Presented by Caroline Little: All the buzz these days seems to be around those entering the field, fresh from school or changing careers. What about those more established in our careers but not yet Principals or VPs? How can we stand-out in a more crowded environment and best showcase our years of experience? In this session, you’ll get practical tips for considering your next career move and preparing for the process of interviewing as an “established” candidate. Learn from my experience as a professional job seeker and feel prepared to conquer your next career goal.

1. Intro/Motivation behind talk
The interns aren’t getting younger, you’re getting older:
Stand out as a Senior UX candidate
Caroline J Little
UXPA INTERNATIONAL 2021

2. 11+ years
4 full-time positions
2 layoffs
"Golden Autumn Hour of Washington DC" by Bold Frontiers is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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3. Courtesy: Nielsen Norman Group
289% increase in
requests for UX
interviews in 2020
- Hired.com
Hiring for UX roles grew
20% between 2019 and
2020
- LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise report
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4. “Hot” industry
Saturated junior market
Immature industry
- Companies
- Processes
- Growth path
Higher expectations/cost
What is working
for you
What is working
against you
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5. Self-Reflection
Courtesy: Undraw.co
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6. KEY LEVERS
Make or break issues
• Location
• Salary requirements
• Title/job responsibilities
• Industry
• Company
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7. ENERGY GAINS AND DRAINS
List your Top 5
• Can be both lived and aspirational (Gains)
• Related both to your job responsibilities and things
like:
• Company culture
• How UX/the role is embedded into the company
• The type and quality of opportunities available to you
(projects, clients, etc.)
• Perks
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8. Tools in your arsenal
Courtesy: Undraw.co 8

9. INTROS
Start off every interaction prepared
1 min “elevator pitch”
• Years of experience
• Relevancy to role
• What’s next for you
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10. INTROS
Start off every interaction prepared
1 min “elevator pitch”
• Years of experience
• Relevancy to role
• What’s next for you
2-3 min longer opener
• Education
• High level career progression
• Key Skills
• What’s next for you
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11. INTROS
Start off every interaction prepared
1 min “elevator pitch”
• Years of experience
• Relevancy to role
• What’s next for you
2-3 min longer opener
• Education
• High level career progression
• Key Skills
• What’s next for you
Tell me about a project…
• Typically related to the type of
role you are seeking
• Role, problem, process, solution
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12. HERO STORIES
Have prepared to illustrate points or answer questions
PERSUASION: How did you influence leadership?
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13. PERSUASION: How did you influence leadership?
COLLABORATION: How did you resolve differences
within a team? What does good teamwork look like to
you?
HERO STORIES
Have prepared to illustrate points or answer questions
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14. PERSUASION: How did you influence leadership?
COLLABORATION: How did you resolve differences within a team?
What does good teamwork look like to you?
PERSONAL GROWTH: How did you recover from a
mistake? How did you change your behavior based on
feedback?
HERO STORIES
Have prepared to illustrate points or answer questions
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15. PERSUASION: How did you influence leadership?
COLLABORATION: How did you resolve differences within a team? What
does good teamwork look like to you?
PERSONAL GROWTH: How did you recover from a mistake? How did you
change your behavior based on feedback?
BUSINESS ACUMEN: How did you contribute to solving key
business problems? Do you understand how to partner with key
stakeholders?
HERO STORIES
Have prepared to illustrate points or answer questions
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16. RESUME
Focus more on impact
• Conducted research with
healthcare providers to gather
concept feedback
• Wireframing, Prototyping and
facilitating discussions
• Help to drive consensus and
forward thinking change
within client's businesses
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17. RESUME
Focus more on impact
• Wireframing, Prototyping and
facilitating discussions
• Conducted research with
healthcare providers to gather
concept feedback
• Help to drive consensus and
forward thinking change
within client's businesses
• Designed ABC feature of website Z,
launched 3 months ahead of
schedule
• Used research findings from
healthcare provider interviews to
formalize new concept for ABCDE
• Led series of workshops that drove
client and team alignment around
UX strategy for product X
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18. RESUME
Show AND tell your value
Put special emphasis on:
• KPIs (money/time saved, satisfaction scores,
ratings/reviews)
• New models/processes/ways of working
• Insights or actions which led to key business decisions
• Quantifiable reach (# of users, # of downloads, etc.)
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19. PORTFOLIO VS. CASE PRESENTATION
Advertising vs. storytelling
BOTH:
• Problem, process, solution
PRESENTATION:
Opportunity for you to expand upon:
• Role & dynamics within the team, org
• Business constraints
• Why and how the process deviated from the idea and
how you responded
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20. CASE PRESENTATION
Set up the story and land the plane
• Remember your audience
• Provide enough detail but don’t get bogged down in
company minutiae
• Simplify the process without losing the strategic thread
• Tie your contribution/findings/solution back to company
objectives
• Be prepared to discuss what you would have
changed/down differently
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21. The interview process
Courtesy: Undraw.co
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22. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Are interviews together or separate?
HIRING MANAGER:
• Management style
• How would you
define/measure success in
this role?
• What skills help someone
succeed at company [xyz]?
• Tell me about a project your
team worked on that had a big
impact
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23. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Are interviews together or separate?
PEER:
• Company/Team Culture
• Tell me about a recent
project you worked on
• What do you see as biggest
opportunity to improve
processes?
• Who do you work with most
closely day-to-day?
HIRING MANAGER:
• Management style
• How would you
define/measure success in
this role?
• What skills help someone
succeed at company [xyz]?
• Tell me about a project your
team worked on that had a big
impact
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24. EVALUATE THEIR PROCESS
Are they treating you like a senior candidate?
• Who is interviewing you? How many gatekeepers?
• What are they requesting of you in time, pre-work during
the process?
• Are they asking you the right questions?
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25. Staying Ready
Courtesy: Undraw.co
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26. STAYING READY
Not actively looking? You still have homework
TARGET LIST:
• What are companies you are
interested in for the future and
who do you know there?
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27. STAYING READY
Not actively looking? You still have homework
TARGET LIST:
• What are companies you are
interested in for the future and
who do you know there?
THINK AHEAD ABOUT YOUR
CURRENT WORK:
• How would you tell the story
of what you are doing today?
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28. STAYING READY
Not actively looking? You still have homework
TARGET LIST:
• What are companies you are
interested in for the future and
who do you know there?
THINK AHEAD ABOUT YOUR
CURRENT WORK:
• How would you tell the story
of what you are doing today?
OTHER OUTLETS FOR GROWTH:
• Volunteer work – UX orgs;
skills & networking
• Project roles within current
company
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29. Thank you &
good luck!
Courtesy: Undraw.co 29