41. Flourishing in Different Company Cultures With Sera Tajima

Sera Tajima has done it all. She’s worked at startups. She’s worked at mid size companies. She’s worked at large corporations. And now she runs her own ed tech business teaching students UX design skills for the real world.
It’s not the size of the company, it’s how you use it
If you’re just starting out in your UX career, navigating all the potential options for your career can be pretty intimidating. There are tiny startups, large corporations, and everything in between.
What skills will you learn at each? If you get a job as a solo designer, how much will you learn? If you get a job at a large corporation with regimented roles and responsibilities, how much will you learn?
Which option is best for you to grow as a designer?
Which option will keep you at the top of your game for years to come?
It turns out it might not be the company, but how you approach the opportunity.
The fact is there is no such thing as a perfect company or perfect team. Every team has its quirks. Some are better than others, sure, but you’ll get out what you put in.
This week, Sera Tajima, founder of The Craft joins the show to discuss the various opportunities and her experience working at small startups and large corporations and everything in between.
Topics:
• 07:38 - When taking a boot camp, you need to be self-directed
• 12:36 - What’s it like being the sole designer?
• 14:42 - Discovering the unknown unknowns
• 18:13 - Large or small, your job is often more than design
• 21:05 - The company size doesn’t always determine the work you’ll do
• 25:14 - Applying lessons learned at startups to being an entrepreneur
• 30:51 - pros and cons of large, small, and startup companies
• 33:44 - You can learn a lot from your peers
• 38:09 - Misconceptions
• 42:34 - The perfect company doesn’t exist
• 49:06 - Thinking critically is so important here
• 49:54 - Don’t rush your career - enjoy the journey