{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":1.57,"endTime":5.07,"body":"Hey, what's up, y'all? This is Jarrett Albritton, and welcome to the Big Tech"},{"startTime":5.14,"endTime":8.846,"body":"Energy Podcast. So I've been in the tech space for 17 plus years,"},{"startTime":8.948,"endTime":12.478,"body":"and every day I would look around the room and say, I wish there were"},{"startTime":12.484,"endTime":16.318,"body":"more black people in this room. I wish more black people knew about tech,"},{"startTime":16.404,"endTime":20.062,"body":"and I wish more black people saw incredible success in tech"},{"startTime":20.116,"endTime":23.294,"body":"the way myself and my colleagues have been able to have. So over the last"},{"startTime":23.332,"endTime":27.142,"body":"couple years, we've been doing spaces, and we've helped over 200 people break into tech."},{"startTime":27.196,"endTime":30.226,"body":"And now with this podcast, I'm going to be highlighting some of my favorite startup"},{"startTime":30.258,"endTime":34.066,"body":"founders, high paid tech employees, recruiters, career coaches, and hiring"},{"startTime":34.098,"endTime":37.878,"body":"managers on what steps should you take to be successful, but what is"},{"startTime":37.884,"endTime":41.546,"body":"the mindset that has made them incredibly impactful? So take"},{"startTime":41.568,"endTime":45.226,"body":"your notes, stay tuned, and soak up this Big Tech Energy."},{"startTime":45.408,"endTime":49.226,"body":"And today I have one of my favorite people that I've met"},{"startTime":49.328,"endTime":52.67,"body":"throughout my last two year journey of just"},{"startTime":52.74,"endTime":56.106,"body":"educating and putting people on the resources. Ashley"},{"startTime":56.138,"endTime":59.374,"body":"Janelle is, in my opinion, the goat when it comes to"},{"startTime":59.412,"endTime":63.198,"body":"UX in terms of helping people understand how to"},{"startTime":63.204,"endTime":66.946,"body":"get into the UX career space and helping them get jobs and"},{"startTime":66.968,"endTime":70.29,"body":"making sure that their portfolio is lit and they're completely"},{"startTime":70.36,"endTime":74.178,"body":"prepared. And she's also a super dope black woman in tech. So with"},{"startTime":74.184,"endTime":77.406,"body":"that being said, I'd love to pass the mic to Ashley Janelle to introduce herself,"},{"startTime":77.518,"endTime":81.206,"body":"and then I'm going to get some questions in so y'all can learn how"},{"startTime":81.228,"endTime":84.114,"body":"she got to where she is and also how she helps people get into UX."},{"startTime":84.162,"endTime":87.926,"body":"So what's up, Ashley? Good to see you. So, yeah, like I"},{"startTime":87.948,"endTime":91.434,"body":"said, thank you for having me. I'm Ashley Janelle. As Jared has just"},{"startTime":91.472,"endTime":95.274,"body":"said, I am a user Experience Designer, which we can"},{"startTime":95.312,"endTime":99.094,"body":"get into exactly what that is maybe in just a bit, but user"},{"startTime":99.142,"endTime":102.986,"body":"Experience user Interface Designer, which is"},{"startTime":103.008,"endTime":106.814,"body":"also called, like, UX. So been a UX designer for the last"},{"startTime":106.852,"endTime":110.32,"body":"about maybe like seven years, but for the last"},{"startTime":110.77,"endTime":114.434,"body":"six years, I've been doing UX coaching and"},{"startTime":114.472,"endTime":118.21,"body":"also running a boot camp for people who are interested"},{"startTime":118.28,"endTime":122.082,"body":"in getting into UX, but maybe don't want to"},{"startTime":122.216,"endTime":125.714,"body":"go back to school. They just want to hop right into the"},{"startTime":125.752,"endTime":129.366,"body":"field. So it's a 16 week boot camp, so I've been running that as"},{"startTime":129.388,"endTime":133.026,"body":"well. But from my career as a UX designer,"},{"startTime":133.058,"endTime":136.534,"body":"I've worked at small companies, smaller companies like Red Box,"},{"startTime":136.732,"endTime":140.454,"body":"large companies that are non tech, companies like Caterpillar,"},{"startTime":140.582,"endTime":144.106,"body":"companies that have been around for over 100 years."},{"startTime":144.288,"endTime":147.834,"body":"And currently I'm a UX designer at Amazon. So really"},{"startTime":147.872,"endTime":151.642,"body":"seeing different ways that UX works at different"},{"startTime":151.696,"endTime":155.374,"body":"places is really fascinating, to be honest. Just like being"},{"startTime":155.412,"endTime":158.954,"body":"able to witness how to actually be a UX"},{"startTime":159.002,"endTime":162.638,"body":"designer at smaller companies, at startups, at companies"},{"startTime":162.724,"endTime":166.43,"body":"that are like the nontraditional or non technical"},{"startTime":166.51,"endTime":170.29,"body":"companies like Caterpillar, even though there are technical elements"},{"startTime":170.71,"endTime":174.242,"body":"and then also moving into a big tech company. So it's been really"},{"startTime":174.296,"endTime":178.054,"body":"interesting. That's dope. That's dope. So the first question I want to ask you"},{"startTime":178.092,"endTime":181.814,"body":"is, when it comes to the tech space, what was"},{"startTime":181.852,"endTime":185.56,"body":"your motivation and your first introduction into tech?"},{"startTime":186.09,"endTime":189.654,"body":"Yeah, so it's interesting. I know a lot of people are"},{"startTime":189.692,"endTime":193.53,"body":"transitioning into tech right now after working in other fields."},{"startTime":194.03,"endTime":197.786,"body":"But for me personally, to be honest, when I was in high school, I"},{"startTime":197.808,"endTime":201.26,"body":"took a Photoshop class and I took a Flash class,"},{"startTime":202.11,"endTime":205.806,"body":"and that was my introduction into design. I had no idea that"},{"startTime":205.828,"endTime":208.874,"body":"I was really going to like it the way that I did, but I loved"},{"startTime":208.922,"endTime":212.734,"body":"the idea that I could create something on the Internet. And I love"},{"startTime":212.772,"endTime":216.514,"body":"the idea of being free when we talk about being able"},{"startTime":216.552,"endTime":220.082,"body":"to work remotely, that was something that I was thinking"},{"startTime":220.136,"endTime":223.666,"body":"about when I was in high school because it just dawned on me. I was"},{"startTime":223.688,"endTime":227.49,"body":"like, I can do what I love from literally anywhere."},{"startTime":227.57,"endTime":231.03,"body":"I don't have to be tied to a physical."},{"startTime":233.53,"endTime":236.79,"body":"My intro that class was my introductory"},{"startTime":237.45,"endTime":241.258,"body":"know tech essentially, or I would just like to call it design because we"},{"startTime":241.264,"endTime":245.05,"body":"weren't necessarily thinking about it in a technical way the way that we do today."},{"startTime":245.12,"endTime":248.902,"body":"But that was my introductory into design. And from there I attended"},{"startTime":248.966,"endTime":251.92,"body":"Columbia College Chicago, which is an art college."},{"startTime":253.01,"endTime":256.602,"body":"Got my degree in Interactive Arts and Media, which is a fancy"},{"startTime":256.666,"endTime":260.19,"body":"way of saying like web design, graphic design, some coding."},{"startTime":260.77,"endTime":264.338,"body":"And then after that to be not. I"},{"startTime":264.424,"endTime":268.26,"body":"didn't feel comfortable kind of in what my next step was."},{"startTime":269.75,"endTime":272.98,"body":"I feel like I had a portfolio that wasn't very good."},{"startTime":273.59,"endTime":276.58,"body":"It was very bad web design,"},{"startTime":277.13,"endTime":280.774,"body":"some coding to make it work. But I was not getting the"},{"startTime":280.812,"endTime":283.72,"body":"job that I thought that I would get right out of school."},{"startTime":285.13,"endTime":288.918,"body":"So from Of, I was still working at my job. I was"},{"startTime":288.924,"endTime":292.586,"body":"working at Apple at the time. I was working at Apple Retail. Met someone"},{"startTime":292.688,"endTime":296.426,"body":"who became a mentor to me. I went to"},{"startTime":296.448,"endTime":299.962,"body":"go work as his assistant for a media company. And"},{"startTime":300.016,"endTime":303.718,"body":"literally when we talk about mentorship and we talk about how"},{"startTime":303.744,"endTime":307.566,"body":"everyone's path is different, like, yes, I did go to school for design and"},{"startTime":307.588,"endTime":311.374,"body":"things like that, but I didn't have a traditional path. He took me under"},{"startTime":311.412,"endTime":315.214,"body":"his wing. I was his assistant. But he also gave me a"},{"startTime":315.252,"endTime":319.026,"body":"MacBook and was like, listen, I want you to create presentation decks for me. I"},{"startTime":319.048,"endTime":322.866,"body":"want you to study it, create it, show it to"},{"startTime":322.888,"endTime":326.55,"body":"the different SVPs around the office, see if this is something that they would use."