Aliyah lands a UX research job at Reddit after taking Ideate Labs UX/UI course.

Interview Summary

The video is an engaging dialogue between Samaya, the interviewer, and Aliyah, a newly appointed UX researcher at Reddit, following her completion of a four-month live UX/UI design course with Ideate Labs. Alia's story begins in February, marking the start of her educational journey in UX design lessons online, where she learns to harness her existing skills—like conducting focus groups and A/B testing—for UX research. This narrative is not just about Alia's academic pursuit but also her personal growth, as she navigates through UI UX classes online, discovering the significance of self-reflection and the pivotal role of career coaching in redefining her professional identity.

Embarking on a path to become a UI UX designer, Aliyah recounts the initial dilemma between UX design and UX research. Her tale is one of self-discovery, propelled by external feedback and introspective insights from a contract project, ultimately guiding her to specialize in UX research. Alia openly shares the hurdles she faced in the job market, the introspective journey towards aligning her career goals with her self-image, and the tough decision to discontinue a prior business endeavor to fully dedicate herself to a career in UX research.

Her experience emphasizes the essence of continuous learning and the practical application of newly acquired skills, highlighting her involvement in side projects alongside her peers from the UX/UI design course. Furthermore, Aliyah delves into the entrepreneurial dimension of her career, aspiring to strike a harmonious balance between her professional role at Reddit, her entrepreneurial pursuits, and freelance projects. These endeavors collectively play a crucial role in her ongoing professional development and personal satisfaction.

This conversation offers a profound insight into Aliyah's journey to her role in UX research, underscoring the critical importance of self-awareness and the empowerment derived from embracing one's distinctive talents and experiences within the tech industry. Through her story, viewers can glean valuable lessons on the transformative impact of UX design lessons online and the comprehensive benefits of engaging in a structured UX/UI design course.

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Interviewer: All right, hey everyone! I'm here with Aliyah, and we are celebrating because she just got a contract role as a UX researcher at Reddit after taking the Ideate Labs live UX course for four months. Uh, so Aliyah, I'd just love for you to, you know, talk to me about how your journey has been and what the timeline has looked at between like learning UX versus landing the job.

Aliyah: Yes, um, so I definitely... I mean, I guess this is full circle because the course started around this time in February, yeah, in February, a whole year ago. Um, and let's see, where do I... where do I start? From that moment and starting a year ago to where I am now, I have a very clear understanding and, um, value for transferable skills. I think the main thing, uh, following which I'll get to my experience during the course, the main thing that, um, I took away was to really lean into my past experience and what lent itself to UX research, and, um, the methods. So like, fortunately, I had worked with, uh, focus groups and I had done A/B testing. I had done a variety of different, uh, UX research methods. Um, and I was able to reflect on my past and just really hone in on, okay, with the projects that I've worked on and which the things that I've done, what is relevant to UX research. Um, and in my case, because I had been working with a lot of nonprofits and startups, I had to wear multiple hats, and I had done quite a bit of UX research, but it... I wasn't viewing myself in that, in that light or in that lane. And so, I feel like the career coaching sessions and meeting with you, Sam, was very foundational for me to even just shift my perspective of how I viewed myself and what I was capable of doing. Um, because I felt more confident when I was reading my own resume of what I had done before to signal to myself like, "Oh, I've done this, and clearly, I could do this. I'm just kind of..." I guess, getting in my own way of creating like pressure or like going up against impostor syndrome because it's not as like streamlined and clearcut and, and, and pretty and like kind of like sequential as I was thinking that it should... it should be. Um, instead of... embracing to your point that like, every journey is different, and my journey into UX research and my journey throughout UX research, um, is unique to me. And I also think that's the beauty of this, um, this industry in this space is there's also so many people I'm working with now who's like, known or... not everyone has like a direct path of like, "I graduated, and I took a UX research job, and I've been there ever since." Um, a lot of people have been different company, different industry, different job function, but that's the beauty of working with a group of people with different paths because it brings perspective and diversity of perspective, which is really important in UX research.

