This document summarizes Sharon Carmichael's presentation on using storytelling to get a design job. The presentation covers: 1. Researching yourself, your skills, values, and the competitive landscape to craft your narrative. 2. Designing your portfolio with a clear narrative arc that shows your strengths and passion for design. 3. Presenting your story in a way that connects emotionally and shows your craft, while also giving a view of your future potential. The goal is to leave no doubts.

1. TODAY:
Storytelling and the Art of
Getting the Design Job
Sharon Carmichael
User Experience Professionals
Association International
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2. Storytelling & the art
of getting the design job
Sharon Carmichael

3. My portfolio experience
I currently lead the Interaction Design community for Intuit’s award-winning
TurboTax experience. In my twenty years working in the field of Experience
Design at both large and small companies, I have hired numerous designers
and reviewed hundreds of portfolios.
My pet peeves are typos, illegible fonts, and people who assume they can
use her laptop to show their portfolio during an interview.
Prior to my current role, I was Manager of User Experience at Sony
Electronics and a Design Lead at Hewlett Packard. I actively run the
Customer Experience Special Interest Group in San Diego
(https://www.meetup.com/CustomerExperienceSIG/) .

4. 01. Know thyself and others
02. Designing your portfolio with a narrative to present
your best design self
03. Deep dive into crafting a good story arc for your
presentation to set yourself apart
04. Let’s get to questions and how to tackle some of
these portfolio problems
Never limit yourself
because of others’
limited imagination;
never limit others
because of your
own limited
imagination
Mae Jemison
“

5. 1 job posting
This is what the hiring process
looks like for a lot of design managers
THE HIRING PROCESS

6. The first step in an design
project is doing research.
In this case, the research
needs to be about YOU
Answers to the questions will
help you craft your story
RESEARCH THY SELF

7. Research your design
journey
What’s your path to here?
Why are you passionate about design?
Who and what are your design inspirations?
What kind of designer are you AND what kind of
designer do you want to be?
(Passionate perfectionist, master craftsman,
wearer of many hats, curious innovator,
painter of bigger picture . . .)

8. How do you compare to others
in the market?
What skills do you have that
make you stand out?
What are your values?
What type of job are you
interested in?
RESEARCH the competitive
landscape

9. What is your “T” shape?
B R E A D T H O F K N O W L E D G E
DE
EP
CR
AF
T
FO
C
US

10. What type of environment
do you thrive in?

11. 01. Research yourself and the competitive market to put
your best foot forward
02. The online portfolio
03. Deep dive into crafting a good story arc for your
presentation to set yourself apart
04. Let’s get to questions and how to tackle some of
these portfolio problems
I strive for two
things in design:
simplicity & clarity.
Great design is
born of those two
things
Lindon Leader
“

12. The online portfolio
(your foot in the studio door)
37 pieces of flair
Design your portfolio as well
as your projects
Curate to show only the best
Focus on the future

13. Relevance matters
Research the companies
you are interested in so you
know what matters to them.
Consider linking an employer to a specific
project within your website and explain why
that project is relevant.

14. Standard narrative arc
EXPOSITION
RISING ARC
CLIMBING ACTION
FALLING ACTION
RESOLUTION

15. Standard narrative arc
PROBLEM
CONCEPTING
DETAILED DESIGN
IMPLEMENTATION
MEASURES OF SUCCESS

16. The devil is in the details
Set context
Visually show your process
Explain your specific role
Provide the rationale for your design decisions
Clearly show the customer benefit
Proofread everything!

17. 01. Research yourself and the competitive market to put
your best foot forward
02. Designing your portfolio with a narrative to present
your best design self
03. Present yourself
04. Let’s get to questions and how to tackle some of
these portfolio problems
How can we make
sure we wind up
behind the right
door when the
going gets tough?
The answer is
craftsmanship
Uncle Bob
“

18. THE SHOW DON’T TELL PRINCIPLE

19. The story arc of a portfolio
presentation
PERSONAL STORY PROJECT 1 PROJECT 2 CONCLUSION
emotional connection craft competency future view no doubts

20. Tell your design
story
Craft a cohesive narrative
Thread your strengths throughout the narrative
Make it personal with customer stories
Admit mistakes
Be clear on the “I” vs. “We”
Bookend your story

21. Communication
& influence
Show your personality
Don’t over share
Be authentic
Show enthusiasm for design & role
Demonstrate poise & confidence
Show persistence & resilience
practice so much it
sounds like a conversation

22. ASK FOR FEEDBACK

23. 01. Research yourself and the competitive market to put
your best foot forward
02. Designing your portfolio with a narrative to present
your best design self
03. Deep dive into crafting a good story arc for your
presentation to set yourself apart
04. Ask and answer
Design is a formal
response to a
strategic question
Mariona Lopez
“

24. QUESTIONS?