},{"startTime":326.62,"endTime":330.246,"body":"And that was my entryway into"},{"startTime":330.428,"endTime":333.702,"body":"understanding the different roles that could take place within"},{"startTime":333.756,"endTime":337.08,"body":"design. I hadn't even gotten to UX yet, to be honest."},{"startTime":338.43,"endTime":342.214,"body":"Fast forward. Ended up getting a presentation designer role"},{"startTime":342.262,"endTime":345.75,"body":"at Motorola. From there worked at an agency,"},{"startTime":345.91,"endTime":349.706,"body":"and then from there I was like, okay, I'm bored, because that"},{"startTime":349.728,"endTime":353.318,"body":"also happens in design. It's like, I'm a web designer, I'm a graphic designer, I'm"},{"startTime":353.334,"endTime":357.006,"body":"a presentation designer. I have all these skills, but I'm bored. And I"},{"startTime":357.028,"endTime":360.634,"body":"felt like there was another part of my brain that I just really wasn't utilizing."},{"startTime":360.682,"endTime":364.506,"body":"And so that's when my mentor, same person, shout out to Devin"},{"startTime":364.538,"endTime":368.21,"body":"Johnson. He runs a LeBron's media"},{"startTime":368.28,"endTime":370.66,"body":"company, but he was, Listen,"},{"startTime":371.51,"endTime":374.786,"body":"UX, look it up. See if it's something that you're interested"},{"startTime":374.888,"endTime":378.482,"body":"in. And I was like, okay, listen, I looked it up, and I"},{"startTime":378.536,"endTime":382.134,"body":"literally signed up for a boot camp the next day because"},{"startTime":382.172,"endTime":385.494,"body":"that's where I was. I was like, I'm bored. I need to do something else."},{"startTime":385.532,"endTime":388.806,"body":"And if I'm going to do it, the time is now. So that's what I"},{"startTime":388.828,"endTime":392.658,"body":"ended up doing. And the rest is kind of history. All right, now that's"},{"startTime":392.674,"endTime":396.058,"body":"a super dope story. It's my first time hearing it too. So I'm hearing at"},{"startTime":396.064,"endTime":399.414,"body":"the same time as the listeners, and that's fire shouts to Devin Johnson."},{"startTime":399.462,"endTime":403.214,"body":"So one thing that I really stuck out in terms of your story is"},{"startTime":403.252,"endTime":407.038,"body":"the importance of finding a mentor. And as you"},{"startTime":407.204,"endTime":411.054,"body":"probably get bombarded with DMs, I get bombarded with DMs, especially when"},{"startTime":411.092,"endTime":414.674,"body":"we're on these stages of everybody wanting mentorship. And I always tell"},{"startTime":414.712,"endTime":418.466,"body":"people, you have to be able to, number one, align with"},{"startTime":418.488,"endTime":422.26,"body":"the vision of your mentor. They got to see something in you that"},{"startTime":423.19,"endTime":427.006,"body":"reminds them of themselves, and they're just like, if Ashley"},{"startTime":427.038,"endTime":430.646,"body":"just has the right resources and access, she's going to kill it."},{"startTime":430.828,"endTime":434.182,"body":"But I'm sure you led with value as well."},{"startTime":434.236,"endTime":437.974,"body":"Like, if you can show me this, I can support you in this"},{"startTime":438.012,"endTime":441.674,"body":"way. Please confirm that and just let"},{"startTime":441.712,"endTime":445.498,"body":"people know the importance of being as valuable to the"},{"startTime":445.504,"endTime":449.226,"body":"mentor as they are to you. Yeah, that's really important. We talk about"},{"startTime":449.248,"endTime":452.822,"body":"mentorship a lot, and everyone's looking for a mentor."},{"startTime":452.966,"endTime":456.59,"body":"And I think the thing that a lot of people miss is that,"},{"startTime":456.66,"endTime":460.462,"body":"like you said, you have to be as valuable to that other person."},{"startTime":460.596,"endTime":463.806,"body":"And a lot of people say, well, I may not have anything to give, or"},{"startTime":463.828,"endTime":467.602,"body":"I don't have anything to offer. How am I supposed to find someone?"},{"startTime":467.656,"endTime":471.362,"body":"And it's like, honestly, networking, getting out there, building"},{"startTime":471.416,"endTime":475.01,"body":"relationships with people are going to be the best way that people can actually"},{"startTime":475.08,"endTime":478.646,"body":"see you. Right, because Devin saw something in me. He"},{"startTime":478.668,"endTime":482.07,"body":"was taking on this new role. He needed an assistant,"},{"startTime":482.41,"endTime":486.134,"body":"so he saw that I was trustworthy, or there was something in him, to your"},{"startTime":486.172,"endTime":489.734,"body":"point, that he saw. But I also at that time expressed like,"},{"startTime":489.772,"endTime":493.578,"body":"listen, this is not what I'm trying to know. This is where I'm trying"},{"startTime":493.584,"endTime":497.242,"body":"to get to. I want to work in this design world. And even not"},{"startTime":497.296,"endTime":501.114,"body":"being necessarily a designer himself, he knew how to kind of get me"},{"startTime":501.152,"endTime":504.734,"body":"there. And so that's what it really takes, is, like, the"},{"startTime":504.772,"endTime":508.494,"body":"relationship building it doesn't have to necessarily be someone in your"},{"startTime":508.532,"endTime":512.366,"body":"field that can get you to the next level, but you have to show a"},{"startTime":512.388,"endTime":516.082,"body":"passion. People want to help people that want to help themselves and people"},{"startTime":516.136,"endTime":519.554,"body":"who they can see that are not just necessarily going to"},{"startTime":519.752,"endTime":523.266,"body":"want to be spoon fed everything that they need. So,"},{"startTime":523.288,"endTime":526.798,"body":"yes, totally accurate. The relationship has to be mutually"},{"startTime":526.894,"endTime":530.66,"body":"beneficial in some kind of way. So, absolutely,"},{"startTime":531.19,"endTime":534.898,"body":"yes. And you mentioned two words that are consistent with every guest that's"},{"startTime":534.914,"endTime":538.678,"body":"been here. It's like passion and work ethic and also being like a"},{"startTime":538.684,"endTime":542.506,"body":"self starter and somebody that can get results. So the"},{"startTime":542.528,"endTime":545.66,"body":"boot camp, talk about the boot camp experience and"},{"startTime":546.11,"endTime":549.466,"body":"what were your big takeaways from it? And are boot camp something you"},{"startTime":549.488,"endTime":553.246,"body":"recommend people looking to break into UX be a"},{"startTime":553.268,"endTime":556.8,"body":"part of? Yeah, definitely. So"},{"startTime":557.33,"endTime":560.414,"body":"I think when it comes to, and I'm sure you can attest to this from"},{"startTime":560.452,"endTime":564.222,"body":"your profession, learning the thing is"},{"startTime":564.276,"endTime":568.114,"body":"one thing, but being good at the thing is another thing. And"},{"startTime":568.152,"endTime":571.842,"body":"what I felt like I had to offer was teaching people how to be good"},{"startTime":571.896,"endTime":575.506,"body":"at the thing, to be good thinkers, to be good problem solvers. That's what"},{"startTime":575.528,"endTime":578.582,"body":"user experience is all about. It's about the study of human"},{"startTime":578.636,"endTime":582.374,"body":"behavior. And we take those learnings and those"},{"startTime":582.412,"endTime":586.07,"body":"insights and we apply those to what it is that we actually design."},{"startTime":586.22,"endTime":589.666,"body":"You know what I mean? Like, why is that button red over blue? Or why"},{"startTime":589.708,"endTime":593.114,"body":"is this just all of these questions that we have to ask"},{"startTime":593.152,"endTime":596.906,"body":"ourselves and re ask ourselves and re ask customers and"},{"startTime":596.928,"endTime":600.554,"body":"things like that. It's problem solving at best. But there are"},{"startTime":600.592,"endTime":604.222,"body":"so many different techniques and approaches, there's so many"},{"startTime":604.276,"endTime":607.454,"body":"different ways that we work with our business partners like PMS and"},{"startTime":607.492,"endTime":611.294,"body":"developers, stakeholders. And I feel like as"},{"startTime":611.332,"endTime":614.9,"body":"someone who has worked at different companies, different size companies,"},{"startTime":615.83,"endTime":619.586,"body":"that I had a lot to offer, someone who was really interested"},{"startTime":619.688,"endTime":623.314,"body":"in becoming a great UX designer. So I started this"},{"startTime":623.352,"endTime":626.854,"body":"boot camp. It's 16 weeks. There's no"},{"startTime":626.892,"endTime":630.514,"body":"prerequisite. You don't have to necessarily have a degree, you don't"},{"startTime":630.562,"endTime":634.358,"body":"have to have had an experience in the"},{"startTime":634.364,"endTime":638.006,"body":"tech industry or design industry. It is all taught to you."