Corporate Focused UX Information

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A recruiter sent me to review this site regarding a current open position
I am looking for tips on how to evaluate UX professionals

For Your Evaluation...

Experienced Enterprise UX

What do you expect from your UX department? In what ways could UX benefit your organizaiton that are currently not being realized? My experience and leadership are able to capitalize more effectively upon the benefits of UX at an enterprise level.

Leverage UX to generate new revenue
Improve customer adoption/retention
Optimized Product focus
Deliver better software more efficiently
Reduce Support call volume
Improve software performance
Reduce Training overhead
Leverage objective usage data to mitigate strategic risk
...Along with several other process and revenue benefits

If you only see UX within your organization as a support role to development teams, you're most likely overlooking dozens of ways a mature UX department can improve your organizational effectiveness and profitabiliy. My diverse experience at the enterprise level alond with my leadership and management ability offer new insigts into managing a focused UX department to maximize organizational impact. If the prospect of realizing these unconventional organizational benefits are of interest, I'm able to further discuss options for developing mature UX for your organization, either in a full time or consultant capacity.

Tips on Evaluating UX Talent

1. Look for the skills, not the title

One of the most significant hurdles to finding quality UX talent is that most UX professionals won't match your needs well. This isn't saying anything derogatory about the UX talent base, it's just that every UX candidate is not an ideal fit. Make sure that they have proficiency in the skills needed for your opening, as well as similar project experience. Have them gauge what their level of expertise and enjoyment they posess for each skill. If they don't have vast experience in a particular skill, it doesn't necessarily mean that they won't ever be able to become proficient in that area. It's sometimes good to select a capable candidate that is looking to expand their skills. Be cognizent of the measure of employee development you are willing to adopt. Tailoring your selection process in this way will narrow the field to those that are best suited to your specific opportunity.

2. You have to dig to find the gems

UX as an industry has exploded over the last decade. There has been a large number of individuals transitioning careers into UX from a multitude of paralel vocations. Not every practicing UX professional is quality. How can you move past the pretenders and find the true top level talent? Education? I've seen UX professionals with masters degrees (in UX, HCI, or IA) struggle in a professional environment. Experience? I've watched UX designers with over a decade of experience produce flat results. Passion? There are an abundance of highly passionate young UX candidates that I wouldn't hire to perform a simple A/B test. With UX, the traditional recruiting methods can fall short. So how can you uncover the gems in an ocean of average? First, UX isn't defined by a set procedure of best practice sequences. Quality UX is more like a handyman, where each problem is different and they must be skilled to know which is the best tool needed to solve that problem. Asking questions describing how the UX candidate faced their largest obstacle, how they chose to independently solve that problem, and the results, will give you insight on their ability to innovate. I've asked this question in hiring interviews before, and I'm amazed at how few UX candidates can provide even one example. The best candidates will have many instances to draw from. Second, UX is about quantifiable results. Asking questions about thier most successful project or their greatest UX achievement will demonstrate how they generated measurable results with lasting impact. If they are quality, they will know how their work measurably improved the product. Finally, UX is an interconnected vocation. UX in a bubble is severly limited. The best UX professionals are able to communicate and collaborate well with Product, Business, Architecture, Development, QA, Support, Implementation, and customers. Asking questions of your candidate about their interaction with all those teams will provide insight into the intersocial aspect of the UX role. You will be looking for instances where the UX candidate bridged communication gaps to make their teams more cohesive. Personally, I believe that this is the most overlooked trait and among the most necessary for a UX professional.

3. Understand the motivators

Every UX candidatae has different motivators. Some desire higher salary. Others may value challenging work that is fulfilling. High or low stress positions may also be a factor. Work life balance, work from home options, benefit offerings, vacation policies, office ammenities, corporate missions, management styles, interpersonal connections, and many other factors play a role in motivating a candidate to improve their quality of life, which is really what we all seek. Quality UX talent know that they have options available to them, and attracting such talent will require a compelling package for transitioning roles.