S2 Ep 13. Standing Out Without Selling Out: UX Job Applications

Navigating the pressures of job hunting while transitioning into UX can tempt anyone to embellish their experience, but authentic storytelling and strategic positioning of real skills prove more effective. I share my personal experience of almost stretching the truth on a job application and how choosing authenticity led to an interview anyway.

• Creative and crazy job application tactics that folks have used
• My experience finding a perfect-match company but facing discouraging requirements 
• The temptation to embellish my background versus the strategy I chose instead
• The interview success that came from honest but strategic positioning
• Why connecting your real story to their pain point is more powerful than fabrication
• The importance of studying companies thoroughly and believing your experience is enough when framed correctly

Share this episode with someone who's job hunting and needs encouragement to stand tall in their truth. If you've been tempted to jazz up your resume, let me know what you did instead!

Chapters

• 0:00 Podcast Introduction
• 0:43 Career Transition Challenges
• 1:25 Crazy Job Application Strategies
• 2:55 Personal Story of Temptation
• 5:16 Standing Tall in Your Truth
• 6:21 Closing

Transcript

Narrator: 0:01

Welcome to the UX Teacher Prep Podcast, the ultimate destination for educators who aspire to break into the field of user experience and product design. Your host, zee Arnold, a 15-year teacher turned UX researcher, is here to guide, coach and mentor you through every twist and turn as you make your career transition into tech. If you're ready for a more satisfying career and lifestyle and you want the balance to unleash your creativity, this podcast is for you. Now for the show.

Coach Zee: 0:43

Hello teacher friends, welcome back to the UX Teacher Prep Podcast. I'm your host, zee. Today's episode is for all my career pivoters, my job seekers and especially my folks who are looking at job listings like how do I make them see I can do this, even if I haven't done it yet. I know I can do this Because today I want to talk about something real the pressure to stand out and how that pressure can sometimes tempt you to tweak the truth just a little bit. I'm going to keep it honest. There was a moment early on when I seriously considered stretching my experience in a cover letter and I want to share that story with you, not because I crossed the line, but because I learned something major in the process. But first let me warm you up with some of the wildest job hunt moves I've heard of. I was looking up like trying to figure out what was the craziest thing that someone has ever done to get a job. These people were doing the most. So the first one is that someone had a shoebox resume. So somebody literally sent one shoe in a box with their resume and a note that said now that I got one foot in the door whatever else they were saying and it sounds corny, but it's definitely memorable Would I do it? No, but it was effective because they got the interview. Another one I learned about was the Google Ads trick. So another person bought Google Ads that targeted the names of their hiring managers. So when the hiring managers Googled themselves like a lot of hiring managers do a personalized job pitch popped up in their screen. Now that takes confidence and it also takes a lot of money, because you have to have a budget for that. That, I think, is also crazy. And then there was the resume video game. That's actually my personal favorite. Someone built a playable video game as their resume, and this is my favorite. So basically, with the video game, each level walked you through their background, their skills and their achievements. Now that is storytelling. You don't have to embellish anything, you can just let your creativity speak for itself. So, yeah, those are the three things that I learned about when I was researching. What are some of the craziest things people have done to try to get a job, or at least try to get an interview. So now let me get back to me.

Coach Zee: 2:55

So at the start of my UX career, pivot I came across this company. I was really excited about their mission, aligned with my background in education and everything that I wanted to do. So I was like this is it? This might be the one, but the job description? Basically, they wanted five years of experience and fluency in five different tools, four that I hadn't even heard of. I knew I could do the job, but I was feeling discouraged because I didn't have you know, I didn't check all those boxes, but I was also feeling determined. So here's what I did. I dug into their product, their website, their customer reviews, reddit threads, you name it and I spotted a major pain point. They were doing research, but it wasn't being used across their teams.

Coach Zee: 3:40

So, as an educator who had experienced that already user needs, cross-functional work and system building I knew I could add value, but my resume didn't spell it out neatly. That's when I had the thought, that little voice crept in and said what if you just said you'd done the exact thing before? Nobody's going to check? But I paused because I knew that wasn't who I was or who I wanted to be in this space. So, instead of stretching the truth, I got strategic. I crafted a cover letter that leaned all the way into my real strengths. I said you're collecting data but the insights aren't being used consistently across teams. I've seen that problem before. As a teacher, I built systems that help cross-functional teams from parents to admin to students work off the same data. I want to bring that same mindset here.

Coach Zee: 4:35

That wasn't a lie, that was translation, that was connecting the dots between what I had done and what they needed. And guess what? I got the interview. So we had a real conversation about the job and about how I could bring my best self to the table and improve the organization. About the job and about how I could bring my best self to the table and improve the organization. Did I tell you the truth? I did not get the job, but I left the process knowing that I stood out and I stood on truth and I stood on strategy. And the next opportunity that came, I was more than ready. So that was a great practice exercise to experience how I could craft my experience in a way where I could still tell the truth but still show someone that I could do the job.

Coach Zee: 5:16

So here's what I want you to take away from my little story today. There are going to be moments where you're going to want to round up your experience a little bit too far. You're going to see flashy posts where folks are like fake it till you make it, and you're going to wonder do I have to lie to compete with all these other people who want the same position? Let me be clear. You do not. You just have to learn how to speak your value in a way that makes sense to them. You have to connect your story to their pain point. You have to study the company like you're about to present it on Shark Tank, and you have to believe that your real experience, when framed correctly, is enough, because it is.

Coach Zee: 5:55

If this episode hit home, do me a favor Share with someone who's job hunting and needs that extra encouragement to stand tall in their truth. And if you've ever been tempted to jazz up a skill on your resume, tell me about it. No judgment, we've all been there. But let's talk about what you hopefully did instead. Until next time, keep applying pressure and keep betting on yourself. We'll talk soon.

Narrator: 6:21

Hey, thanks so much for tuning in. If you like this podcast, hit, follow and scroll down to leave a five-star rating. Then share it with a friend. If you're looking for resources to help you on your tech transition journey, head over to uxteacherprepcom. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram at uxteacherprep for daily tips and motivation. Have a topic you'd like to hear addressed on the show? Send us a DM on Instagram. If you're listening on YouTube, like, subscribe and share. Until next time, be well.