},{"startTime":638.108,"endTime":641.626,"body":"I just want people who are wanting to learn and who are"},{"startTime":641.648,"endTime":645.322,"body":"hungry. Boot camps obviously are quick. They are"},{"startTime":645.376,"endTime":649.206,"body":"fast paced. Oftentimes you're doing it while you're"},{"startTime":649.238,"endTime":652.606,"body":"working a full time job. So you have to be"},{"startTime":652.788,"endTime":656.618,"body":"self sufficient, a self starter, everything that you just said. And it's"},{"startTime":656.634,"endTime":660.446,"body":"just been really rewarding to see my students go on and"},{"startTime":660.468,"endTime":663.37,"body":"work for big tech companies, smaller companies,"},{"startTime":663.46,"endTime":667.154,"body":"startups companies that I've never heard of before. And they're just really"},{"startTime":667.192,"endTime":670.802,"body":"making such an impact because user experience designers are"},{"startTime":670.856,"endTime":674.434,"body":"needed. It's not the traditional days of web"},{"startTime":674.472,"endTime":678.086,"body":"design and just doing whatever the client says. We really come in with"},{"startTime":678.108,"endTime":681.526,"body":"authority. So being able to help"},{"startTime":681.708,"endTime":683.91,"body":"aspiring designers become confident,"},{"startTime":685.29,"endTime":688.978,"body":"it's just what I enjoy most? And in terms of would I"},{"startTime":689.004,"endTime":692.682,"body":"recommend it? Absolutely. I always have this conversation. People"},{"startTime":692.736,"endTime":696.074,"body":"say, well, do I need to go back and get a traditional four year"},{"startTime":696.112,"endTime":699.894,"body":"degree or get maybe like a master's"},{"startTime":699.942,"endTime":703.694,"body":"degree in order to gain these skills? And I say, listen, I always"},{"startTime":703.732,"endTime":706.858,"body":"ask people two things. What is your timeline?"},{"startTime":707.034,"endTime":710.126,"body":"And specifically, like, what is your"},{"startTime":710.148,"endTime":713.694,"body":"timeline? If you are saying, I want to transition into"},{"startTime":713.732,"endTime":717.506,"body":"UX within the next four to six months, then a two year program at"},{"startTime":717.528,"endTime":720.846,"body":"a university is not going to be for you, but a boot"},{"startTime":720.878,"endTime":724.578,"body":"camp. You know, the other thing I like to"},{"startTime":724.584,"endTime":728.15,"body":"ask people is how do you learn best? Are you someone who needs someone"},{"startTime":728.22,"endTime":732.054,"body":"there physically with you to kind of walk you through each step? Are you"},{"startTime":732.092,"endTime":735.894,"body":"someone who can actually learn from an online kind of"},{"startTime":735.932,"endTime":737.08,"body":"modules and"},{"startTime":740.33,"endTime":744.122,"body":"virtual coaching? So what is your timeline and how do you learn best?"},{"startTime":744.176,"endTime":747.754,"body":"And from those two options or from those two questions, you can"},{"startTime":747.792,"endTime":751.494,"body":"choose whether you go the self taught route where you actually source"},{"startTime":751.542,"endTime":755.182,"body":"the material yourself. Takes a lot longer. But that's maybe"},{"startTime":755.236,"endTime":758.814,"body":"how you learn best. But yes, if you are someone who wants"},{"startTime":758.852,"endTime":762.414,"body":"to learn very quickly and you want to start working because"},{"startTime":762.452,"endTime":765.102,"body":"everyone's like, I want to start working. I want to start working, a boot camp"},{"startTime":765.156,"endTime":768.814,"body":"is definitely going to be for you. Awesome. No, that's super dope,"},{"startTime":768.862,"endTime":772.626,"body":"man. And then when it comes to people listening to"},{"startTime":772.648,"endTime":776.326,"body":"this, they're going to be like, all right, boot camp sounds amazing, but what is"},{"startTime":776.348,"endTime":779.766,"body":"user experience and what are the"},{"startTime":779.788,"endTime":783.286,"body":"transferable skills or the type of personalities that would be good for"},{"startTime":783.308,"endTime":786.2,"body":"it? How would you describe user experience in that way?"},{"startTime":787.13,"endTime":790.806,"body":"Yeah, it's a really good question. So, again, so user experience. In user"},{"startTime":790.838,"endTime":793.69,"body":"experience design, we study human behaviors."},{"startTime":796.27,"endTime":799.734,"body":"One example is like, okay, let's say you are in a parking"},{"startTime":799.782,"endTime":803.514,"body":"garage and they have lights in a lot of parking garages now"},{"startTime":803.552,"endTime":806.894,"body":"that are like color coded. They're green and they're red. So the green means that"},{"startTime":806.932,"endTime":810.606,"body":"there's an open space. The red means that everything is filled. So if you look"},{"startTime":810.628,"endTime":813.518,"body":"down the aisle and you see that they're all red lights, you know, I'm not"},{"startTime":813.524,"endTime":816.206,"body":"going to turn down that aisle. I'm going to go down an aisle where there's"},{"startTime":816.238,"endTime":819.826,"body":"some green lights. That's user experience design that is trying to"},{"startTime":819.848,"endTime":823.474,"body":"enhance the experience of you finding a parking space more quickly, more"},{"startTime":823.512,"endTime":827.218,"body":"easily, safely, things like that. So if you translate that into a"},{"startTime":827.224,"endTime":830.326,"body":"digital space, which is where a lot of people think about user experience"},{"startTime":830.428,"endTime":834.166,"body":"design, again, you don't have to. It could be restaurants, it could be, like I"},{"startTime":834.188,"endTime":837.966,"body":"said, physical parking garages. It could be digital applications"},{"startTime":838.018,"endTime":841.706,"body":"and things like that, we study why people make the"},{"startTime":841.728,"endTime":845.242,"body":"decisions that they make. There's a difference"},{"startTime":845.296,"endTime":848.57,"body":"between creating an interface for"},{"startTime":848.64,"endTime":852.31,"body":"seniors and a difference between creating, like a"},{"startTime":852.32,"endTime":856.094,"body":"TikTok app for people who are probably more tech savvy and things"},{"startTime":856.132,"endTime":859.742,"body":"like that. So what steps are you going to take to"},{"startTime":859.796,"endTime":863.61,"body":"develop a new social media app versus an app for seniors?"},{"startTime":863.69,"endTime":867.506,"body":"So we study human behavior. We do a lot of testing with our users to"},{"startTime":867.528,"endTime":871.362,"body":"make sure that we're actually getting it right. And in terms of the soft"},{"startTime":871.416,"endTime":875.102,"body":"skills and the transferable skills, to be honest, if you have an interest"},{"startTime":875.176,"endTime":878.822,"body":"and a passion for research and design,"},{"startTime":878.956,"endTime":882.406,"body":"I think that user experience design would be great for"},{"startTime":882.428,"endTime":885.67,"body":"you. We don't necessarily do any coding."