Getting into UX & positioning for future roles

Just got into UX and looking for a role? Here’s how I did it.

Three businesswomen — Tim Gouw (unsplash)

Let’s set it up

Changing careers is not easy, so well done for making the call and welcome to the club!!

This is my personal strategy. After trying and testing a few different methods I came up with this and it helped me, so I figure it helps you to then yeww 🤙🏼

I used a 3 part strategy for entering UX and positioning for future roles:

• IN THE ROOM
• SLIDING INTO THE DM
• THE MICROTOUCH

Let’s set some expectations. You and I are different, so what was helpful to me may not be as helpful to you. As with all design, grab it, test it, learn from it and iterate until you figure out what works best for you.

Remember throughout this article we are focusing on ✌🏼 things

1. Strategies for entering the UX industry
2. Positioning yourself for a future role

Part 1
In the Room

HI! MY NAME IS, what?

MY NAME IS, who?

MY NAME IS…

chkachka Sam Perryman…

I’m not don’t have the same flow as old mate Slim…but if you came up to me at a networking event/meetup with that. I’d probably laugh and leave remembering who you are because you stood out.

Ready for tip one.

“You’re more impressive in person than on paper.”

As a Jnr you can send 1,000 CV’s out and have an awesome portfolio but the best way for me to gauge who you are is to meet you.

• I can’t see your passion
• I can’t gauge your attitude
• I can figure out how you think
• And I now know who you are

It’s really hard for me to do that IF YOU SIT AT HOME ALONE!

So if you’re going to change career and if you want to get a job you need to get out and meet people, either physically or virtually.

Especially if you’re one of those people moving from an industry that is seemingly unrelated to the one you’re stepping into. You’ve gotta own your story, get yourself out there.

Before you get IN THE ROOM

Woah woah woah!!

Did you almost just walk out and go to your first event! bruh… just relax.

Ready for tip number two?

“What gets measured, gets managed.”

Same as on the job. If you’re not going in with a plan then what are you expecting to achieve? Here are a few things to figure out before you get in the room.

1. Know your goal

While I was completing the UX General Assembly Immersive Course we often went to Meetups after class. We bumped into people who were in the class ahead of ours or graduated in recent months and I found myself having the same conversation…

“So! How’s the job hunt?”
“Yeah it’s ok… a bit slow…”
“Oh yeah, what have you been doing?”
“Applying for jobs on Linkedin and working on my portfolio…”

Throughout the evening I’d notice that the people I came with were all huddled together talking to each other and others who had recently graduated. I’m all for a catchup and to see how everyone is doing…

but it shouldn’t be the goal of the night if you’re looking for a job.

It can be easy to fall into that trap if you haven’t walked in with a plan. So spend a little time with the people you came with and then say…

If you don’t know where to start or what you should aim for as a goal, pick one of the below:

“I want to meet someone new”
“I want to walk away from tonight with 3 new LinkedIn connections”
“I want to meet one of the speakers”

2. Know yourself

Networking for most is not easy.
If you’re the type of person who can go up to someone you’ve never met and be like “ohmagash, cute shoes… I’m “insert name”, what’s your name?”.
Then wow. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 that’s awesome!

But lesbehonest, most of us would struggle to do that. Which is why we huddle with people we know. So if you need help go and get some!

If you need bribe your chatty friend to come with you. Do it!
If you need to create a list of people you want to meet before hand. Do it!
If you need play “Haaaave you met Ted?” Do it!

3. Get to know the organisers and who the recruiters are

When you turn up to a meetup or networking event it can be pretty overwhelming at first (especially if it’s not something you do often). I’ve found that the best thing you can do is find out who put the event, here’s why:

• They will likely be there the next time you go.
  So next time at least you’ll know a familiar face
• They probably know a lot of people in the room
  So they can introduce you to some
• They will likely be well connected in the industry
  Always good to know these people
• They will know the speakers
  If you’re a little nervous to approach the speaker. Ask the event organiser to introduce you
• They may know who is hiring in the room
  If they can’t place you as a jnr they may be able to introduce you to someone who can

Really you want to become good friends with these people. It will serve you well in both the short and the long run. Keep in mind that it’s easy to see fake people, so you want to create a genuine relationship with these people and get to know them. Which leads to the last point.

4. Don’t be a dick.

Don’t do this.

Even if you’re a snr. As soon as you talk about how great you are a lot of people will lose interest.

After being in the room

OK, you went to the meetup, meet the speaker plus a few others, connected with them on Linkedin and now you go home and that’s it yes?

Tip 3

“Post, but with purpose.”

You’re a passionate designer, new on the scene but… nobody knows you exist… So make yourself known.

I almost always post something after the events I go to and try to…

• Thank (and tag) the speakers
• Tag host of the event
• Tag the company that hosted.

