might actually get heard.

Future Destinations

All that said, we’ve been thinking about moving but there’s nothing concrete in the works. Chicago, Seattle, Austin, who knows? Or maybe we’ll stick around in Atlanta. I’ll keep you guys updated if we do make a decision.

I learned a lot at Primerica, and I’m looking forward to what I can learn and contribute now at Fetch Rewards. So there’s room for growth, and room to really make an impact. If that’s not a win-win, I don’t know what is.

Food for Thought

If you’re on the job hunt, here’s a few tips straight from the horse’s (unicorn’s?) mouth:

• Apply at a LOT of companies

• Apply directly whenever possible

• Avoid recruiters who want to make you jump through a lot of hoops

• Prioritize places that fit your goals over big names

And remember: don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions! Being new on a team means you have a lot to learn, but you also have something super-valuable to offer: fresh perspective.