Design Hires Podcast

Mark Reilly is an Executive Director of UX at JP Morgan Chase. In this interview you’ll learn about Chase’s expansive design team, the qualities that Mark looks for when hiring designers, open roles, and other amazing opportunities for career growth within the organization.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 1:00  : Mark’s role and his team at Chase 8:00 : Open roles at Chase and the Design Development Program 17:00 : How to learn more about open design roles at Chase 21:00 : Skills and experiences that make candidates stand out during the hiring process  31:00 : Interview process at Chase 33:00 : Chase’s structure for career advancement & promotion on the design team 42:00 : Closing thoughts & why Chase is a great company to work for as a designer Links mentioned in this episode: Mark’s LinkedIn Profile Peter Merholz's Book: Org Design for Design Orgs: Building and Managing In-House Teams  Tom Greever's Book: Articulating Design Decisions  Design Hires Podcast: Peter Merholz Design Hires Podcast: Tom Greever Finding Our Way Podcast: 32 Kaaren Hanson - The Intentional Design Executive Finding Our Way Podcast: 24 Jorge Arango - Delving into digital design—craft, teaching, lessons from architecture, standards and certification Chase Careers Site: Roles Filtered by Design Design Development Program Open Roles on Mark's Team Senior Product Designer - Chase Wealth Management — NYC Lead Product Designer - Chase Wealth Management — NYC Open Roles on Sister Teams in Wealth Management Product Design Lead – Design Systems — NYC or NJ Senior Product Designer — NYC or NJ Sr. User Experience Designer — NYC, Tempe AZ or Plano, TX User Experience Design Lead — Plano, TX

This inspirational conversation with Design Leader, James Lacey covers everything from imposter syndrome, stereotypes in design, the place of creative backgrounds in UX design and so much more. Discover the most important skills and attributes to possess as a designer through James & Nadia’s discussion as they chat about the collective wisdom they’ve gained from 10+ years in the design industry.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 1:00 : Siri & Apple Music Design ideas 7:30 : Stereotypes of designers & imposter syndrome 10:00 : James’ background and career pathway 24:02 : The entrepreneurial “itch” and the tenacity required for being self-taught  28:31 : Synthesizing information as a skill in design 35:26 : Having a creative background as a designer & formal design training 45:30 : Why senior designers frequently leave traditional careers and promotional cycles for consulting gigs 51:00 : Bringing impactful functionality to the table as a designer instead of aesthetic 1:01:00 : How to get in touch with James Links mentioned in this episode: James’ LinkedIn Profile

Lennart Nacke is a professor at the University of Waterloo who specializes in gamification and UX Design. Nadia’s interview with him explores the differences between traditional game design and UX gamification, the profile and attributes of a UX game designer, and tips on how to effectively incorporate game elements into UX design.    Here’s a look at our discussion: 1:00 : What Lennart has been working on recently 5:00 : The differences between traditional game design and UX game design  16:02 : Faux gamification in digital products & gamification tips for designers 25:50 : Incorporating gamification into design across different demographics 34:42 : Lennart’s upcoming classes & speaking engagements 36:11 : How to get in touch with Lennart   Links mentioned in this episode: Book: Punished by Rewards by Alfie Cohen Book: The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits Toronto Change Days Event Website Lennart’s LinkedIn Profile Lennart’s Website, Acagamic.com Lennart’s Twitter Profile Lennart's YouTube Channel How to Write CHI Papers Podcast Games User Research Book Podcast

Author & Product/Design Leader Tom Greever chats with Nadia about how creating fun moments at work can boost productivity and help you better communicate during presentations and meetings. You’ll also hear about what Tom looks for when hiring designers, his experience after publishing his book, Articulating Design Decisions, and more.  Inspired by wearing costumes at work (just listen to the episode), we are also happy to announce the #CostumeBattleRoyale challenge: Lead a meeting in a costume & tag the following accounts on LinkedIn or Twitter:  #costumebattleroyale + @designhirespodcast (LinkedIn) / @designhirespod (Twitter) + @tomgreever  A picture of yourself presenting at a meeting in costume The profile of the audience you were presenting to (i.e., Executives, my team members, etc.) Tell us whether your costume was effective or not, and if not, why and what you would have done differently. Honorary category:  Tell us a story about how you've brought more attention and engagement to your work through creative means (other than wearing a costume)! Prize for top 3 costumes/stories: A copy of Tom Greever’s Book, Articulating Design Decisions Start Date: Friday, November 4th End Date: Friday, November 18th Winners Announced: Tuesday, November 22nd Here’s a look at our discussion: 1:00 : Costumes & being a “fun” design manager 11:27 : Putting team members at ease to drive productivity 14:48 : Engaging your audience during presentations and meetings 18:30 : How to discern a candidate who can articulate design decisions during the hiring process 21:15 : Tom’s experience after writing his book, Articulating Design Decisions 26:30 : What Tom looks for when he is hiring designers  31:00 : Bringing it back around to costumes & #CostumeBattleRoyale Links mentioned in this episode: Tom’s Book: Articulating Design Decisions  Tom’s LinkedIn

