Congratulations!
You’ve just been offered your first job as a UX designer. After all the hard work you put in creating your portfolio, interviewing, waiting, you’re really excited to start your new job. But in all that excitement, you mustn’t lose sight of what you need to do at your new job from day one.
Set yourself up to succeed at your new job as a UX designer by keeping the following tips in mind.
Understand The Expectations – Just like any other job, there are expectations in terms of the work and responsibilities that a UX designer is expected to deliver. And it’s important to have a clear, well-defined understanding of what they are. This expectation usually starts with the design process the company follows and your role in this process. Each company has its own UX design processes in place and the role of the UX designer in this process may vary significantly. Start with a discussion with the entire UX design team to know where you fit into the team and what you’re meant to deliver and at what stage.
Prioritize Your Learning – Getting up to speed as quickly as possible at a new job can be overwhelming. There’s a lot to learn and the processes, current or upcoming projects, standard operating procedures, etc. Start with making a list of all the things that you need to do and compartmentalise it into smaller sections that can be tackled one at a time. Now prioritize the items on that list that are the most important or time-sensitive and need to be addressed first. You could even ask your manager or your peers for help prioritizing the items in your list.
Get To Know The Team – ask any experienced UX Designer and they would all agree that UX Designing is a team effort. And that makes it crucial to know who your team members are, how they add value to the team and build a rapport with them in order for it to function like a well oiled machine. Each team member has their own way of working so you need to be able to efficiently communicate with all of them to identify any problems or misunderstandings.
Welcome Criticism – Criticism is a natural part of the design process. As a designer, you need to be open-minded and be aware that constructive criticism of your design work is the best way to grow. Criticism also works the other way. There will be many occasions where you also need to give considered feedback. Concentrate on providing feedback purely in an objective manner that helps the overall team improve the work.
Don’t Be Afraid of Making Mistakes – Making mistakes in UX designing is part of the process. If you’re not going to take chances in your design fearing it would be a mistake, you’re missing out on the opportunities to learn from your mistakes and accelerate your professional growth.
While the tips we’ve mentioned do seem fairly obvious, they can be sometimes overlooked when starting a new job and diving straight into working on UX design work to set good impression. It’s okay to take things a little slow and allowing yourself the time to establish a strong foundation.
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