UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy Episode 287: Career Growth for Individual Contributors with Cliff Seal
12 snips
Oct 4, 2024 Cliff Seal, a UX architect at Salesforce with a diverse journey from classical music to tech, shares his insights on career growth within design at large organizations. He emphasizes the importance of mentorship and strategic thinking, revealing how to navigate complexities in decision-making and relationship-building. Cliff discusses the dual nature of clear competencies versus opaque promotions and offers personal strategies for advancement. His reflections on the transition from early roles to enterprise-level design highlight the unique challenges and rewards of his path.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Cliff's Unplanned Career Path
- Cliff Seal unexpectedly started designing and building websites after pursuing music and coding.
- He moved from a nonprofit to a small startup that was acquired, leading to his decade-plus tenure in a large tech company.
Start by Learning, Not Impacting
- New designers should relieve themselves of the need to have a major impact in their first year.
- They should focus on learning company terminology, history, and context by reading internal communications.
Respect Organizational History
- Understanding company legacy and politics is crucial before making changes.
- Many established processes exist for reasons now lost but must be respected initially.