},{"startTime":887.29,"endTime":890.902,"body":"We are not technical in that way, but we are still very technical"},{"startTime":890.966,"endTime":894.806,"body":"because we're building applications that need to be coded. So specifically"},{"startTime":894.838,"endTime":898.614,"body":"in my boot camp, we do cover kind of the bridge between development"},{"startTime":898.662,"endTime":902.442,"body":"and user experience design. But if you're someone who's like, listen, numbers"},{"startTime":902.496,"endTime":906.334,"body":"is not really my thing. Coding is not my thing. This might be something for"},{"startTime":906.372,"endTime":909.966,"body":"you. If you feel like you're a little bit more creative, this might be a"},{"startTime":909.988,"endTime":913.626,"body":"field for you. One of the big character traits that you'll"},{"startTime":913.658,"endTime":917.394,"body":"hear user experience designers talk about is empathy. So being able to"},{"startTime":917.432,"endTime":921.186,"body":"empathize with someone else's situation, again, a senior, being able"},{"startTime":921.208,"endTime":925.038,"body":"to empathize with the fact that they're going to need larger buttons"},{"startTime":925.134,"endTime":928.934,"body":"than those of us who are a little younger, they're going to need"},{"startTime":928.972,"endTime":932.758,"body":"larger fonts, they're going to need less text. They don't want"},{"startTime":932.764,"endTime":936.386,"body":"to read all of that. They're going to need easier flows when they're"},{"startTime":936.418,"endTime":939.734,"body":"checking out or something, doing whatever it is that they're trying to do. So it's"},{"startTime":939.782,"endTime":943.434,"body":"understanding and having empathy for different people in"},{"startTime":943.472,"endTime":946.73,"body":"different situations. So empathy, but honestly,"},{"startTime":947.15,"endTime":950.682,"body":"the willingness to learn the soft"},{"startTime":950.736,"endTime":954.25,"body":"skills, again, it's not super technical in a coding way,"},{"startTime":954.32,"endTime":957.646,"body":"but the soft skills are going to be there. If you have a willingness to"},{"startTime":957.668,"endTime":961.422,"body":"learn, if you have empathy, and if you are just I can't go back"},{"startTime":961.476,"endTime":965.006,"body":"to it more. The willingness to learn user experience"},{"startTime":965.108,"endTime":968.754,"body":"design is not easy to learn. And I always"},{"startTime":968.792,"endTime":972.626,"body":"preface that with all of my students because of the way that we have"},{"startTime":972.648,"endTime":976.386,"body":"to think about solving problems. It is very different. And"},{"startTime":976.568,"endTime":980.39,"body":"we have four projects in my course, it's usually the end of project two"},{"startTime":980.54,"endTime":984.086,"body":"where students are like, okay, I feel like I see the light at the end"},{"startTime":984.108,"endTime":987.766,"body":"of the tunnel and I tell them that that's normal because of the"},{"startTime":987.788,"endTime":991.274,"body":"way that we just have to think for other people. We're not used to doing"},{"startTime":991.312,"endTime":995.114,"body":"that. We go through our whole lives. We're making decisions for ourselves. Now"},{"startTime":995.152,"endTime":998.954,"body":"you have to think for someone else who has a different"},{"startTime":998.992,"endTime":1002.782,"body":"lived experience, a different job description. It's just a very different"},{"startTime":1002.836,"endTime":1006.08,"body":"thing. But again, the willingness to learn will get you there."},{"startTime":1006.53,"endTime":1010.366,"body":"Okay, cool. And you mentioned four projects. Can"},{"startTime":1010.388,"endTime":1013.52,"body":"you kind of just describe what those are and why you do that?"},{"startTime":1014.37,"endTime":1018.066,"body":"Yeah, definitely. So as a user experience designer, when you're going to get"},{"startTime":1018.088,"endTime":1021.794,"body":"a job. Your bread and butter is going to be your portfolio. Your"},{"startTime":1021.832,"endTime":1025.618,"body":"portfolio is going to consist of projects. Mainly it's going"},{"startTime":1025.624,"endTime":1028.166,"body":"to consist of like maybe a home page where you can actually click on your"},{"startTime":1028.188,"endTime":1031.938,"body":"projects. But the meat of it are going to be projects."},{"startTime":1032.034,"endTime":1035.142,"body":"So a project could be I give real world"},{"startTime":1035.196,"endTime":1038.934,"body":"experiences that are current problems that are happening in"},{"startTime":1038.972,"endTime":1042.586,"body":"industries today. That's really important because when you"},{"startTime":1042.608,"endTime":1046.426,"body":"go down in front of these hiring managers, they want to know that you are"},{"startTime":1046.448,"endTime":1050.026,"body":"forward thinking, that you are thinking about current problems that are"},{"startTime":1050.048,"endTime":1053.886,"body":"happening today. Because although it may not necessarily apply to what you"},{"startTime":1053.908,"endTime":1057.034,"body":"would be doing at that company, they know that you're on the cusp"},{"startTime":1057.082,"endTime":1060.75,"body":"of what's happening, what's trending, where the problems"},{"startTime":1060.82,"endTime":1064.08,"body":"are and things like that. So one problem could be,"},{"startTime":1065.51,"endTime":1069.262,"body":"let's say maps. I think maps, the way that we see maps"},{"startTime":1069.326,"endTime":1073.086,"body":"on our phones, I think that that's going to be changing."},{"startTime":1073.198,"endTime":1076.85,"body":"That still remains to be seen. But I think small problems. Like,"},{"startTime":1076.92,"endTime":1080.47,"body":"if you put in an address and it's like, okay, turn right,"},{"startTime":1080.62,"endTime":1084.086,"body":"and you're in a new city and you don't necessarily know which way"},{"startTime":1084.188,"endTime":1087.798,"body":"is like right or left, sometimes the GPS is kind of"},{"startTime":1087.884,"endTime":1090.966,"body":"steering you in a way that they think is correct, but your right is not"},{"startTime":1090.988,"endTime":1094.762,"body":"necessarily their right. So what do we do? We just start walking, right?"},{"startTime":1094.816,"endTime":1098.586,"body":"We just start walking until it looks like we're walking in the opposite direction and"},{"startTime":1098.608,"endTime":1102.314,"body":"then we turn around right? We hope that we're walking the opposite direction, but there"},{"startTime":1102.352,"endTime":1105.998,"body":"are different ways that we can reimagine how maps work"},{"startTime":1106.084,"endTime":1109.518,"body":"so that we can prevent pain points like that. How many times do we just"},{"startTime":1109.524,"endTime":1113.246,"body":"start driving? Okay, I'll just start driving and see if it reroutes me. There"},{"startTime":1113.268,"endTime":1116.954,"body":"are things that can be enhanced and be improved. Even though maps"},{"startTime":1117.002,"endTime":1119.934,"body":"is great and we love it and we don't have a physical map anymore, there's"},{"startTime":1119.982,"endTime":1123.618,"body":"still always improvements and tweaks that we can make. So that's one of the"},{"startTime":1123.624,"endTime":1127.334,"body":"projects that my students work on. It's very intricate and things"},{"startTime":1127.372,"endTime":1130.774,"body":"like that. But in terms of what the project is, it starts from your"},{"startTime":1130.812,"endTime":1134.28,"body":"research. How did you actually research"},{"startTime":1134.81,"endTime":1138.2,"body":"this problem? What were the research methods that you went through?"},{"startTime":1138.81,"endTime":1142.394,"body":"We talk about different insights that you pull out of those research"},{"startTime":1142.512,"endTime":1146.154,"body":"points. And then it then goes into you kind"},{"startTime":1146.192,"endTime":1149.978,"body":"of doing some mapping techniques to kind of say, okay, how could this look, if"},{"startTime":1149.984,"endTime":1153.614,"body":"I had to map out this process for this user who's having this"},{"startTime":1153.652,"endTime":1156.926,"body":"problem of not knowing which way to go or whatever the problem is we're trying"},{"startTime":1156.948,"endTime":1160.414,"body":"to solve. And then that moves in into different high fidelity, low"},{"startTime":1160.452,"endTime":1164.206,"body":"fidelity mocks, different ways that"},{"startTime":1164.228,"endTime":1167.682,"body":"we can approach the problem, different ways that we can solve the problem. We test"},{"startTime":1167.736,"endTime":1171.374,"body":"it. That's shown in the project. So in user"},{"startTime":1171.422,"endTime":1175.17,"body":"experience design, you learn this process of how to solve problems"},{"startTime":1175.32,"endTime":1179.126,"body":"but every problem is going to be different. So every project is"},{"startTime":1179.148,"endTime":1182.47,"body":"not necessarily going to look the same, but it is a very"},{"startTime":1182.54,"endTime":1186.118,"body":"lengthy, involved process. It takes"},{"startTime":1186.204,"endTime":1189.942,"body":"a long time to feel confident about, but the more"},{"startTime":1189.996,"endTime":1193.466,"body":"projects you do, the better you'll feel, the more you'll go back and"},{"startTime":1193.488,"endTime":1197.274,"body":"tweak things like that. So yes, once you have this"},{"startTime":1197.312,"endTime":1200.726,"body":"body of work that you feel good about, that's when you can actually start applying"},{"startTime":1200.758,"endTime":1203.966,"body":"to jobs. So when you apply to jobs, you'll have your resume and you will"},{"startTime":1203.988,"endTime":1207.422,"body":"have your portfolio and those are the two most important things that you'll need"},{"startTime":1207.476,"endTime":1211.246,"body":"to actually get a job. And you will also interview typically with"},{"startTime":1211.268,"endTime":1212.35,"body":"that portfolio."