The hardest design role to fill...
I’ve worked on many design roles over my career, the trickiest I find to hire for are Experience Directors. Mainly because it’s so subjective for every company.
Luckily, I get to pick the brains of people like Russell on a daily basis. Below are a few of his thoughts ??
Why are Experience Directors are hard to find right now?
First off, the definition of an Experience Director is so ambiguous in this industry. Each company has different needs, and to direct entire experiences require knowledge in so many areas of the design process. So it’s really a matter of finding the right talent to not only fit what we do but more importantly, add something different to what we already do. The second part is that once you do find that talent that you think will be a good fit…guess what? Other companies that are hiring probably thing the same thing! They are in high demand but as long as you are authentic in explaining your culture, your process, and their fit at the company the rest is really up to them. In the end, authenticity always wins.
Can they simplify their narrative?
A lot of people in their portfolio tend to write a lot of content and overcomplicate things. The more simple they make it for me the more simple they will make it for their team and the more simple they will make it for clients. They always say some of the smartest people in the world can explain the complex in a simple manner.
Even though they are not visual designers, do they have an eye?
Is their website clean and intuitive? We are very visual with everything we do. Whether it is designs, presentation, charts, everything. I’m not looking for a beautiful work of art from a UX leader but I am looking for someone that puts care and attention to how the work is presented.
Do they actually do the work or do they just manage?
We love people that are hands on — not just people to inform what others to do. I think those types of people are super talented, however, it isn’t how we got to where we are today. We are a bunch of thinkers but also do-ers. And we learn the best by doing and getting into the files themselves to help build magic.
Do they have experiences with many industries?
Sometimes we get people who are great, but the only experience doing a 1–2 verticals. We like the variety because we are going to give them just that when they join. We don’t need experts in all verticals, but we need someone who has the experience taking on a vertical they have never worked with and being able to thrive inside that ambiguity.
Passion. Passion. Passion.
Do they have side projects? Do they do stuff outside of 9–5? This is not mandatory but we love people that genuinely love what they do and love to do more than what they are asked. You don’t necessarily need a side project to show that passion, not at all…but something to indicate your love for your design in whatever capacity you can…it really goes a long way. We want to be surrounded by that energy.
“I think titles are tough in this town, my title included. And I think it is hard to find people with the leadership experience WITH the experience of getting in the files and doing the work. Meaning they love to lead but also not super far from the work.”
Design Consultant at Goff-Yu | Freelance Designer
4 年Never heard of one to be honest.
Founder of Avocado AI | Empowering Brands & Creators with Custom AI-Driven Photography
4 年Filipe Nzongo
Experience & Design Director @ Sonepar
4 年It's a great question. My opinion is: With the Design Thinking Methodology growing, my vision of the Head of UX / UX Director is to embrace a new vision, to gather designers around a unique vision. The methodology is just a way to organize project between designers, dev, and brands, but the real vision of experience design needs to be incarnate by the UX Director. Strategy, Brand vision & understanding, strategy choice, and the biggest challenge: make real a Design Purpose inside the company he's working. For me, it's like the Creative Director but for UX design.
Creative Lead | Principal Designer | Author | AI Visionaere | Product Innovation | Storyteller
4 年There is a shift in the industry, and so the role request. Experience Design Director has the tendency to be associated with Head of Product design nowadays. Business are transforming and so their requests and so title needed accordingly, and this is applied to agencies and corporates.
Advisor | Enabling teams to build exceptional products & services | Analytical Coach
4 年Quite important would also be that they can scale their expertise within the organization. Meaning helping others to acquire certain skills, asking the right questions and forming rituals so they are less and less needed. Usually that starts with getting your hands dirty, actually working on projects with the different teams to understand their needs and the context they are working in.