Welcome back to the UserFlows Podcast, my name is Thomas Morrell and this is a show where we talk about UX design and careers. I interview designers about their journey into the field and break down how they've been successful in their roles so we all can all learn together.

Today I'm joined by Ellie Millen. Ellie is a UX Design & Research Leader, empathy advocate in products, mentorship, and life!

I first met Ellie on a job interview. The role didn't end up being a good fit, but I really enjoyed my conversation with Ellie then and had been looking to reconnect. That is the power of LinkedIn and being open to connecting with new people. Never forget someone you met in the field, as one day you could very well connect and collaborate in the future.

I was so happy to invite Ellie onto the show. She shares what she's currently up to which is actually taking a well-needed and well-deserved career break all the way up in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. I love this. So many of us, myself included never really take a break to think through or discover what it truly is we want to do next. We just march along from one engagement to another with the sole goal of being employed as the driving force behind our actions. So I applaud her for taking the time to reflect, regroup and come back recharged hopefully aimed at the target of her choosing.

Since I knew Ellie was heavily involved in UX interviewing in her previous roles I ask her to discuss any specific interview pitfalls she sees designers make and she gets into how many junior UX designers try to over please by pretending to be the designer they think the interviewer is looking for instead of themselves. She gives some advice on not being afraid to specialize. (Listen at 5:30 for more).

She also discusses positive interview skills she's seen like tying past experiences to the current role to leverage related experience to the job you're looking for (Listen at 7:30 for more).

We get into some basics of UX Research and a “for instance” on what type of research practices to use as a new designer on a team taking over a fresh project. (Listen at 9:12 for that). I really like what she had to say about cultivating a sense of why and I used that for the title of this show. She has some top-notch advice for junior UX designers at 17:21 and 31:30

Ellie dives into advice for new managers along with another “for instance” of taking over a team as a new manager at 22:20. I love her advice of listening before you do anything else and approaching management the same way you would approach any UX project.

I hope you enjoy the show.

Ellie on LinkedIn

Ellie’s Website

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