},{"startTime":1215.59,"endTime":1219.154,"body":"Membership in black and HR means community and being a part of a"},{"startTime":1219.192,"endTime":1222.818,"body":"culture of like minded individuals. You have a"},{"startTime":1222.824,"endTime":1226.45,"body":"culture within a culture, especially in the black community. And"},{"startTime":1226.52,"endTime":1230.294,"body":"black and HR is that professional culture. We have fun, we"},{"startTime":1230.332,"endTime":1233.938,"body":"laugh and joke about things that are related to us in the workplace,"},{"startTime":1234.034,"endTime":1237.494,"body":"but we also have serious aspects as well, where we help each other"},{"startTime":1237.532,"endTime":1241.114,"body":"grow. And it's just one of those places where I can go"},{"startTime":1241.152,"endTime":1244.874,"body":"to any time of the day, pose a question, and"},{"startTime":1244.912,"endTime":1247.82,"body":"I'm going to get all type of answers, but I'm going to get support."},{"startTime":1248.51,"endTime":1251.402,"body":"And we all work together to give advice, to give"},{"startTime":1251.456,"endTime":1255.294,"body":"insights, to share tips. The networking is"},{"startTime":1255.332,"endTime":1259.166,"body":"amazing. The people that I've spoken to have allowed me"},{"startTime":1259.188,"endTime":1262.926,"body":"to learn things about myself that I didn't know. So what does"},{"startTime":1262.948,"endTime":1266.67,"body":"that do when I go to my next interview? I have that confidence"},{"startTime":1266.83,"endTime":1270.674,"body":"when I walk in to be able to explain and speak on what I've done"},{"startTime":1270.712,"endTime":1273.954,"body":"in the past and prove that I am the person for the"},{"startTime":1273.992,"endTime":1277.798,"body":"job. And then when it comes to what makes your students"},{"startTime":1277.884,"endTime":1280.722,"body":"successful, would you say it's because their preparation"},{"startTime":1280.786,"endTime":1284.566,"body":"portfolios just outmatch their competition that"},{"startTime":1284.588,"endTime":1288.418,"body":"they're interviewing with? Absolutely. So it's going to be that it's"},{"startTime":1288.434,"endTime":1291.754,"body":"the projects that I choose, but to be honest, it's also me. It is the"},{"startTime":1291.792,"endTime":1295.562,"body":"coach. I started by saying there's a difference between"},{"startTime":1295.616,"endTime":1299.34,"body":"knowing how to do the thing and knowing how to do the thing. Well,"},{"startTime":1300.67,"endTime":1304.254,"body":"a lot of courses are going to teach you how to do the thing. But"},{"startTime":1304.292,"endTime":1307.966,"body":"because I have the ability to select the number of"},{"startTime":1307.988,"endTime":1311.326,"body":"students that I want to work with at one time, I have the ability to"},{"startTime":1311.348,"endTime":1315.054,"body":"pour into those students and kind of look at their work and challenge them"},{"startTime":1315.092,"endTime":1318.626,"body":"the way that I would challenge someone on my team at a big tech company"},{"startTime":1318.728,"endTime":1322.514,"body":"or the way that someone would challenge me. I have the ability to ask them"},{"startTime":1322.552,"endTime":1326.034,"body":"certain questions, to get them thinking certain ways so that when they go into these"},{"startTime":1326.072,"endTime":1329.878,"body":"interviews, they are not talking like someone who just came out of a"},{"startTime":1329.884,"endTime":1333.254,"body":"boot camp. They're talking like someone who has had experience"},{"startTime":1333.372,"endTime":1337.046,"body":"somewhere. And that's just because of the relationship that"},{"startTime":1337.068,"endTime":1340.538,"body":"we build over that 16 weeks. And that is the difference"},{"startTime":1340.624,"endTime":1344.314,"body":"between an instructor and someone just giving"},{"startTime":1344.352,"endTime":1347.29,"body":"you the information and actually being coached"},{"startTime":1347.95,"endTime":1351.446,"body":"100%. And that's why I have you on the show, because you have an incredible"},{"startTime":1351.478,"endTime":1355.2,"body":"reputation. You have the success record in terms of placing people."},{"startTime":1355.81,"endTime":1359.646,"body":"And when it comes to the listeners, any boot camps that I put in front"},{"startTime":1359.668,"endTime":1362.958,"body":"of you, these are boot camps where they don't just teach you how to do"},{"startTime":1362.964,"endTime":1366.146,"body":"it, but they teach you how to do it well. They have good relationships with"},{"startTime":1366.168,"endTime":1369.426,"body":"companies because their students go there and rock it"},{"startTime":1369.448,"endTime":1373.058,"body":"out. And they have a reputation where"},{"startTime":1373.144,"endTime":1376.002,"body":"once you're done with that boot camp, you put it on your resume, it really"},{"startTime":1376.056,"endTime":1379.442,"body":"accelerates your path to getting the job versus potentially"},{"startTime":1379.506,"endTime":1383.234,"body":"not. So definitely do your due diligence when it comes to accreditation,"},{"startTime":1383.362,"endTime":1387.206,"body":"when it comes to how successful are they at placing people, how do"},{"startTime":1387.228,"endTime":1390.546,"body":"they support but more know, ask people their"},{"startTime":1390.588,"endTime":1394.346,"body":"experience. And everybody I've talked to that's worked with Ashley has"},{"startTime":1394.368,"endTime":1398.166,"body":"a really positive experience because you can probably tell during the interview she's passionate"},{"startTime":1398.198,"endTime":1401.646,"body":"about this and not only about that, she cares about the people that are part"},{"startTime":1401.668,"endTime":1405.47,"body":"of it. Yeah, definitely coaching."},{"startTime":1405.89,"endTime":1408.96,"body":"I've had a coach for just building a business."},{"startTime":1410.05,"endTime":1413.76,"body":"I believe in coaching. I believe that I don't know everything."},{"startTime":1414.13,"endTime":1417.938,"body":"And I think that it's important to I always go back to how do"},{"startTime":1417.944,"endTime":1421.678,"body":"you learn best? And for me, if we're going to do a virtual boot"},{"startTime":1421.694,"endTime":1425.186,"body":"camp, you need someone to course correct you. There are a lot of courses where"},{"startTime":1425.208,"endTime":1428.674,"body":"they just give you the information and kind of expect you to"},{"startTime":1428.792,"endTime":1432.434,"body":"figure it out. I don't really know how you do that. Not to necessarily transition"},{"startTime":1432.482,"endTime":1435.062,"body":"into a new field where you want to make money and actually get a job"},{"startTime":1435.116,"endTime":1438.966,"body":"and things like that. So you need someone to say, hey, let's think"},{"startTime":1438.988,"endTime":1442.554,"body":"about some different ways that we can rephrase those survey questions to your"},{"startTime":1442.592,"endTime":1446.282,"body":"users so that they make more sense. Well, what were you thinking here? When"},{"startTime":1446.336,"endTime":1449.898,"body":"you use this color, all the questions"},{"startTime":1450.064,"endTime":1453.886,"body":"that you are in, feedback that you're going to receive on the job"},{"startTime":1453.988,"endTime":1457.166,"body":"is what I try to provide my students. I look at them as colleagues and"},{"startTime":1457.188,"endTime":1460.43,"body":"not as students. I look at them as"},{"startTime":1460.58,"endTime":1464.35,"body":"aspiring UX designers. They are trying to get better. They're trying to learn."},{"startTime":1464.5,"endTime":1467.906,"body":"So having that understanding and then I was also once in their shoes, I mean,"},{"startTime":1467.928,"endTime":1471.666,"body":"I went through a boot camp myself, understand so. Yeah, I"},{"startTime":1471.688,"endTime":1475.506,"body":"think all of that really makes a difference when"},{"startTime":1475.528,"endTime":1479.206,"body":"it comes time to actually coaching. All right, so talk about the"},{"startTime":1479.228,"endTime":1483.014,"body":"interview process. Once somebody is done with the boot camp,"},{"startTime":1483.052,"endTime":1486.854,"body":"they start interviewing. What does that process usually look like and what should"},{"startTime":1486.892,"endTime":1490.578,"body":"people expect? Yeah, so"},{"startTime":1490.604,"endTime":1494.218,"body":"the interview process is going to be different depending on what companies"},{"startTime":1494.304,"endTime":1498.106,"body":"you are going to be interviewing with. I'll get to big"},{"startTime":1498.128,"endTime":1501.494,"body":"tech companies in a minute because as you know, those are very lengthy"},{"startTime":1501.542,"endTime":1505.118,"body":"processes. But all in all, you are going to"},{"startTime":1505.204,"endTime":1508.926,"body":"expect some sort of a phone screener where they're just going to"},{"startTime":1508.948,"endTime":1511.726,"body":"make sure that you are who you are. They may ask you a couple of"},{"startTime":1511.748,"endTime":1515.346,"body":"questions about your portfolio, about your experience. And then if you make it"},{"startTime":1515.368,"endTime":1519.214,"body":"past that, typically the next point is showing off your portfolio"},{"startTime":1519.262,"endTime":1521.94,"body":"in one way or another. I have"},{"startTime":1523.59,"endTime":1527.154,"body":"kind of like a PDF that I give my students for each"},{"startTime":1527.192,"endTime":1530.726,"body":"project and what I want them to do is answer a series of questions"},{"startTime":1530.908,"endTime":1534.742,"body":"from each project because what that does is I'm asking"},{"startTime":1534.796,"endTime":1538.586,"body":"them questions and I'm getting them to think about talking points"},{"startTime":1538.688,"endTime":1542.154,"body":"that interviewers are probably going to ask them"},{"startTime":1542.192,"endTime":1544.7,"body":"about. It's one thing to do"},{"startTime":1545.87,"endTime":1549.674,"body":"a two week, three week project, but it's another thing to"},{"startTime":1549.712,"endTime":1553.226,"body":"actually pull out what you did and why you did it."