This allows me to leverage these networks and increase my reach.

If people don’t know you exist you need to increase your potential discovery. This will increase your chance of landing a role.

EXAMPLE:

Big thanks to Ashim Joshi & Kym Langford for really engaging and insightful talks on #designing #trust. Also shout out to Airtasker for letting us use your space!

Can’t wait for the next one!”

Remember that there will likely be many people who may have gone to the same event and so be careful because you may flood LinkedIn with the exact same post. The idea is DIFFERENTIATE yourself. If you put up the same thing as everyone else or there are 15 of the same posts the day after the event you will get lost in the crowd.

Tip summary

Tip 1: “You’re more impressive in person than on paper.”
Tip 2: “What gets measured, gets managed.”
Tip 3: “Post, but with purpose.”

Part 2
Sliding into Coffee

Nik MacMillan

Ohmagash, I made a friend!

So you went to the meetup and made some connections. Hey, you even posted something on LinkedIn, you’re on fire!!
All that stuff is great, but let’s not stop there. Let’s look at part 2 - Sliding into Coffee which is broken up into 3 sections.

• Send the message
• Build the relationship
• Position yourself for the future

This all ties in with our two main goals

1. Strategies for entering the UX industry
2. Positioning yourself for a future role

So let’s look at how sliding into coffee helps achieve those goals.

Send the message

After a meetup, when you make your connections on Linkedin is a great time to connect with people you want to learn from, create relationships with and potentially meet up. Hear comes tip one!

Tip 1

“Don’t wait to send the message.”

Mainly because people forget. We all do it. I might have met someone a bunch of times in person and yet still forget that i’ve met them. So don’t wait to reach out — do it early so they can remember you.

If you’re not sure what to write or how to reach out here’s how.

Example:

“Hi ******, Thanks for the brief chat at the meet up tonight. As mentioned I have a background in construction management so I’m all about ********** as a product. Also really enjoyed the panel and the insights from yourself and others. If you’re available for coffee at all I’d love to grab 30 mins and ask some questions about ******* and your experience as a designer.

Thanks again.
Sam.”

Let’s break it down.

1. Reference that you spoke
2. Mention something you liked about what they said (if you can)
3. Make clear your intentions

Once you do that it’s up to them if they want to respond and meet with you. However in my experience the design community is incredibly generous with time. So many snr designers and even design leads and Heads of will allocate some time to meeting up with people who are eager to learn.

Oh yep! Before we move on here are my 2 big Do Not’s for when you’re reaching out to someone. Please, please, please… don’t do this.

1. “Hi, How are you doing?…. *waits for response*
   It’s not a face to face conversation so you can’t treat it like one. Sure, ask them how they’re doing — but too often I’ve had messages that literally stop there and are waiting for me to respond. Don’t leave it there, you need to move straight on to why you’re messaging.
2. “I’d love to pick your brain.”
   Firstly. Ew…
   Secondly, to me this says “I don’t know why I want to meet with you or what i’m hoping to achieve”. If you haven’t thought about why you want to meet up with someone you’re not valuing their time.

Build the relationship

Ok lets say this happens.

“Hey Sam,
Thanks for reaching out. I’d be happy to meet with you. Let’s organise a time and lock something in.

Regards,
Design person…”

Woohoo! It can be super exciting when someone accepts and is happy to chat with you. Remember that this person is giving up some time to meet up with you so you want to make sure you make it worth it. If you’ve got a prototype you want to show and get feedback on that stuff is great but just remember tip 2.

Tip 2

“It’s not about you.”

You’re trying to build a relationship so it’s important to remember not to make it all about you. This person has a wealth of knowledge and so leverage that as much as you can. With that said here are a few tips for when you do end up across the table with someone.

Be Humble — Don’t act like you know it all. You don’t and that’s fine

Be Passionate — This one should be a given because boring meetings are…boring

Be Genuine — See point 1. Also these people can actually help you. Don’t be fake, don’t try be the coolest kid on the block, just be real.

Be Confident — They’re here to meet with you!

Have a strategy — Don’t go to a meeting with nothing. Plan what you want to talk about. What are you trying to achieve. If things are going good — hey… go a little crazy and see if you can just go with it but if things start to get awkward at least you can fall back to your planned questions.

Be confident - but not too confident.

Position yourself for the future

It’s not to get a job, at least not right now.

I know, I know. That sounds weird and not really aligned to our goals. You’re not actually meeting up with someone so they can give you a job. It could happen, but it’s rare that it would happen this way after one meeting and it’s not what you’re trying to achieve. If you went into a meeting and your primary objective is to get a job… the person will feel like you’re using them.

Now i’m not saying you can’t talk about jobs. We talked about having a strategy when you meet with someone and coming prepared right? As part of my list of questions I would sometimes ask the following:

“What kind of advice would you give someone looking to find their way into a company like *your company*?”