Interviewer: Yes, um, and then I would also say throughout the, the course, so February, those four months, I took a leap, and I took a... a step back with, um, some of the, um, like startups and nonprofits I was consulting to really focus in and dedicate my time towards the, the courses and the, the homework, and, um, giving my best and doing my best so it had my full attention and not... NE... necessarily just something that I was turning on and turning off. Yeah, um, so I'll stop there because I can definitely keep talking.

And I think focus has been something that's really important because I know when we first talked, you were torn between two ideas, and you had been running a startup before, and you wanted to potentially turn this into a startup idea. And one was on fitness, one was on candle scents, I remember. And, and you were like, "Is there a way I could do two?" And we were like, "No, no, no, we got to focus, narrow it down to one." And then the same thing happened with the job search. I remember you were actually more excited about UX design as a career path initially. You're like, "Can I go there first?" And we're like, "Well, but you have all these great research skills that you know from your past, so let's A/B test the resume." So can you talk to me a little bit more about how you kept finding focus because I think the focus is what ultimately led to your success.

Aliyah: Yes, um, well, you reminding me and being so graceful and patient with, with me coming to each of the career coaching sessions still being indecisive, like, I think I was in that phase and in that loop for maybe like two or three months. Yeah, um, and I think like the moment that I noticed that I was getting, uh, feedback, like, I... I had also been working with a recruitment agency, and I gave them both résumés. I gave them my UX design résumé and my UX research résumé, and I was consistently getting, um, interest for my UX research résumé. And so I was starting to pay attention to that, and then I also was getting, um, excuse me, messages from, um, recruiters I hadn't reached out to or just people in the UX research space that were reaching out to me. So that was kind of helping me read between the lines of, "Okay, I... I think I'm interested in UX design, but if I really pay attention to where my strengths are and what my past experience is, it's actually UX research." Um, and it also helped for me personally to work with, um, I had worked on a, um, a contract project, um, for a financial literacy app, and, um, the lead of that project who was mentoring me through... through the experience at that time. And, and it's, it's a live... it's a live contract, but okay, um, she had a lot of past experience in UX design, and that was her jam and her focus. And so, having the opportunity to work very closely with her in tandem on the project really just shed light on how I was able to add value, which I... I added way more value on the research portion of things and really realized I had so much work and, and things to learn on the design aspect of things. Just how detail-oriented she was and just her, her, uh, her vision, um, and how natural it was for her to, um, design the different screens for this app, where I naturally was more curious about who the users were, what was their journey, what were their... what were their... what is the problem space like. I wanted to find all the information that led to like, "Okay, what are we doing?" I... and I realized that like, "Oh, actually, I think I enjoy UX research more," even though design seems interesting to me. Um, that's something that I can cultivate over time, but just more so out of interest, not as in like, that's my... my emphasis, and... and that...

Interviewer: I love how you said it that, over time, you saw the data coming in and realize people were perceiving you as a researcher, but you also had that inherent curiosity for the problem space more than the solution side of things. Um, and I think recognizing that takes time, right? It's not like a... like you said, a linear path to an end outcome. It's like surfing the waves and seeing what's going on. Um, I'm curious, you'd mentioned that contract role, so you were able to get a contract right out of... you know, graduating. So talk to me a little bit more about your entrepreneurship skills and how you're perhaps... continuing with entrepreneurship as you're working with Reddit. Uh, or, you know, what does that look like for you?

Aliyah: Um, great question. Um, o... before I answer that, I did want to add to the previous, um, piece that I... I realized through the interview process and talking with people that I needed to be clear on how I viewed myself and how I perceived myself so that I could present myself with confidence, and that it's not for me to go into an interview for them to tell me where they think I fit. It's for me to go into the interview with very clear understanding of like, "What I can do," and this is an alignment conversation of, "Am I a fit here? Do I think I'm a fit here, and do I think that they're a fit for me?" as opposed to going into this thinking like, it's all about their view of me and their decision of me. Like, it's... I mean, I guess it's kind of like, for lack of better terms, dating. Like, it's a two-way street. And I think a lot of times, we lose sight of that, especially as someone like, break... yeah, breaking in, it's like, you kind of feel like you... you're at the mercy of whatever you can get. And I... I would... I would argue that that's not the right mindset. Um, because that doesn't attract the right opportunities and the right roles because you're not going to... there's no way can you... can align yourself if you don't know what you're aligning yourself with.