},{"startTime":1553.328,"endTime":1556.366,"body":"Because those are going to be the talking points that you're going to use. You're"},{"startTime":1556.388,"endTime":1559.438,"body":"not just going to say, here's my project and it's beautiful and it's great and"},{"startTime":1559.444,"endTime":1562.08,"body":"you should hire me. You have to be able to"},{"startTime":1563.97,"endTime":1567.794,"body":"being able to talk about why you did what you did. Maybe there was"},{"startTime":1567.832,"endTime":1571.602,"body":"something that you did that didn't go right, talk about that, but it's having"},{"startTime":1571.656,"endTime":1575.394,"body":"those things top of mind that's really important. But"},{"startTime":1575.432,"endTime":1578.854,"body":"yes, you're going to be talking through maybe one project, maybe two,"},{"startTime":1579.052,"endTime":1582.87,"body":"about again why you did things that you did. If you get to"},{"startTime":1582.94,"endTime":1586.694,"body":"another round, you may have a panel of interviewers who are doing the same"},{"startTime":1586.732,"endTime":1589.994,"body":"thing, asking you questions. You also might have a situation"},{"startTime":1590.112,"endTime":1593.93,"body":"where the company wants you to"},{"startTime":1594.0,"endTime":1597.242,"body":"present in a way that reflects the"},{"startTime":1597.296,"endTime":1600.894,"body":"company's values, if that makes any sense. So like, let's say one of the"},{"startTime":1600.932,"endTime":1604.574,"body":"company leadership principles is like, I don't know, customer"},{"startTime":1604.692,"endTime":1608.334,"body":"obsession. They're going to want you to pull"},{"startTime":1608.372,"endTime":1611.758,"body":"out instances from your projects where you were customer"},{"startTime":1611.844,"endTime":1615.658,"body":"obsessed, where you were obsessed with the customer, where you were really trying to"},{"startTime":1615.684,"endTime":1618.626,"body":"make sure that you delivered for them and that's what they're going to want you"},{"startTime":1618.648,"endTime":1622.046,"body":"to talk about. So also getting clear with your hiring"},{"startTime":1622.078,"endTime":1623.3,"body":"manager on"},{"startTime":1626.31,"endTime":1629.24,"body":"what they're going to be looking for is going to be key too."},{"startTime":1630.09,"endTime":1633.702,"body":"You and the hiring manager have the same goal, is to get you hired. So"},{"startTime":1633.756,"endTime":1637.334,"body":"use them to your advantage when it comes to trying to figure out,"},{"startTime":1637.372,"endTime":1640.826,"body":"okay, what's expected of me. In this interview, they sent me this list of"},{"startTime":1640.848,"endTime":1643.498,"body":"requirements of what they're going to be looking for, but I'm not sure. Reach out"},{"startTime":1643.504,"endTime":1646.22,"body":"to your hiring manager. And then"},{"startTime":1647.07,"endTime":1650.906,"body":"there also are going to be some questions, I think they call them like"},{"startTime":1650.928,"endTime":1654.49,"body":"behavioral questions where they ask you what would you do if"},{"startTime":1654.56,"endTime":1658.302,"body":"or tell me about a time when and you might have to use the Star"},{"startTime":1658.356,"endTime":1661.198,"body":"method and things like that. You guys can go and Google. The Star method if"},{"startTime":1661.204,"endTime":1665.026,"body":"you've never heard of it. But it's just a way of answering a question"},{"startTime":1665.128,"endTime":1668.5,"body":"that pulls a lot of information out of you at one time."},{"startTime":1668.95,"endTime":1672.626,"body":"So, yeah, behavioral questions, showing off your portfolio probably more"},{"startTime":1672.648,"endTime":1676.082,"body":"than once, maybe more than one or two"},{"startTime":1676.136,"endTime":1679.814,"body":"behavioral different interviews. And that's kind of the process. But"},{"startTime":1679.852,"endTime":1683.446,"body":"again, your portfolio and knowing your portfolio forwards and"},{"startTime":1683.468,"endTime":1687.266,"body":"backwards is going to be what gets you in the door"},{"startTime":1687.298,"endTime":1690.778,"body":"at these companies and what really sets you apart, because everybody is not going to"},{"startTime":1690.784,"endTime":1694.474,"body":"be able to articulate themselves the way that you can if"},{"startTime":1694.512,"endTime":1697.93,"body":"you kind of go this route of knowing your portfolio."},{"startTime":1698.35,"endTime":1702.198,"body":"Got it. Okay. No, that was helpful because number one, I"},{"startTime":1702.224,"endTime":1705.998,"body":"thought that UX was a super technical role until today."},{"startTime":1706.164,"endTime":1709.982,"body":"So it's dope to hear that it's more about problem solving and being forward"},{"startTime":1710.036,"endTime":1713.738,"body":"thinking about the actual user's experience and how to"},{"startTime":1713.764,"endTime":1716.43,"body":"make it so that the end goal is achieved"},{"startTime":1716.59,"endTime":1720.398,"body":"seamlessly for the customer, the end user. So that's"},{"startTime":1720.414,"endTime":1724.018,"body":"really insightful. So you get the role at the company,"},{"startTime":1724.184,"endTime":1727.486,"body":"and especially for those that go through your boot camp, and this is the first"},{"startTime":1727.528,"endTime":1731.286,"body":"time having a UX role. What are some key things that they need to"},{"startTime":1731.308,"endTime":1735.046,"body":"do while at the company to be valuable and to"},{"startTime":1735.148,"endTime":1737.64,"body":"solidify your position at the company?"},{"startTime":1738.89,"endTime":1742.522,"body":"Really great question. So one of the things is"},{"startTime":1742.576,"endTime":1746.106,"body":"going to be ask a lot of questions. Things are going to be"},{"startTime":1746.128,"endTime":1749.802,"body":"new. One thing that I try to go over in my course is like,"},{"startTime":1749.856,"endTime":1753.466,"body":"who are your partners going to be traditionally? So these might be like, who are"},{"startTime":1753.488,"endTime":1756.43,"body":"the people that you're going to be working with and what are their roles?"},{"startTime":1757.01,"endTime":1760.734,"body":"Setting up time with these people that you're going to be working with, and"},{"startTime":1760.772,"endTime":1764.274,"body":"understanding whether it's other designers, whether it's your PMS, whether it's your"},{"startTime":1764.312,"endTime":1767.922,"body":"developers, trying to understand how do they work"},{"startTime":1767.976,"endTime":1771.778,"body":"best, what are they looking for out of a UX designer? Like"},{"startTime":1771.864,"endTime":1775.554,"body":"asking questions, asking questions about the company. That's all going to be"},{"startTime":1775.592,"endTime":1779.186,"body":"very important. Just making sure that you understand what's"},{"startTime":1779.218,"endTime":1782.998,"body":"expected of you. And that's also relationship building, which is"},{"startTime":1783.004,"endTime":1786.614,"body":"also really good. So that's the first thing. And not being afraid to ask"},{"startTime":1786.652,"endTime":1790.134,"body":"questions. I still ask questions. There are acronyms that are used at"},{"startTime":1790.172,"endTime":1793.658,"body":"companies. There are just like all these things that you're just not going to understand."},{"startTime":1793.824,"endTime":1797.674,"body":"You're new, everybody knows you're new. So just take the time and be"},{"startTime":1797.712,"endTime":1800.81,"body":"new. Use that time to your advantage."