54. An Ugly Design Career with Trevor Alexander

If you’re not in the top 5% of bee catchers in the forest, you had better be using honey.Wait… software.As software engineers and designers we often default to the same, traditional method when job hunting. We often feel that our careers can only ever be as good as our portfolio or resume. So, we spend countless hours perfecting our resumes. Or if you’re unlucky enough to be a designer looking for work, you need to also make sure you’ve written well thought, captivating case studies for your portfolio.But what if we didn’t have to do that? What if, instead, we focused on our network to help us find our next job?This week, we talk with Trevor Alexander, author of the new book, An Ugly Design Career, where he discusses uncommon ways to build an amazing design career where your opportunities come from a trusted network, not endless interviews and portfolio revamps.Stick around until the end for a very special treat.Topics:• 04:30 – The idea behind the book.• 05:57 – Focus on building your network• 08:05 – A B player will always get more jobs than an A player everyone hates• 10:41 – Your reputation precedes you; good or bad• 11:28 – Unless you’re in the top 5% of your field, you can’t be a jackass• 12:22 – How do fresh designers build a reputation?• 15:40 – People will never forget how you made them feel• 18:53 – Just don’t be an asshole!• 21:14 – What do we replace our portfolios or resumes with?• 22:24 – Find your circle of influence• 30:06 – Your reputation is important in really large companies too• 36:37 – Don’t let little details get in the way of the big picture• 37:46 – You’ll get brought into more strategic conversations if you’re not shooting everything down• 40:53 – Tenacity over tone• 43:37 – Everything you need to be successful you learned in Kindergarten• 52:45 – Hugo and the Impossible ThingHelpful Links:• ugydesigncareer.com• trevoralexander.com• Follow Trevor on Twitter• Connect with Trevor on LinkedIn• Hugo and the Impossible ThingAbout TrevorTrevor has been an active designer in the tech industry for over sixteen years. During that time he’s been a part of three successfully sold start-ups and has had responsibilities ranging from solitary designer, to design lead, to VP of Product. He’s had the pleasure of working with, hiring, and managing many designers during the course of his career.He’s made amazing bonds with some great colleagues, mainly through the actions prescribed in his writing. Fortuitously, he has never needed a portfolio or resume during his career as those colleagues were always eager to bring him along on their adventures.He’s just finished writing a book titled “An Ugly Design Career” which looks to provide some unusual or unorthodox tactics for designers to help grow their careers, including “Design Through Ambiguity”, “The Best Isn’t Always The Best”, and “Developers Get You More Work Than Other Designers.”—– Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a comment and a five-star review. It helps us out a ton.