Signal vs. Noise
In the past, a simple résumé was enough to secure a job. Now, job hunting has become a convoluted process involving social media, portfolios, professional photography, videography, and even follower counts. I blame LinkedIn, but that’s for another discussion.
For my “Portfolio 3.0” (that’s what I’m calling it now) project, I’ve mapped out a user flow, defined my target audience and personas, and crafted text copy. As a systemic thinker, I don’t work linearly. I zoom out to a 50,000-foot view, then dive into granular details, iterating back and forth. Clarity emerges from grasping the big picture while perfecting key details to ensure efficiency and impact.
The shortest path between two points may be a straight line, but life is often messier—more like a wave. Lateral thinking is crucial here, driving creativity across disciplines. It helps us generate ideas, navigate the noise, filter out weak ideas, and arrive at innovative solutions that connect point A to point B effectively.
Figure: Brainstorm and rough sketch of portfolio user flow
My immediate target roles are:
Senior or Lead UX Researcher
Principal UX Designer
Data Scientist
Quantitative Researcher
Financial Advisor
or MSCF Candidate
My long-term goals are:
Portfolio Manager
or PhD Candidate
I’m realizing my users are my professional network, but the primary persona is actually me, the job seeker. My target roles are my goals, with my ultimate goal of continuing to live a comfortable life (i.e. pay my bills, build a home, travel in retirement), contribute positively to the community, and hopefully inspire others to achieve their goals.
My main pain point is navigating the job market networks, filtering the noise and obstacles, and getting directly in front of people who are facing problems that I can solve, all the while getting paid for the value that I deliver. I can leverage my Data Science skills to go directly to the hiring managers in need of my specific skills.
Figure: The UX Design Process
This marks the end of the Definition phase of my portfolio. I have imperfect documentation, but greater clarity of focus as I move into the Ideation/Design phase.
