Boxes and Arrows: Jobs List

Listings about open positions for user experience designers, web designers, information architects, user-centered design and similar positions.

Boxes and Arrows. Careers>Job Listings>User Experience>User Experience

Building the UX Dreamteam - Part 2

Skills in research, information architecture, interaction design, graphic design and writing define the recognized areas of User Experience design. However, there still remains much to discuss about what makes a UX team dreamy. Each UX Dreamteam has a finely tuned mix of skills and qualities, as varied as the environments in which they operate. Part two will address whether a person has the right ‘hard’ skills and ‘soft’ qualities like communication style, creativity and leadership ability to fit your particular organizational context. We’ll also touch on the quality of an individual’s personality that may or may not complement the others on your team.

Colfelt, Anthony. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Careers>User Experience>Management>Collaboration

Getting Hired: What Employers Really Want

We began to work on an event to gather professionals and employers to help us figure out what UX employers really want.

Sanchez-Howard, Olga. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Careers>Usability>User Experience

Getting into Government Consulting

From Washington, D.C. to Olympia, Washington, there's a rich potential for user experience consultants of all flavors to provide services to government. In this article I'll share some thoughts directed toward you, the independent consultant or small firm that would like to work with government.

McMullin, Jess. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Careers>Consulting>Government>User Experience

Open Sesame! Selling UX Services

For some UX professionals, selling consulting services is as difficult as opening a magic door without a secret password. There is no simple password that can magically open prospective customers' minds so they can see what you can do for them. However, there are a few strategies you can use when opening a dialogue with new customers that will lead to your sales success.

Schreier-Fleming, Maura and Janet M. Six. UXmatters (2006). Careers>Consulting>User Experience

Salary Survey: User Experience Professionals Earn Good Money

A survey of 1,078 user experience professionals finds that usability specialists make more money than designers and writers in the same field. In all three areas, salaries are highest in the U.S., lower in Canada and Asia, and much lower in Europe and Australia.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Careers>Usability>Salaries>User Experience

So You Want to Be a UX Manager—Seriously?

Almost weekly, I talk with a UX designer or researcher who wants to become a manager of a UX team. For some people, this is a good choice. Both they and their teams thrive. But for many, it’s honestly not the right goal, and the end result is that neither they nor their teams are happy. The book Now, Discover Your Strengths [1] suggests that we tend to be good at the things we love doing, and we love activities at which we excel. I find that we do our best work when we’re in a playground. (I’ll explore this idea more in my next column.) Isn’t life too short to pursue a path we don’t enjoy?

Nieters, Jim. UXmatters (2008). Careers>Management>User Experience

Starting a Career in User Experience

This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design.

Haid, Marcus. uiGarden (2007). Careers>Usability>User Experience

Starting a Career in User Experience

This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design.

Haid, Marcus. Adaptive Path (2003). Careers>Usability>User Centered Design>User Experience

User Experience Group Development and Integration

When a company wants to make a certain segment of the organization better, usually they 'throw more money at it' and hire more employees. The problem with doing this for a UX team is that people with overlapping skills and ideas usually end up hindering user-centered design rather than helping. Conflicting design decisions will soon turn into a design by committee situation that won't help the consumer nor expose individual expertise (Brown 2004). User experience groups need to be flexible, agile, and scalable, and should only expand if the projects they work on are sufficiently large. The following is an overview of skills and disciplines needed for a successful user experience group.

Rundle, Mike. uiGarden (2007). Careers>Project Management>User Experience

Selling User Experience

This article examines what works and what does not work well when selling UX within an organization, identifies barriers you might encounter to the adoption of UX methods in your organization, and discusses how to package and present UX to stakeholders. In this article, we’ll try to avoid just being prescriptive. Rather, we’ll pose questions along the way, regarding what has worked well for you.

Szuc, Daniel, Paul J. Sherman and John S. Rhodes. UXmatters (2008). Careers>Usability>User Experience>Organizational Communication

How To Be Successful in User Experience

Success in UX design is driven by a particular personality. UX requires straddling so many elements, and includes a wide range of experience and expertise, rather than allowing one to become comfortable doing the same ol’ same ol’. Not only are user needs met first and foremost, there is an ongoing feeling of growth and development required to keep all these needs managed. In these days where it seems crucial to balance Ajax, JavaScript, CSS, Flex, and more, we are reminded that all these technologies must most importantly be leveraged by a particular personality.

Designing User Experience (2008). Careers>Usability>User Experience