Interviewer: Exactly. I love how you said that. Yes, it is like dating, and you can't be the giver in the relationship, right? Then it becomes another toxic relationship where just like, trying to prove yourself, and you're on this hamster wheel, but they're not giving anything back. So it's important to find that right away and set expectations, which is really crucial.

Aliyah: Yes, definitely. And... and it makes the... I mean, it's a tough market. It was... it was very tough. I received so many rejections. Um, but I want to answer your next question, and then I can get back to that if that... if that happens to be one of the next questions. Um, entrepreneurially speaking, um, so the role that I... or not the role, but the project that I was working on during the program for the four months, I ultimately came to the conclusion of wanting to close that, and mainly because it was an extension of a business I had actually already started, okay? And I soon realized like, it... it was just time to close that chapter, even though I was trying to find a way to, like, weave it into how my life was changing and how my, um, goals and my, um, my work was changing. It just... it served its purpose for me to have something to anchor on during the program, but... It ultimately wasn't something for me to continue forward, and so I released that. And I also restructured, um, my view and my scope of work at the nonprofits that I was currently working at, where... of course, I was still working on other things, but I was very vocal about the fact that I, um, was leaning into UX research, and let them know if there were UX research opportunities for me to, to continue working on or, like, take on even more, that I... I would want to focus my attention on that. Um, and I had been there for quite some time, so it... like, personal... professional development, like, I... it was... I was in a position where I... I could share that information.

Um, and then I made friends with Crystal and Patricia through the Ideate Labs, uh, coursework and cohort. And so, during that summer, when we were talking about, like, "Oh, we need to create our portfolio so that we can apply for roles and apply for jobs," and since I knew I wasn't going to continue with the Continua... um, business that I had started and closed in real life, um, I knew that I needed to reshift my ph... focus and figure out what, um, portfolio projects that I wanted to put on my site, and that would be a reflection of the direction that I was trying to go. And so that's where we landed with Outer Place, which we're still working on, very, um... I guess, uh, passively, in a... not passively, but just like, it's... um, it's something that we consistently make time for throughout the week, um, but not as, uh... it's not... there's not a lot of pressure. Um, and we're not, like, setting arbitrary di... deadlines, um, ourselves, but... ultimately, like, we're... we're getting together today, and it's something that I'm working on with them on the weekends, and it... I value it because I'm able to not only, like, practice some of the new UX research skills, um, that I'm developing and cultivating in my role at Reddit, but have the opportunity to reapply it again, and... and that's most helpful for me because I learn best by application. So the ability for me to, like, I'm doing it for work, but then directly take, like, the methodology aspect of things or just, like, approach it with a... a different perspective of what I had learned here and applying it to another scenario is reassurance to me, like, "Oh, I understand this, and I'm comprehending this," because I did this in two completely different cases.

Interviewer: I like that. And I also love how you talked about shutting down Continua because that... that's part of research, right? Is gathering the qual and quant data to say, "Okay, this is actually not feasible for me as a startup founder," and with this data that I have, I actually need to close this down. And that happened to me with my first startup, Pawsitive for Pet App. And for a long time, I did carry it with me, and I tried to, like, run it for, like, two or three years because your first startup is like your first love. You can't let go of it. And you're like trying really hard to break up with your startup, and you're like... And sometimes you just need, like, for me, Khrys came into my life, and we just, like, started something together, and... and we didn't put that pressure that I had in... And I think for you, the same thing is happening with Crystal and Patricia. So I like that you're more, like, surfing the waves rather than, like, being really, like, "Oh, we have to do this, and we have to reach this," because that's not as, you know, how a startup works. It's very fluid, right?

