Hire or Fire - 5 Facts to See If UX Professionals Understand Their Craft

User Experience (UX) has now become a hype. In job advertisements, it is increasingly apparent that UX designers and UX researchers are being sought out. The high demand for UX professionals is also reflected in boot camps and fast certificates. Since User Experience is yet a young, but at the same time very broad industry, there are no clear rules to go by. But there is one feeling that many experts currently have: There are hardly any good people available. Many applicants do not have real User Experience skills.

What skills do I need to look for if I want to hire UX Researchers or UX Designers? What are their tasks?

You can learn tools and methods. All you need is someone in the company to guide UX designers. If this person does not exist, it is advisable to hire an experienced person first, to whom the following rules apply.

Skill # 1: Real UX professionals listen and ask questions

One of the most important skills is to be able to listen and ask questions. When we get a task, we people immediately think in terms of solutions, as we call up our own prior knowledge of it. Solution-focusedness is a desirable skill – it is much more than you can expect from many. But for a UX Professional, the immediate solution without asking questions will be the wrong one. The task of authentic UX designers or UX managers is not only to create a good product, but also to drive a project forward smoothly. And this includes thinking inside people and understanding people – whether they are customers, users or developers or project managers. To do that, you have to be able to ask questions and listen.

How can I check this as a recruiter?

Set three tasks, from a simple one to a more difficult one, in the context of the task profile. If no questions are asked and solutions are thought of immediately, you have to evaluate exactly how you use the person. Nevertheless, solution-orientedness remains a good skill.

Skill # 2: Active instead of passive

UX Professionals have a horizontal role within the team. Due to the fact that UX includes entire processes, in most cases many teams have to be involved in the development. The task of the UX Professionals is to pick up all the integrated areas, develop the user requirements and transfer them back to the teams in a specific form. Since there are hardly any people in companies who organize this horizontal way of working, a UX Professional has to take this into his own hands. To do this, such a person must be open and approach people. He who waits, loses.

How can I check this as a recruiter?

Since this openness is difficult to evaluate in recruiting processes, look at the person's past and present. Is this person socially active, in clubs, etc.? Which leisure activities are preferred? You can also invite the person to a team event or introduce the team and watch it in open conversations. The more active, the sooner there will be great added value for you.

Skill # 3: Genuine UX professionals are motivated to continuously train themselves

Lifelong learning is a buzzword in many future scenarios. We need to adapt to the realities of the new times and create new jobs and ways of working. The term may be important in many jobs, but in the area of experience management / experience design, further education and the will to undertake further education are decisive for success or failure. The mentioned horizontal value creation results in a width through which one has never "learned" everything. And the possibilities for interaction change with the technology, so you should always know the latest trends. In the depth of interaction and in terms of psychology – whether neuromarketing, use of the "Hook Model", of "Needs models" or the "Dimensions of Enthusiasm", 90 percent of companies only scratch the surface. There is enormous learning potential. Personally, after 20 years in the UX sector, I can only say: the more I know, the more I know that I know nothing.

How can I check this as a recruiter?

The following questions can be asked: Has additional training been provided in recent years? Does the applicant or employee have any topics that they specialize in? Have they attended conferences that bring motivation, the latest trends and many examples?

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World Usability Congress 22 | October 11-13 | Graz | Austria

Skill # 4: An understanding of stakeholder management (UX, Manager, Developer, Finance, Management)

It is often a kind of magic that resonates here. There are design managers and UX professionals who can do almost anything. They receive the most exciting projects, achieve the best results, manage to undercut project times and costs, and are also always highly praised and placed in the foreground. No, it's not magic and it's not a question of being lucky. They simply master stakeholder management. What's the magic behind it? I call it UX Authenticity & Conviction. A true UX Professional not only looks at the integration of users and their needs. Project participants and all those who are involved in some way also have needs that must be met and included. And this all-embracing empathy simply often makes the impossible possible.

How can I check this as a recruiter?

Simply ask what a typical project start for this person looks like. What are the five most important activities at the beginning of a project? Stakeholder management should take place.

Skill # 5: Analytical Thinking (Any interaction, color and shape can be argued)

Analytical thinking is also a very general skill that is needed in a wide variety of jobs. For experience professionals, the goal is a good user experience...

·???????a high level of acceptance among customers/users

·???????a simple operation of the main use cases

·???????an experience beyond expectations

·???????the willingness of customers/users to invest more (money, time, work)

To achieve this, the system to be developed must meet the needs of the target groups. This means:

·???????needs are raised with the right questions

·???????from which hypotheses and requirements are derived

·???????these in turn lead to requirements and initial concepts

·???????these are tested and checked until a success may be measured

User experience is not art or creative work. It is hard work and an analytical development of solutions. A true professional can usually argue any line from his final result.

How can I check this as a recruiter?

Have applicants explain a wide variety of examples. Ask for details. Can these be explained comprehensibly?

If an applicant has the majority of these skills, only then can an appointment be awarded. Of course, if a junior is to be hired, these skills do not have to be 100% strong. However, it should be ensured that further training or internal training is initiated, for example a "UXQCC certification", mentoring or the like. Seniors should have these skills and be able to define and argue a design plan and approach for each project.

In autumn, a very exciting project for recruiters will be presented at the?World Usability Congress . Learn how the experience market continues and how the wheat can be separated from the chaff in the future.

This was the second part of a series of contributions. In the upcoming episode – "UX, the new?innovation management: why the holistic human-centred approach is taking over" – the topics of user experience and?innovation management?are compared. Be ready for the new New!?