In this episode we are joined by Andrew Hogan, a member of the Insights & Analysis team at Figma. Andrew talks about his recent research that analyzes why it is so difficult for organizations to attract and hire design talent. Nadia and Andrew discuss the importance of sending the right cultural signals to attract the candidates who will best succeed in your organization, and how candidates can assess culture to understand if a company is right for them.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 1:00 : The importance of publishing content publicly as a hiring manager for design roles 8:22 : Andrew’s research process for assessing design culture & hiring 18:24 : Company culture vs. team culture - which is more important? 23:07 : What signals job candidates can look for to gauge if a company is right for them 30:02 : Sending authentic & better signals to candidates about your design culture 35:50 : The difference between organizational maturity and culture 41:08 : What future research projects we should be looking for from Andrew & Figma 48:20 : How to get in touch with Andrew and learn more about what he’s doing Links mentioned in this episode: The outsized role culture plays in attracting design talent by Andrew Hogan Design Hiring in 2022 - Elevating culture to attract the right talent What Makes Collaboration Click? - Cristin Torrey (Config 2022) Andrew’s LinkedIn Profile

What is the secret recipe for negotiating the salary you want? In this episode, recruiter Jackie Velasquez-Ross shares the different types of information you can harness during a salary negotiation process to ultimately achieve the life you want to live.  Jackie and Nadia do a mock salary negotiation coaching session, share fun stories, and provide empowering advice to those actively negotiating during an offer process.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 1:00 : Jackie’s career story and how she learned about negotiations during the job offer process 4:00 : Knowing what variables make up salary bands at different companies 13:17 : Sample career coaching session with Nadia 27:03 : Student loans and education as a factor of your salary 34:16 : Talking openly and transparently about money & salary 40:00 : How to communicate with recruiters during the negotiation process 49:01 : Knowing what you want and grounding your desired salary in that knowledge Links mentioned in this episode: Jackie's Website Negotiating Your Worth Website Jackie’s LinkedIn Profile

In this episode, Nadia chats with Amos Wagon, the Head of Core Platform UX at Twilio. Learn how the landscape has shifted recently for growth companies and the amazing work that Twilio has done by evangelizing the role of design in their organization. Amos also discusses what he looks for in candidates that he interviews. Here’s a look at our discussion: 0:54 : Amos’ background and role at Twilio 2:57 : How the landscape has shifted recently for growth companies 10:27 : What Amos looks for in candidates that he hires 12:16 : Which questions candidates should ask hiring managers during interviews 15:56 : The structure of Twilio’s design team 17:20 : The role of strategic thinking & product influencers on a design team 22:44 : Career development at Twilio 26:49 : The value of UX in enterprise products & evangelizing UX 36:44 : Design roles currently open at Twilio Links mentioned in this episode: Twilio Website Twilio Careers Page Amos Wagon’s LinkedIn Profile

Lena Kul is the lead recruiter at Miro, building their design and UXR teams in their Berlin and Amsterdam hubs. Miro’s unique approach to infusing design into the company culture and its products makes it an incredible company for designers at all levels.    Join us to hear about the hiring process at Miro, what Lena looks for in design candidates, open opportunities, Miro’s culture of design, and how to apply for roles with Miro.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 0:00 : Lena’s role at Miro and her career background 2:00 : How hiring for design roles is different than other types of recruiting 8:30 : What Lena looks for in design candidates for roles at Miro 12:36 : The interview process at Miro 17:04 : How Lena assesses mid-senior level designers for future career tracks 20:05 : The culture of design at Miro 23:25 : Open roles at Miro 27:40 : How to get in touch with Lena Links mentioned in this episode: Miro’s Design Website Miro’s Careers Page Lena’s LinkedIn Profile

Jack Moffett is a UX manager in Boeing Global Services’ Customer Experience team where he is supporting DesignOps efforts for Training Solutions and Digital Aviation Solutions, building a UX training program, and managing a CX metrics team.  In this episode, Jack and Nadia talk about Jack’s latest experience reviewing applications for open roles at Boeing, what he looks for in designers, and how early career designers can set themselves apart while applying for jobs.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 0:00 : What Jack is seeing as he reviews resumes for junior design positions 10:00 : What Jack’s team at Boeing is currently working on and the structure of his team 12:15 : Choosing between a large organization or startup environment as a junior designer 21:00 : What experience Jack is looking for and how to develop yourself as a junior designer with little experience 31:15 : Roles that are currently open on Jack’s team 32:48 : The SAFe Agile framework 37:00 : The hiring process at Boeing and Boeing’s career pathway framework for designers 45:00 : How to get in touch with Jack Links mentioned in this episode: Jack’s LinkedIn Profile Boeing’s Careers Site https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3271349771 https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3271347978 designaday.tumblr.com

Shipra Kayan is a Product Evangelist and Facilitator who specializes in facilitating design meetings. Learn some of her tips and tricks for facilitating meetings that achieve the desired outcomes, how Shipra got into facilitation, and what it means to be a Product Evangelist at Miro.  Here’s a look at our discussion: 0:22 : What it means to be a Facilitator, and the process for facilitating meetings 7:21 : How to decide who should be in a meeting to achieve desired outcomes 12:44 : Shipra’s facilitation strategies for helping meetings come to an end with a decision or next steps 17:29 : How to upwardly manage senior/VP decision makers during a meeting 23:09 : How Shipra connects with companies to be a Facilitator, and what she does as a Product Evangelist 26:40 : Shipra’s advice for getting into design facilitation roles  31:32 : Shipra’s design course with Bentley University 33:10 : How to get in touch with Shipra Links mentioned in this episode: Shipra’s LinkedIn Profile UX Training Programs at Bentley University Miro’s Website