},{"startTime":1801.55,"endTime":1805.118,"body":"And then also, I would say, try to figure out"},{"startTime":1805.284,"endTime":1809.134,"body":"where you are going to make your mark. One of the things that I like"},{"startTime":1809.172,"endTime":1812.974,"body":"to instill in my students is I like to pick out different things"},{"startTime":1813.012,"endTime":1816.61,"body":"that I think they're really good at. So I'll say you're really good"},{"startTime":1816.68,"endTime":1820.322,"body":"because again, when it comes to UX, you have different roles within"},{"startTime":1820.376,"endTime":1823.65,"body":"that. So you can be a researcher, you can be a designer."},{"startTime":1824.39,"endTime":1828.078,"body":"So you can be a researcher, you can be a strategist, and maybe you're not"},{"startTime":1828.104,"endTime":1831.846,"body":"doing a ton of design. Maybe you're just"},{"startTime":1831.868,"endTime":1835.702,"body":"kind of like mapping out different techniques and different ways to do things, different ways"},{"startTime":1835.756,"endTime":1839.078,"body":"of getting from point A to point B. You can actually be a"},{"startTime":1839.164,"endTime":1842.842,"body":"designer and actually work on the color and how something looks"},{"startTime":1842.896,"endTime":1846.314,"body":"and things like that. It really just depends on the company and how they break"},{"startTime":1846.352,"endTime":1850.01,"body":"down the roles. But I always like to ask my students, like, okay,"},{"startTime":1850.08,"endTime":1853.318,"body":"where do you feel like you fit best within this UX process? Because you don't"},{"startTime":1853.334,"endTime":1857.022,"body":"have to do everything. Typically in most roles, you're not doing everything unless you're working"},{"startTime":1857.076,"endTime":1860.67,"body":"at a startup and they have limited people and things like that. So"},{"startTime":1860.74,"endTime":1864.378,"body":"I'll give some people that I'll say, I'm really into the research or I'm"},{"startTime":1864.394,"endTime":1868.034,"body":"really into the design of how it looks, the color and things like"},{"startTime":1868.072,"endTime":1870.98,"body":"that. And so I would always say,"},{"startTime":1871.67,"endTime":1875.154,"body":"figure out where and how you're going to make your mark at that"},{"startTime":1875.192,"endTime":1878.866,"body":"company. What are the skills that you bring? Is it a"},{"startTime":1878.888,"endTime":1882.706,"body":"tool that you're super efficient at that maybe they haven't"},{"startTime":1882.738,"endTime":1886.47,"body":"started using but they are going to be using? Be the catalyst and say, listen,"},{"startTime":1886.54,"endTime":1889.798,"body":"I know how to use this, I can set up office hours and things like"},{"startTime":1889.804,"endTime":1893.226,"body":"that for you guys, can ask me questions, figure out how you"},{"startTime":1893.248,"endTime":1896.794,"body":"can make a mark. Because when it comes to"},{"startTime":1896.912,"endTime":1900.634,"body":"review time and just people feeling like they can trust you,"},{"startTime":1900.752,"endTime":1904.382,"body":"those things are going to be really important. So yeah,"},{"startTime":1904.516,"endTime":1908.158,"body":"making sure that you can figure out where you fit within the"},{"startTime":1908.164,"endTime":1911.566,"body":"company and do something and do it really well, that's going to be"},{"startTime":1911.588,"endTime":1914.894,"body":"key. Yeah. And the big reason why I asked that question is"},{"startTime":1914.932,"endTime":1918.45,"body":"because this year has been record"},{"startTime":1918.52,"endTime":1922.002,"body":"setting in terms of the amount of layoffs that have happened. And it's really important"},{"startTime":1922.056,"endTime":1925.762,"body":"to have a brand within the company where you're not expendable and you're really somebody"},{"startTime":1925.816,"endTime":1929.618,"body":"that's important to the job. So I appreciate you breaking that down. What would you"},{"startTime":1929.624,"endTime":1932.678,"body":"say to people that are afraid of getting into tech because of all the"},{"startTime":1932.684,"endTime":1936.354,"body":"layoffs and is it a good time to get into tech from your perspective?"},{"startTime":1936.482,"endTime":1940.266,"body":"Yeah, so it's a really interesting question because I think I"},{"startTime":1940.288,"endTime":1944.106,"body":"have some opinions on kind of like what's going on with the"},{"startTime":1944.128,"endTime":1947.738,"body":"layoff industry or the layoffs in general within the"},{"startTime":1947.744,"endTime":1951.434,"body":"various industries. I think that it's always going to be a good time to"},{"startTime":1951.472,"endTime":1954.814,"body":"get into tech. I think one thing that I want us all to remember is"},{"startTime":1954.852,"endTime":1958.526,"body":"that tech, quote unquote, getting into tech exists outside of"},{"startTime":1958.548,"endTime":1962.254,"body":"like five companies, right? It exists outside of those fang companies that you think"},{"startTime":1962.292,"endTime":1964.882,"body":"of, oh, I want to work here, I want to work there. Like I said,"},{"startTime":1964.936,"endTime":1968.706,"body":"I was a UX designer at Caterpillar, a"},{"startTime":1968.728,"endTime":1972.466,"body":"company that you may not necessarily think of when you think of, oh, they"},{"startTime":1972.488,"endTime":1975.922,"body":"have UX, but they have applications. They have all these different"},{"startTime":1975.976,"endTime":1979.466,"body":"things. There are growing companies, there are healthcare"},{"startTime":1979.518,"endTime":1983.174,"body":"companies. There are so many different companies that are stable, that are"},{"startTime":1983.212,"endTime":1986.902,"body":"very stable, that have been stable for a really long time, that have been around"},{"startTime":1986.956,"endTime":1988.86,"body":"for a really long time. So"},{"startTime":1991.31,"endTime":1994.874,"body":"I want us to think about what"},{"startTime":1994.912,"endTime":1998.682,"body":"companies do. I want to join outside of the five or six shiny ones,"},{"startTime":1998.736,"endTime":2002.414,"body":"right? Because you can still make a great living. You can do"},{"startTime":2002.452,"endTime":2005.886,"body":"great, meaningful work. You can meet great people at companies"},{"startTime":2005.988,"endTime":2009.822,"body":"that people don't talk about a lot. So let's start thinking"},{"startTime":2009.876,"endTime":2013.534,"body":"about that as well. And those companies may not necessarily be"},{"startTime":2013.572,"endTime":2017.278,"body":"having layoffs. So, yes, it's always a"},{"startTime":2017.284,"endTime":2020.354,"body":"good time. I always say it's always a good time to do what it is"},{"startTime":2020.392,"endTime":2023.97,"body":"that you want to do. Oftentimes"},{"startTime":2024.63,"endTime":2028.246,"body":"layoffs happen, and then a few months later, these companies are"},{"startTime":2028.268,"endTime":2031.72,"body":"hiring again. That tends to be"},{"startTime":2032.17,"endTime":2035.91,"body":"that we see. So I think that right now there's sort of"},{"startTime":2035.98,"endTime":2039.242,"body":"a correction that's happening, and after that"},{"startTime":2039.296,"endTime":2042.858,"body":"correction, we'll see rehiring in some of these larger companies."},{"startTime":2042.944,"endTime":2046.682,"body":"But yes, it's always a good time to get into these"},{"startTime":2046.736,"endTime":2050.486,"body":"fields. They're not going anywhere. I also implore"},{"startTime":2050.518,"endTime":2054.218,"body":"people, myself included, to upskill. So it's like,"},{"startTime":2054.224,"endTime":2058.062,"body":"okay, you're a UX designer, but what else is going on that you can"},{"startTime":2058.196,"endTime":2061.886,"body":"also learn about? AI is really hot right now. Chad GPT is really hot right"},{"startTime":2061.908,"endTime":2065.454,"body":"now. All these other companies and platforms that are doing AI"},{"startTime":2065.502,"endTime":2069.17,"body":"related things within the design space are really important"},{"startTime":2069.24,"endTime":2072.61,"body":"to learn. So taking classes and"},{"startTime":2072.68,"endTime":2076.418,"body":"always sharpening your skills is going to be important too. Because within the"},{"startTime":2076.424,"endTime":2079.378,"body":"next couple of years and it's already starting to happen, but there are going to"},{"startTime":2079.384,"endTime":2081.626,"body":"be more and more roles that are going to be coming up that are going"},{"startTime":2081.628,"endTime":2085.282,"body":"to be UX related, that are going to be associated with VR"},{"startTime":2085.426,"endTime":2089.242,"body":"AI and different things like that. So you want to make sure that you"},{"startTime":2089.376,"endTime":2092.922,"body":"have a seat at the table when those things come up."