Thread by @jmspool

A lot of my work is talking to UX folks about their next job.

Many struggle with "deciding what I want from my next employer."

I've come up with a way to get them past this and to start thinking about where to look first for opportunities.

1/

Thinking about their next job inevitably leads many folks down the path of "what would I like in a place to work."

This gets into lots of touchy-feely attributes about the work environment, but what's almost always missing is what they'll actually do when they get there.

2/

Don't get me wrong: there's a lot to be said about working in a high-quality work environment.

However, that environment isn't going to hire someone out of charity.

The org is hiring someone to get a job done.

That's where the job hunt needs to start. What will you do?

3/

One exercise I've come up with is to imagine you're in an interview with a hiring manager. Imagine that manager is telling you exactly what they need most in their new hire.

They're telling you, point by point, what they need done. As you're listening, you're thinking…

4/

…'OMG! This work is what my entire life has prepared me for. This is THE job I could do incredibly well, because my experiences have trained me to rock this!'

What is that job that hiring manager is describing?
What is it about that job that makes you the perfect new hire?

5/

Jot down every point that you're imagining that hiring manager said.

For each point, write down what you've done in the past that makes you the perfect person to do that thing.

This exercise has helped folks home in what their true strengths are and where to look next.

6/

A hiring manager has a job to fill. They have things they need to get done.

What makes you the perfect person to do those things? That's what you need to identify first.

Your résumé and portfolio should tell the story of those what makes you perfect.

7/

Here's another exercise that expands on the first:

Look through what you've done so far in your work experience.

What things have you done that would be truly valuable to a hiring manager?

8/

This exercise has 3 steps:
1. List the things from your experience that would make you highly valuable to a future employer.
2. Sort the list from the things you like to do most to the things you least enjoy.

This will tell you how to talk about what you want.

9/

3. For each of the top things (valuable & enjoyable), describe how you learned to do those things well.

This step is particularly crucial for early-career folks. Hiring managers are not just hiring for you to do the work. They're hiring for you to grow into the work.

10/

How you learn is as important, if not more important, than what you can do today.

We all need to learn to do any new job, even if it's similar to work we've done before.

We need to talk about how we learn in the interview process.

11/

Talking about how we learn, when we're talking with prospective hiring managers, gives us an advantage. If the manager can see how quickly we'll pick up their specific work requirements, they can see us in the job.

That's essential for them to get to an offer.

12/

I wrote about the importance of emphasizing how we've learned to do the things we've done.

uxdesign.cc/early-career-u…

13/

These two exercises (imagining a perfect job & identifying what's most your most valuable and enjoyable contributions) are great ways to learn what your next opportunity wants to be.

The folks who do these find great clarity on how to talk to recruiters and hiring managers.

14/