The power of self-awareness in navigating career moves
To all my product people changing their jobs in this Great Resignation
I’ve got a lot of friends leaving their jobs these days. Product & Design is not immune to the Great Resignation, as I see more and more folks end one role and pause before starting their next. Job updates are announced faster than I could’ve even noticed someone was looking — a big change from being approached eagerly for referrals, portfolio feedback, or career move advice.
So I’ve got some personal advice for all my product people (and beyond) secretly considering career moves in this hot job market. Preparing for a job change isn’t just about updating your portfolio and submitting applications — it’s also about reflecting on what makes you happy and intentionally applying that lens towards your search. And the best time to do that reflection is while you’re still in the role you’re considering leaving. Here’s what I’ve learned to be really self-aware about in order to find happiness in your next role:
- Knowing your people values
- Recognizing the right (and wrong) environment
- Self-monitoring impulsive industry decisions
- Being honest about the work you love and hate
- Acknowledging the recipes for good and bad days
The best time to do that reflection is while you’re still in the role you’re considering leaving.
Know your people values.
I often hear “the people” as what someone loves the most about their job, or what they prioritize when seeking something new. It always surprises me when there isn’t something more substantial than “they’re just all really great!” to solidify what matters about the people, though.
For me, I’ve noticed I’m in the wrong place if a funny gif gets deadpan stares. I prefer a company with ample female leadership. I’m not impressed by interviewers who don’t ask interesting and thoughtful questions. I’m my best self when nerding out about the intricacies of our work is energetically reciprocated. I want to know my teammates down to their favorite Slack emojis, and their pets.
Next time you feel genuinely uplifted (or negatively affected) by the interpersonal dynamics with the people you work with and for, take note of what exactly it is that made you feel that way. Then, brainstorm ways that you could evaluate those qualities when job searching. It might be a group social dynamic to observe, a direct question to ask, or some bait to plant for testing how someone reacts.
Recognize the right (and wrong) environment for you.
What else besides the people makes you feel like you’re in the right or wrong place? And of that, what’s important to you? It might be the physical environment or the nature of the organization and its culture.
I wish that it didn’t take three years in my first role to recognize that agencies aren’t my jam — that I need the ownership to measure and iterate on products post-launch in order to feel like my work was worthwhile. Through trial and error, I’ve also learned that I like operating in more of a fast-paced, autonomous, startup-style environment where teammates value outcomes over title-based responsibilities, a scrappy diagram over a polished deck, a hallway test with a user over a formal study, a quick conversation over a ceremonial meeting, and so forth.
This one is tough because you really can’t figure out what’s right or wrong for you until you’ve experienced it. My advice is to do a personal retrospective after project milestones. It puts something timely and tangible in focus to reflect on what helped your goals thrive vs hindered them, and what felt positive vs negative. Then use this lens when evaluating what you learn about a new opportunity.
Choose your industry intentionally.
I know, it sounds obvious. But especially when you’re desperate for a change, it can be easy to settle for the wrong industry or overlook an important nuance.
Here’s my personal story on this. My original focus was purpose-driven games (e.g. education, social impact, health). As a stretch, I started in healthtech working on behavior change for patients with chronic diseases. Over time my mission-driven purpose drained as the patient stories took a toll on me, and my understanding of the dark side of big pharma crystalized.
I vividly remember my breaking point. Shortly after our small agency was acquired, the full company was gathered for an All-Hands to learn about the newest project’s product— an injection to treat double chins, which the pharmaceutical client was pouring funding into for marketing tactics tapping into women’s self-consciousness about their chins and for clinical trials that would aim to portray double chins as a medical condition that could be treated. Horrified, I turned to the President of the company with eyes wide open and couldn’t hold back my thought, “Are you kidding me?” (We were close, and he knew I meant well). I resigned a few weeks later.
Desperate to run far, far away from pharmaceuticals, I took a 180° and ventured into the music & film industry. But over time I found that my commitment to empowering indie artists was too serious for the entertainment industry I was in. When things didn’t go well, the VP Design would kindly reassure me, “It’s ok, we’re not saving lives.” But hearing that actually made me miss the higher stakes impact of the previous work I was doing!
Finally, I ended up in health & wellness — making it full circle back to an industry where we’re committed to improving the health of people’s lives…but this time without the big pharma.
Moral of the story: Don’t let emotions lead you far astray. If you’ve got a bad taste in your mouth about the industry you’re in, make sure to truthfully take note of the fulfilling aspects as well. Something totally opposite might sound desirable, but evaluate it soundly against the shining aspects of your current role. Storm clouds can make us take the sun rays for granted.
And conversely, don’t keep doors open for opportunities in industries you’ve thoughtfully written off! Stick to your guns.
Acknowledge work you love and hate.
When reading job descriptions for potential new roles, we’re often so fixated on whether or not we meet all the qualifications listed that we neglect how much (or little) we actually enjoy those duties.
Consider not just if you can do what’s required, but if you want to do what’s required.
I can tell you right now that when “creating pixel perfect visualizations” or “managing the design system” is emphasized in a job description, I’m OUT. But conducting user research? Organizing information architecture? Building prototypes? Mentoring other designers? I’m interested.
So next time you’re perusing a job description, consider not just if you can do what’s required, but if you want to do what’s required. And to prepare yourself for that, take note of what you were doing on days that flew by quickly, and what was planned to be done on days you dreaded starting.
Pay attention to the recipes for good days and bad days — not just the count.
I used to gauge whether it was time to move on from a job by using the ratio of good days to bad days. Later in my career, I realized my focus was on the count without reflecting enough on why those days were good or bad.
Now I make sure to think about this almost every day. I’ve learned that days are good when I can help someone personally, and days are bad when I feel misunderstood. Days are good when I accomplish producing something, and bad when context switching of meetings or waiting on collaborators prevents me from completing anything tangible. And it goes on and on…
Recognizing the recipes for good and bad days makes it obvious to spot the right and wrong future roles for yourself, and prepare meaningful interview questions to help evaluate fit. Moreover, it helps illuminate when the root cause of bad days might actually best be fixed by a conversation with a manager instead of by jumping ship!
In Dan Ariely’s “Predictably Irrational” he writes about the problem of keeping too many options open. It’s natural and intuitive for humans to avoid missing opportunities by deliberately closing doors. But keeping excessive doors open can actually take away from your rationality of pursuing the best option. And this is absolutely the case for job searching! The best way to prepare for honing in on the right opportunity is to start reflecting before you’re even searching. Be selective. Be self-aware. Be true to yourself.
