So you want to position yourself for the next step?
I wrote this earlier this year in April on my old blog when I was in the process of becoming a senior on my team. Though it has been a few months since then, it still holds true in my opinion. Since it is getting closer to being the end of the year, that means performance reviews and mapping out what your next steps to advancing will be. Getting to the next level in your career takes work but it’s easier to get there when you know what to you need to do.
Recently, I’ve seen juniors are running into the same problem, I was a few years ago when trying to get into UX. After a few years went by, you would think some things would change. But alas, it’s the same requirements filled with programming languages that aren’t needed, asking for 5 years of experience for an entry role etc. I will eventually write about my thoughts on this still going on. Today, let’s talk about the process of going from a junior to mid- level to a senior designer.
Before I get started, take into account every company is different, results may vary and I can only speak for what I’m doing. Going from junior to a mid-level designer requires you to learn and study your craft more. Not only in the sense of “pixel perfect design” , methodologies, and best practices but more so in understanding the right time to use them and to go against them. What I’m learning about going from a mid-level to a senior designer is that it’s more about leadership, strategy, quality of work, taking ownership, understanding business and balancing being a voice at the table. So how do position yourself for this?
Leadership- Start figuring out what good leadership looks like to you. Whether that is supplying resources for your team to read up on, taking initiative to steer the design conversation during meetings, beginning the research needed and identifying the problems that you see coming with what a client is asking for and being able to explain your reasoning behind the decisions you make for projects.
Strategy- How do you approach designing for a project? Factor in everything. SEO, business needs, user needs, user journeys, best practices, deadlines, budget constraints, the emotions and experiences you want to evoke in the user, the time it will take for creative to “put the paint on it” ( if you’re not doing it yourself) , the time it takes for the dev team to build what you are designing, etc.
Quality of Work- This speaks for itself. Deliver work that you’re proud of. You don’t have to like the content or the subject matter but make sure your work is up to your standard and when you’re ready, go above that.
Taking ownership- Initiate taking on certain aspects of projects or in enhancing your career without being asked. You want to go to a conference that will make you get better? Say it. You think a project isn’t taking advantage of certain functionalities? Tell them and then implement them.
Understanding business- No matter what project you’re on, the goal is to make the company money. Keep this in mind and use this to leverage how your design decisions can not only meet user needs, make them more money, and allow the company to save more money in the long run with the right design strategy.
Be a voice at the table- Speak up. If you disagree with something, say it. You’re well informed or at the very least, know someone who is or where to find the information you seek.
Document everything. Seriously, this will help you when you’re ready to ask your director/manager for a promotion. You’ll have all the instances that you can reference where you showed that you’re ready for the next step.
Now go out there and do it!