Brian Lin - When a Bootcamp doesn't lead to a job
Brian Lin shares his advice on where to focus your energy as you prepare to look for a job, whether or not you have gone through a Bootcamp! This episode covers so many hot topics in the product design industry today, from how to take it upon yourself and get prepared for the job you want to what hiring managers expect from junior and senior-level designers. Read the article below and listen to more of Brian's great advice in the full episode!
In episode 25 of The Product Design Podcast, Seth Coelen interviews Brian Lin, Director of Product Design at Lunchbox, where he oversees product design and product research teams.
Brian has been in the game for over twenty years and has witnessed the evolution of product design firsthand. This episode brings tons of advice straight from a hiring manager's perspective, which will help you regardless of what level you are at in your product design career path.
When Brian was in middle school and high school he was part of the first or second cohort of a pilot program in Toronto called CyberArts. He found an early interest in design because this program injected art and technology into the core studies like geography and history. The curriculum was advanced and provided him with college-level skills at the high school level. When he realized this, he began working right away and had a steady flow of work coming in when the industry was just emerging.
Over the years, he recognized a shift in focus to creating experiences through the web and spacial interaction, which eventually led him to become a product designer. At one point, he opened a boutique agency with one of his partners, which brought even more experience for Brian. Within about ten years after they closed the agency, he moved through several other areas, including gaming, fintech, health tech, food tech, and culture tech.
Brian saw an opening when he first started, so he hit the ground running and has been able to collect so much valuable advice during his 20+ year career. He shared some things that he tells aspiring and junior level designers so they can follow in his successful footsteps.
“The biggest pitfall I see a lot of young designers or aspiring designers fall into is they don't start. They're just constantly reading and reading and consuming and consuming, but it's like none of that has been applied.”
Brian has been involved in the hiring process for several companies and has some excellent advice for those looking to get a new job in product design. Whether you are just starting or have been in the game for a while, here are some things to keep in mind regarding what a hiring manager expects from product designers who want to join their teams.
This episode was fantastic and packed with such valuable advice straight from Brian. Hearing what he has to say will help so many people to take a step back and evaluate where they need to begin working to fill in the gaps they have as they continue along their product design career path. We are so grateful that Brian took the time to share his perspective and advice on so many hot topics in the design industry right now.
Listen to the complete episode on The Product Design Podcast, which includes an in-depth overview of Brian's career path and perspective on what design looks like in an agency versus big organizations with high design teams. Don't forget to follow Brian on LinkedIn and Twitter and keep an eye out for what else he has to say about the hottest product design industry topics!
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