Aliyah: Yes, that is a great analogy. It is precisely that. It... it's precisely that. And then, and to your point of, like, the relationship, it is hard to let go, especially, like, for those two, three years when it's so much of your life, your identity. Like, you just put so much into it. So then to be like, "Oh, I'm just gonna walk away," like, you're like, "No, I don't... We're gonna make this work. It's gonna fit." And I think ultimately, the moment that I had just let it go and then decided, like, "Okay, let me move on to something new," and I'm very grateful that with Outer Place, with Crystal and Patricia, we had already, like, been meeting frequently on our... across our different projects. So we already had, like, a... a... a symbiotic little dynamic and working style. So then to shift over to all three of us now putting our brains together for Outer Place was very, um, helpful, and also, it's... it's fun. Like, I... I like... I just really like the fact that it's low pressure right now, so then we can really focus on, like, yeah, cultivating our skills and taking her time and not putting so much pressure on ourselves. And again, having a second, like, art board kind of, for me, to really see, like, "Oh, did I comprehend this? Like, with what I just learned in my job, did I... did I comprehend this right? Am I able to teach this or explain this in a different scenario somewhere else?"

Interviewer: What you said about, kind of, to wrap up the conversation about identity, right? Because Continua was your identity for a few years, Pawsitive was my identity, and I think a beautiful thing happens when you realize that you can have multiple identities. You can be Alia, the UX researcher at Reddit, and Alia who's running contract roles and freelance roles, and someone who's starting a new company, and... and, you know, running it. Um, so what is it like with those multiple identities and finding, like, fluidity and not, like, attaching to any one identity? I guess this is not a finalized PLT. It's more like philosophical, so you don't have to have an answer for it.

Aliyah: Yes, I... I do have an answer. I feel like I have a lot more peace and a lot more acceptance. Like, I think for me, where the... dust... dust... starting to settle is in the, um, Alia, the UX researcher at Reddit, and Alia, the, um, I guess, um, founder or startup founder. Um, I feel like the... the... the contract and freelance is almost kind of funneling up to the... the founder, um, role in space because I've accepted I'm entre... I have an entrepreneurial spirit, and I'm entrepreneurial-minded. So, re... regardless where I'm working and what I'm doing, I'm always going to have a desire and a natural affinity towards having just, like, a small thing. And it doesn't need to be this huge company, you know, what I mean? That gets sold and bought and all of that, but just as long as I have something that feels like, "I take pride in this," and, like, "I was in this from start to finish," or, like, "We... we bootstrap this thing," like, opening a... like, just something as small as, like, it could be a coffee shop. It doesn't need to be, like, yeah, the Starbucks, you know, what I mean? That... that now is franchised. It's like, but I have something that is, like, my baby that I created and, like, that I get to pour my... my vision and my creative energy into. So, I think the... the entrepreneurial side of my identity sits there with Outer Place, in addition to any, like, contract work and freelance work that I probably will continue doing in the future, and that's also reinforcing, like, my skill sets and what I can even take back over to Reddit, so that I don't get stale in my... my thought process or, like, how I'm viewing things.

Interviewer: Exactly. I love how you said that. You want that diversity of projects and thought because that's what keeps you going as a creative, and at the end of the day, it's the creative flow that matters the most, that... that keeps you driven, right?

Aliyah: Right.

Interviewer: Well, thank you so much, Alia, for... for this conversation. Um, thank you for taking the time. We really appreciate it.

Aliyah: Thank you, Samaya. Like, honestly, like I said in the... in the call or in this discussion earlier, but just like, your patience and grace and continued, like, motivation to stay on track and stay the course, um, despite how, like, topy and turvy the journey is. So, I really appreciate it, and I highly recommend doing the... doing the course and doing the career coaching classes for anyone who is watching the video because clearly, it has worked a...

Interviewer: Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.

This transcription captures the detailed conversation, providing insights into Alia's journey into UX research, her learnings, decisions, and the importance of self-perception and focus in career development.