8 years ago, I started my journey as a qualitative researcher. Here’s a little trip down the lane with the 10 big learnings picked up on the way:
1. When starting out, be a sponge!
You landed yourself a junior researcher position! That’s already a good start. When beginning anything new really, absorbing information by plonking yourself amidst the right people and environment is key. Familiarise yourself to the basic concepts and terminologies even if only at a superficial level. This may seem obvious but in practice, ensuring your growth vs. doing the same intern-level tasks in every project can be tricky in the real world. Aim to level up with every task/project in some capacity.
On the job learning is the most efficient & there are several ways to go about it:
- For starters, shadowing: where you follow your senior and learn via observation.
- Go through past work and learn what was done for what purpose.
- Understand what it means to get the job done and slowly start taking up tasks like writing research documents, learning how to screen participants or moderate a user interview…
- …and eventually honing the more complex skills of managing stakeholders and vendors with effective collaboration.
Absorb as much as you can on the job, but also invest in being self-taught. We live in the age of free information so ensure you’re up to speed with basic reading up/videos/podcasts. It is easy to get lost in the ton of relevant information out there or even forget it after a day or two — but keep at it, as it adds up eventually and teaches you how to be a student for life!
2. Don’t seek comfort too soon
The more you do, the faster you can excel at it. Do not run away from discomfort. Be open to it, in fact, marinate in it to be able to get rid of it.
The agency life might be tough but its a gold mine for a solid foundation that no one can take away from you — ever. Working at an agency implies long hours of thankless hard work, emotional grit but also a rare clarity of fundamentals with hands-on experience that propels you into better jobs and senior positions swiftly and with as little imposter’s syndrome as possible.
While I am the first to condemn the exploitative ways of most agencies I know, the fact remains that an agency environment with its “fast paced” style offers an avenue for unparalleled command on your domain, if you want it!
Pro Tip: If in an exploitative environment, learn how to push back. It is a must- have survival skill that you will need sooner or later. I learned this the hard way but you don’t have to!
3. Punch above your weight
Even if not at an agency, it is important to drive your own growth. In fact, it is more important at the “client side” as you’re expected to know the basics and drive projects independently. Yet the lack of research rigour in some cases is rather surprising!
At an agency, it is common for junior researchers to be responsible for only a particular part of the project (like only recruitment or moderation) that automatically slows down if not entirely stunts growth. Don’t be shy to ask for more responsibility. Request to have a go at that project or task you think you can’t handle. Think beyond your current role and then beyond your current job. To truly grow — think industry. Don’t let your status quo determine your rate of skill development.
Take up challenges early on to keep your learning curve steep. The aim here is to be employable or even create your own opportunities that go beyond your current scope.
4. Have a POV…
When I was new to research, I always felt “Oh, I don’t know much/enough to have an educated opinion”. As researchers, especially qualitative ones, our biggest strength can be our individuality, our unique personality and way of thinking. This automatically evolves as you become more senior in the system and develop a sense of self-confidence over time.
Employers seek diverse minds in their teams as it enriches the overall output — so don’t hold yourself back!
5. Speak up, even when it feels uncomfortable!
It is easy to self-censor especially when you have a thought that is different from consensus or worse — opposite of what your stakeholders or managers believe in. I found myself avoiding speaking up for various reasons — either I:
- was too shy/nervous at the beginning
- or didn’t bother to ensure my voice is heard in some workplaces
- felt demotivated if previously made to feel shut down/unheard
- or simply didn’t want to add to the already existing ‘noise’
This ended up in me habitually shrinking my presence which is a disservice at all levels but most importantly to myself. Don’t allow others or the environment you’re in to dictate how you present yourself. If you have a thought — just say it! What’s the worse that could happen?
6. Using self-awareness (and acceptance) as a tool for growth
The number of core and soft skills required to be a good researcher can be demanding. There’s a lot to learn and excel in to get one task right. You will enjoy some aspects of the job and abhor others and that’s okay!
Allow me to digress for a moment to give you a personal example:
I love most aspects of research except that dreaded presentation! Public speaking has never been my forte but over the years the anxiety only increased making it a regular nightmare for me. I counselled myself with logic…I told myself several things with the hope of getting over it or escaping it entirely:
- Just tell them the deck is self-explanatory!
- Say you’re unwell
- Convince your manager to do it instead (LOL)
- Act like your job depends on it. Even better, act like your *life* depends on it
- Just read out loud from the slide…I can manage that much, surely?
You get the drift…
But that’s the thing about irrational fears — they don’t care about logic. They just sit there in your head firmer than ever till YOU decide enough is enough. I slowly got exhausted of my own demons. It was too much for my mind and body to tolerate so often and so intensely. Eventually, it started to fade. It’s not gone entirely, but at least it no longer cripples me.
As I grew in my career, my perspective about presentations changed too. I used to feel presentations are a dreadful, unnecessary burden but as I started collaborating more with clients or stakeholders, I realised the below points which helped me make my peace with it:
- The presentation is about the message — not the messenger!
- I am the best person for the job since I have conducted the research end to end.
- This is my only real chance to show all the good work we achieved. If I don’t talk about it, who will?
- Forget visibility, wouldn't I want my insights to be considered before taking key decisions?
- Mindset switch from: I *have* to present this to I *get* to share this.
Phew, it’s been a journey.
The (original) point being, once you are aware of them - play by your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Research finesse and nuance come from compounded professional skillsets and an evolving personality over time. Having self awareness & developing your authentic voice adds a unique depth to your work that little else can.
7. Think like a senior; stay curious like a junior
When you’re young all you have is enthusiasm to compensate for lack of skills. When you are well into your career, it is very easy to feel uninspired or even jaded. Doing the same kind of work over and over again can become monotonous. But it is upto you as a researcher to find a new challenge within the same game.
Constant learning & its application is crucial to growth and curiosity is the purest fuel that keeps true learning going. Curiosity may have killed the cat but it has restored my researcher drive — several times over!
8. Leveraging your power of influence
Evolving into a senior industry professional implies going beyond just conducting research — as unfortunate as it sounds. How we would love to sit with our data and just do our thing in peace. However, the magic does not happen in silos. Several high impact areas lie outside the main research work — for example:
- People Management: build relationships over time to win trust, ensure alignment across teams, get stakeholder buy-in
- Effective Communication of findings: especially the hard pills to swallow in an on-going manner
- Being pro-active with the next steps/proposing new research
- Evangelising Research org-wide so we have a seat at the table
Pull vs. Push: It comes down to showing stakeholders your value so they seek your input instead of you having to push it onto them — which is not sustainable or desirable for a successful, long-term association.
While we may not be the core decision-makers, we are the core influencers they often depend upon and that counts for something!
9. Knowing your worth
Most good researchers I know doubt themselves — chronically. Might be the Dunning-Kruger effect but also could simply be lack of self-belief. To add to it, with so many ‘UX Leaders’ out there, the community is cluttered with (might I say some under qualified) articles, videos, mentors and speakers. It is easy to feel like we’re not enough or we don’t know enough — but that is not the truth. It is important to remind yourself (and others) of your journey and worth as a researcher without feeling the need to ‘create content’ to prove it.
Having said that…last but not the least lesson I learned is:
10. Paying it forward ❤
Several people help us get where we are…friends, colleagues, ex-co-workers, kind strangers from the UX community. If you have been lucky enough to get guidance when you needed it, you know its intangible value! If the requester has done their homework & seems sincere — give that referral or have that chat on career guidance or accept that LinkedIn connection request. Paying it forward is really the least we can do for the community at large.