},{"startTime":2092.976,"endTime":2096.294,"body":"So that's something that if I could impart"},{"startTime":2096.342,"endTime":2100.074,"body":"any wisdom on the way that we"},{"startTime":2100.112,"endTime":2103.698,"body":"can kind of see the layoffs that are happening right now. If there's a silver"},{"startTime":2103.734,"endTime":2107.406,"body":"lining, it's like, listen, keep your portfolio sharp, keep"},{"startTime":2107.428,"endTime":2111.118,"body":"your skills sharp, and keep an eye out for some of those new roles that"},{"startTime":2111.124,"endTime":2114.878,"body":"are going to be popping up. Now. You said it perfectly. I agree. I"},{"startTime":2114.884,"endTime":2117.986,"body":"think it's always a good time to get a tech skill and get into the"},{"startTime":2118.008,"endTime":2121.73,"body":"tech career space. And like you said, there's a lot of non tech companies"},{"startTime":2121.8,"endTime":2125.106,"body":"that are stable, where you can make a huge impact and have"},{"startTime":2125.128,"endTime":2128.886,"body":"stability and make a great living. Or you can work at a startup where"},{"startTime":2128.908,"endTime":2132.566,"body":"you can get equity and be a part of the design strategy, the"},{"startTime":2132.588,"endTime":2136.182,"body":"UX strategy that gets them to Series B, series C,"},{"startTime":2136.236,"endTime":2139.99,"body":"series D, and then eventually going public. And that going public"},{"startTime":2140.06,"endTime":2143.706,"body":"money is potentially life changing depending on when you get in and how many"},{"startTime":2143.728,"endTime":2147.514,"body":"shares you get. All right, there's so much more we could"},{"startTime":2147.552,"endTime":2150.858,"body":"talk about, but we're running out of time. So we definitely got to do a"},{"startTime":2150.864,"endTime":2154.478,"body":"part two and hopefully you can come down to the studio in person"},{"startTime":2154.564,"endTime":2158.398,"body":"and we can get into types of UX roles and how you were"},{"startTime":2158.404,"endTime":2162.202,"body":"able to elevate in your career and the money aspect, the negotiation"},{"startTime":2162.266,"endTime":2165.662,"body":"aspects, all kinds of things that I know we can get into."},{"startTime":2165.796,"endTime":2169.298,"body":"But before we go, I just want you to let people know how they can"},{"startTime":2169.304,"endTime":2172.306,"body":"get in touch with you as well as if they want to sign up for"},{"startTime":2172.328,"endTime":2175.54,"body":"your boot camp, how that process gets started."},{"startTime":2176.55,"endTime":2179.958,"body":"Yeah, definitely. So if you would like to sign up for the boot camp, the"},{"startTime":2179.964,"endTime":2183.798,"body":"best way is to email me and I can get you into the"},{"startTime":2183.804,"endTime":2186.774,"body":"flow of signing up and applying. So you can email me at"},{"startTime":2186.812,"endTime":2190.214,"body":"Ashley@ashleyjanelle.com. And it's regular"},{"startTime":2190.262,"endTime":2194.042,"body":"spelling. Ashley. A-S-H-L-E-Y. Janelle. Janelle.com."},{"startTime":2194.096,"endTime":2198.73,"body":"Ashley@ashleyjanelle.com."},{"startTime":2198.88,"endTime":2199.434,"body":"I'm on"},{"startTime":2199.472,"endTime":2203.838,"body":"Instagram@theashleyjanelle.com"},{"startTime":2204.004,"endTime":2207.806,"body":"and I'm also on YouTube. I do a"},{"startTime":2207.828,"endTime":2211.246,"body":"UX series on YouTube as well. And so my YouTube I'm at"},{"startTime":2211.428,"endTime":2215.166,"body":"Ashley regular spelling Janelle with an extra E at the end of"},{"startTime":2215.188,"endTime":2218.74,"body":"Janelle. J-A-N-E-L-L-E-E on."},{"startTime":2219.59,"endTime":2223.314,"body":"All right, perfect, perfect. Well, I appreciate you for sharing all this"},{"startTime":2223.352,"endTime":2227.086,"body":"information, the resources, the insight. I've learned"},{"startTime":2227.118,"endTime":2230.95,"body":"a lot. I think my listeners have learned a lot as well. And"},{"startTime":2231.1,"endTime":2234.758,"body":"yeah, again, I just reemphasize ashley is the real deal."},{"startTime":2234.924,"endTime":2238.678,"body":"If you want to really be prepared to be a"},{"startTime":2238.684,"endTime":2242.426,"body":"rock star in the UX space, invest in yourself, sign up for"},{"startTime":2242.448,"endTime":2246.266,"body":"that boot camp and crush it and make"},{"startTime":2246.288,"endTime":2250.09,"body":"sure that you are doing what Ashley's doing and I'm doing, which know,"},{"startTime":2250.16,"endTime":2253.466,"body":"reaching back and pulling people in, especially people from our"},{"startTime":2253.488,"endTime":2257.338,"body":"community. So again, thank you so much for joining the podcast. If you'd"},{"startTime":2257.354,"endTime":2260.638,"body":"like to stay in touch with me outside of this podcast, I'd love for you"},{"startTime":2260.644,"endTime":2262.67,"body":"to connect with me on Instagram at Dr"},{"startTime":2262.74,"endTime":2266.382,"body":"J-D-O-C-T-A-J. Also connect with me on Twitter"},{"startTime":2266.446,"endTime":2268.946,"body":"at Drnyc doctanyc"},{"startTime":2268.968,"endTime":2272.722,"body":"and then all the freelancers, especially"},{"startTime":2272.776,"endTime":2276.306,"body":"my Black freelancers. I have a site called Blackhire.com."},{"startTime":2276.488,"endTime":2279.926,"body":"My goal is to get black freelancers the best jobs in the"},{"startTime":2279.948,"endTime":2283.606,"body":"freelance space. So if you have UX skills, you can throw your"},{"startTime":2283.628,"endTime":2287.43,"body":"profile up there and get some freelance work as well as doing"},{"startTime":2287.5,"endTime":2290.778,"body":"your big tech or startup job. So if you are a"},{"startTime":2290.784,"endTime":2294.282,"body":"freelancer, create a profile. And if you're a company that"},{"startTime":2294.336,"endTime":2298.106,"body":"posts on Fiver, Upwork or other freelance sites, I would love for"},{"startTime":2298.128,"endTime":2301.534,"body":"you to post your jobs on Blackhire.com. And I'm going to make sure the best"},{"startTime":2301.572,"endTime":2305.322,"body":"and the brightest are flooding your applications"},{"startTime":2305.466,"endTime":2309.246,"body":"and you're getting some really quality talent. With"},{"startTime":2309.268,"endTime":2312.254,"body":"that being said, I thank everybody for listening. Make sure to"},{"startTime":2312.292,"endTime":2315.714,"body":"subscribe, share like everything on"},{"startTime":2315.752,"endTime":2319.378,"body":"YouTube, subscribe on Apple and spotify. And,"},{"startTime":2319.464,"endTime":2323.186,"body":"yeah, let's make sure we stay connected. And if you want to connect to"},{"startTime":2323.208,"endTime":2326.722,"body":"my other social medias, you can go to forward"},{"startTime":2326.776,"endTime":2329.782,"body":"slash bigtechenergy until the next"},{"startTime":2329.836,"endTime":2333.654,"body":"episode. I'm looking forward to all the success that you get from"},{"startTime":2333.692,"endTime":2337.486,"body":"being part of Ashley's bootcamp and the gems that were dropped and implementing"},{"startTime":2337.538,"endTime":2340.89,"body":"them. And I'll see you on the next episode. Peace, y'all."},{"startTime":2343.87,"endTime":2347.466,"body":"Membership in black and HR means community and being a part of a"},{"startTime":2347.488,"endTime":2351.146,"body":"culture of like minded individuals. You have a"},{"startTime":2351.168,"endTime":2354.75,"body":"culture within a culture, especially in the black community. And"},{"startTime":2354.82,"endTime":2358.622,"body":"black and HR is that professional culture. We have fun, we"},{"startTime":2358.676,"endTime":2362.526,"body":"laugh and joke about things that are related to us in the workplace, but"},{"startTime":2362.548,"endTime":2365.774,"body":"we also have serious aspects as well, where we help each other"},{"startTime":2365.812,"endTime":2369.394,"body":"grow. And it's just one of those places where I can go"},{"startTime":2369.432,"endTime":2373.186,"body":"to any time of the day, pose a question, and"},{"startTime":2373.208,"endTime":2376.12,"body":"I'm going to get all type of answers, but I'm going to get support."},{"startTime":2376.81,"endTime":2379.702,"body":"And we all work together to give advice, to give"},{"startTime":2379.756,"endTime":2383.574,"body":"insights, to share tips. The networking is"},{"startTime":2383.612,"endTime":2387.446,"body":"amazing. The people that I've spoken to have allowed me"},{"startTime":2387.468,"endTime":2391.206,"body":"to learn things about myself that I didn't know. So what does"},{"startTime":2391.228,"endTime":2394.978,"body":"that do? When I go to my next interview, I have that confidence"},{"startTime":2395.154,"endTime":2398.786,"body":"when I walk in to be able to explain and speak on what I've"},{"startTime":2398.818,"endTime":2402.206,"body":"done in the past, prove that I am the person for the"},{"startTime":2402.228,"endTime":2402.8,"body":"job."}]}