Corné Van Straten talks about UX, not just products and website’s UX, but your UX. Yep, you have a UX too. It’s what it’s like to work with you.
Here’s Corné’s thoughts in his own words:
Think of the following three brands: Apple, Uber and BMW. What do these brands all have in common? That’s right: all three are constantly credited with amazing user experience (UX) design!
Great UX/UI design is all about creating products users love.
People buy Apple products, not because they have the best hardware specs at a given price point, but because of the “it just works” factor – the user experience delivered by its operating systems.
People Uber not because the cars are more comfortable than regular taxis, but because of the amazing convenience that comes with ordering a ride through the Uber app.
Other people buy BMWs, not because the cars are the most affordable, spacious, reliable or powerful, but because the handling of the car makes driving one a pleasure every time.
In each case, it’s the meticulous attention to world-class UX design that made each of these brands successful to the point of having fans rave about it to their friends.
The UX of You
So what does this have to do with you?
Well, as funny as it may sound, you also have UX. It’s what it’s like to work with you. That experience can be mediocre, or it can be BMW-level.
What if people said that about working with you, instead of about their new Macbook Pro?
The thing is: you can deliver that amazing UX! Do great work.
You can be that person that is extremely reliable, that always shows up, follows through, does what they say they’ll do, and delivers quality work every time.
You can respond quickly, set clear expectations, give status updates, and never leave people in the dark.
If you choose, you can be that person that always exceeds expectations, that underpromises and overdelivers, that’s never too good for a task, and that takes stuff on without being asked.
You can do great work. Be the person that just gets stuff done!
It’s up to you to do great work
This is the kind of behavior that makes you a straight up world-class employee – the kind of UX any company would kill for.
And you know what’s funny?
None of it has anything to do with work experience, education, certifications, credentials, or anything else you would typically find on a resume.
When you think about it, your resume is like a list of specs – it only tells part the story. And, as proven by Apple, Uber and BMW, not the most important part.
Now, you may think that it’s really hard to communicate that you will be the kind of rockstar employee that gets stuff done, while job hunting. Isn’t that something you can only show once you have the job?
Actually, no.
Start right now, even while you’re still on the job hunt!
Show soft skills
You can show that you’re thorough and you have attention to detail, by diving deep and researching the company thoroughly, so that you can mention a few things you love about that company when you apply.
If you choose, you can show that you set clear expectations, by including a value proposition in your application that includes a clear plan for what you want to accomplish in the first 6 weeks.
Show that you’re a good communicator by reaching out to the hiring manager personally (instead of just clicking “apply” on a job board) and continuing to follow up with them every 48-72 hours.
You can even go above and beyond by creating a small project specifically for this company that proves you can do the job before you even have it. For example, you could create a list of prospects if you’re applying for a sales position, or you could create graphics to share on social media if you’re applying for a marketing position.
There are so many ways to show that you’ll be an amazing employee before you even have your first interview.
Be the iPhone. Be the BMW.
Do the stuff that can’t be faked, show amazing UX and you’ll send a better signal than any resume or cover letter ever could.
This blog post originally appeared on cornevanstraten.com.