This allows you to get into the mindset of the types of qualities these companies are looking for. Do this with a few people at different companies and TA-DA! You have your own list of what people are looking for and therefore what you can work on to get into those companies.

Work on this list and use the mircotouch method. When a position opens up you can message your connection and you might just be one of the front runners for the job because you have an internal advocate and you know what they’re looking for.

One of the great things about not having a job is you have TIME! Trust me this is a blessing even if it feels like a curse. You have so much opportunity to network, meet people and build relationships. So use it to get in front of as many people as you can and build your network. This will help you immensely in the future.

Tip summary

Tip 1. “Don’t wait to send the message”
Tip 2. “It’s not about you”

Part 3
The Microtouch

Now before you start… I know. It’s a creepy name for this method but it unfortunately it accurately describes what we’re doing so we’re sticking with it!

What the heck is Microtouch?

Ok, ok so the microtouch is a term I use to describe how to interact in the following situations.

• People I haven’t connected with but would like to
• People I have connected with and want to notice me
• People I want to stay in touch with in case they have a role that opens up

Primarily it takes form over some kind of social network (Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc) but it’s better if it doesn’t exclusively take one format. The more platforms the better (but be careful your mircotouch doesn’t become a macrotouch!)

What the heck is Macrotouch??

If you’re currently funemployeed (😂) It’s important to remember that your concept of time is not the same as everyone else’s. You have to be patient and try your hardest not to pester people. So when we talk about the microtouch the idea is

Just enough for them to notice and not forget you.

We’re looking for this.

Not this.

How to use the Microtouch

If you’ve been following this little series then you’ll be positioned pretty well for this already. If not here is a quick refresh…

• We went outside and attended some meetups
• Here we met some people and connected with a couple
• From that couple we messaged a few and grabbed a coffee
• We managed to nail it and stay in touch

That’s kinda where we are now. There is LOADS more info in the other articles but that’s a 10 second view of where we are right now.

The Direct Touch

The direct touch is where you’re very intentional about interacting with your connection. This might be through:

• Liking their post, company post, something they’ve liked
• Commenting on their posts (and not just “Great”/ “Awesome” something that actually adds value and shows you have engaged with their content)
• Sending a message — could be asking for advice, a question, or a recommendation on something
• Reference to something you discussed when you met. For me I used to ask what books they recommended and if I read that book or saw something about it that would be a way to work in the microtouch

The Indirect Touch

This relates more to how you do personal branding. It’s up to you if you want to do this but you can leverage your activity on whatever platform as a way to microtouch. Remember that the microtouch is staying in touch with someone just enough for someone to notice you and not forget you. So it can be a one way conversation — meaning: You’re posting on a platform and they see your content.

International roaming

You never know where your career will take you and so I’m a bit of an advocate in networking globally — if you see a company you like, reach out.

I’ve actually been using this to network internationally. In article 2 as part of sending the message I make reference to this in relation to the design community being really helpful and open. It’s true!!

Now there is two ways I do this and one is a little cheeky…

Approach ☝🏼

The cheeky way.
I basically go onto the profile of the person/people who work at the company I want to network with. One of them is BOUND to use their Linkedin so I stalk them. I STALK THE CRAP OUTTA THEM!!

I look at their profile a bunch of times and then I wait. I wait until I see they’ve looked at my profile.

Then i’m like…

From here it depends on what their role is and what i’m trying to find out.

• Sometimes it’s to see what it’s like to work for the company
• Sometimes it’s to understand what the industry is like in their area
• Sometimes it’s to ask questions about one of the projects they did
• Sometimes it’s just to make a connection and be friends

The thinking here is that I want them to have clicked onto my profile. To have engaged with me. Then when they get the invite & message from me they have seen my profile already, they know who I am and are more likely to accept.

You might be thinking this is a little odd… That’s fair. (but I don’t care. It has worked 😝).

Approach ✌🏼

To be honest this is basically the same as “Sending the message” in part 2/3 so if you skimmed over that part, scroll yourself back up a little and read it again.

Basically just send them a cold message. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. The most common occurrence is that someone accepts the connection but doesn’t message back.

That’s it.

To sum up:

1/3 — In the Room

1. You’re more impressive in person than on paper
2. What gets measured, gets managed
3. Post, but with purpose

2/3 — Sliding into Coffee

1. Don’t wait to send the message
2. It’s not about you

3/3 — The Microtouch

1. Just enough for them to notice and not forget you

Remember…

You’re in a creative/problem solving industry now

So apply the knowledge you have. If things are not working apply some UX methodology (learn, build, measure + A/B testing your CV etc)

Feel free to reach out to me on Linkedin by clicking here.

Thanks for reading! 👋🏼

Sam.