My first UX job was doing usability work on Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 1.0 back in 1994.
Looking backwards I wish I could have given myself the following advice: 1) Pick your manager. Early in my career I made choices that put the role and the project ahead of who I'd be working for. It took years for me to figure out I was happier, more effective, and grew more only when my boss was a good manager. A good manager will hire good people, will set clear goals, will teach you what they know, and will set you up to be happy (e.g. kick ass). A mediocre or bad manager, even on an amazing project will make you and everyone else miserable. I'd think hard about this in my interview loops, and even if given an offer I'd ask to speak to 2 of my potential manager's reports, plus use my network, to get as much of a sense of my new manager as possible. I might ask for an extra phone conversation with my possible new boss (and if refused, I'd be very very worried. If I can't get their attention now, before I sign, I doubt I'll get it later). If given two different offers, I'd weigh the two bosses heavily in the equation. 2) Pick the company not the project. Projects get killed more often than companies do. Taking a non-sexy job at a great company gets you inside, gives you a safe start, and after 6 or 12 months you can find your way to the next cool sexy thing. But if you sign on to a great project at a lousy company, and the project is cancelled, you're screwed. 3) Look to learn. It can be tempting to pick jobs where you are the only UX person. It seems more powerful and influential, which might be true. But you have no one to learn from or grow under about your trade. In interview loops ask yourself "what can I learn from these people?" If your career is just getting started, what you learn in the next couple of years might define the next 10. In all cases look to find a mentor in the industry, someone who can give you outside feedback and pointers who is not a co-worker. A good mentor's perspective increases how much you learn from every situation you find yourself in. 4) Stay in touch with your fellow graduates. The network you've formed in school is tremendously valuable. It's hard to see it when you graduate, but those are industry contact points that are harder to create later. Facebook can be handy for this: make a "graudates of U of M HCI" group or something. Do what you can to stay in touch periodically, meet up conferences, etc. It might take a few years but I guarantee this network will give you advantages in the future. -Scott Scott Berkun www.scottberkun.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jonathan Cohen Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 1:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Your First UX / ID Job -- Q from the HCI Class of\'09. Hello world, HCI grad student here. As my fellow students and I near graduation and explore all the different kinds of opportunities out there, it would be extremely helpful to learn about your entry-level interaction design experience. What was your first ID job? Generally speaking, is there anything you would have liked to be different? Which experiences were most beneficial in the long-term? ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
