Since I’m not great at talking about myself, here is a recent message to a VP who was trying to extend my contract or hire me full-time. He asked me to share my desires and motivations around the work and how I might potentially continue on in some capacity. I think my answer includes a good sense of who I am and an idea of what you would get if I were on your team.

Hi (VP name),

Thank you so much for reaching out. To answer your question, I’m going to start writing stream-of-consciousness-style and see where it goes….otherwise, I will overthink it…so please excuse grammatical errors and casual, non-business-speak.

I see lots of opportunities to inject more UX thinking across teams and departments through collaboration and seeing/listening to multiple perspectives (how do we make sure the unique needs of all stakeholders and departments are met? how do we make sure the user needs remain the priority and not get lost in the mix of business needs? how do we consistently be mindful of a11y considerations?). UX is everywhere and touches everyone, even if they don’t realize it. So I’m about making the seemingly invisible visible, connecting more dots, being more inclusive, and empowering others.

What I feel I offer is a passion for collaboration (that’s a big one for me as you have probably figured out by now), asking questions, admitting when I don’t know something and then tracking down sources to figure it out, supporting the team however they need it, working until the job is done (it’s the farmer in me), flexing my passion for research (all research) to help add user insights and focus on research-based, human-centered design.

I have 25+ years of experience that includes a broad range of design/experiential/service/UX/UI, loads of empathy, a love of problem-solving, the ability to pivot quickly or make compromises when needed to keep things moving, belief in always giving credit where credit is due, humility, transparency, brutal honesty, bridging the gaps, thinking of ways to improve the process, endless curiosity and a mission to improve the overall user experience for users…and also the team.

As far as what I would like to work on, I was able to work on the homepage redesign project in the early stages, and I was in heaven! I got to help with the user research, I worked on wireframes, user flows, page design, and concepts for how to create structure and consistent patterns. I also helped bridge UX and creative to increase cross-collaboration (there it is again!) with all stakeholders to try to ensure that everyone’s needs, business goals, and requirements were considered. I’ve really enjoyed working closely with engineering and would like to build on those relationships and bring them in sooner in the UX process.

Most of what I work on is quick turn and/or reactionary, and while I’m good with that, I would love to be able to also work on projects that are holistic, thoughtful, and strategic. I also am interested in doing UXR. I put together a proposal to do some grassroots user research specific to the creative team’s needs which currently does not have access to any in-house research services. I met with (researcher name here), and she helped me work out some of the details and determine where there are gaps that could be filled so as to not step on anyone’s toes or do duplicative work.

Okay…so I’m going to take a break and get some dinner…and send this before I overthink it. Feel free to reach out with questions!

Best,
Amy