Google UX Researcher Vanessa | From Executive Assistant to UX Researcher | Zero to UX

Today I sit down with Google UX RESEARCHER, Vanessa, formerly at Capital One and Human Factors Master's graduate (we went to the same program!).
She shares her story of how she went from being a personal trainer, to delivering coffee, to becoming a UX researcher at Google.
Such a fun and awesome interview!
👉Go follow Vanessa on Twitter! @vanution
Time stamps:
00:36 How did you get into UX research?
3:20 What did you do in a research operations role?
4:40 What is your day-to-day like as a UX researcher at Google?
6:20 What makes cross-functional collaboration difficult?
7:34 Strategies for better collaboration
8:36 What advice do you have for aspiring UX researchers? [solid gold]
19:36 If you could go back and give yourself advice, what would it be?
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• Google UX Researcher V...

[@Ingrid-hf1eu]

thank you! this is so inspirational 💓💓💓

[@zerotoux]

Vanessa's great! I definitely learned a lot from her.

[@antrelle7480]

Ah yay! I also have an anthropology degree. It’s how I got exposure to qualitative and quantitative analysis along with working with focus groups. It’s great to see black women in UX research as it’s what I am interested in.

[@aliyahwakil1210]

As an Epidemiologist, I’ve been trying to explore ways to move from government to tech and I’m so excited to look more into this type of work! Thanks for this!

[@angelnewball5615]

yay! anthropology!

[@AfiKoKo]

Thank you Kevin for conducting this interview with Vanessa! She def dropped some gems. Towards the end, I appreciated her comments about not knowing where you're headed in life and wishing she had embraced that a little more at the time. It's not fun to feel clueless about your future. But I'm trying to remember to enjoy each day towards the next chapter in my life. There is still reason to smile, laugh, and eat lol! I found myself back on your channel...Still contemplating UX research. I have also been reading up on it a bit. I wanted to switch careers outside of tech but not sure. I so appreciate videos like this though. Thanks again!

[@ManuelEscotet]

Hey Kevin you are doing such an amazing job with this channel. Believe me you and your guest are a incredible source of inspiration. Keep up the good work bro!!!

[@ottawagirl391]

She is soo cute! Very informative! Great job Kevin!

[@zerotoux]

I learned a lot from Vanessa! Such a fun interview!

[@mehulshah9138]

Kevin Liang thanks for such a great video! It’s quite insightful for someone like me who wants to get into a similar space 😄

[@mishandledgrace]

Great interviews thanks!

[@rosa_odie]

Wow - this is super inspiring! I also worked all the jobs including office management and administrative jobs in Silicon Valley. I am now making the transition to UX. Thank you for sharing and capturing a great story! :)

[@zerotoux]

You got this!!

[@rosa_odie]

@@zerotoux thank you Kevin!! :)

[@olivia-in-progress17]

I see that this comment was from a year ago, so I wanted to ask how far you have gone in this journey. I'm also in an EA/AA role now and just learning about UX now.

[@diegogarcia-serna9773]

Great video, Kevin. I have an anthropology degree myself from Berkeley and I resonate with this conversation so much. Super inspiring!

[@susie1611]

I'd love to know what 'scoping out the research' actually covers (as Vanessa mentioned whilst describing her typical day). Perhaps with examples (as far as possible of course)/what/which stakeholders are involved. Btw thanks for this and your other videos Kevin. So informative!

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

Great question! There are a variety of ways a team comes to realize that they need to conduct research. Some common triggers are 1) realizing there's a knowledge gap or 2) someone proposing a new idea and wanting to see how it holds up when we put it in front of users. Sometimes the questions are really narrow (should we change the location or color of a button) or really broad (what should our product look like in 5 years) so its best to meet with product managers, designers, sometimes engineers to "scope" the work to make sure it will truly address the needs of the team. From there we can pick the most appropriate method to address those questions. Hope that helps :)

[@susie1611]

@@Vanessa-sp6im thanks so much! So does it happen that the new idea comes from you and you actively push for it, (ie you = the UX researcher)? or is that not so common? and who realises that there's a knowledge gap? is that most often the the product manager? Another thing that I would be interested in, either from yourself or Kevin - would you say that the UX researcher is truly embedded in the product teams? Seems to me that if you're working on several products/projects simultaneously, while a UX researcher certainly doesn't provide 'consulting' services as such, you're still not truly embedded?! (perhaps I am a bit unclear on what being embedded in the product team actually means for UX researchers - any clarification on that would be most welcome) (I am a UX researcher at a big insurance firm, we have a fledgling central UX team, and just trying to learn and see how you do it all in big tech :) )

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

@@susie1611 Thanks for the context :) I've briefly experienced the central UX model at my previous company. My team is fully embedded, so as you pointed out working on several products would be pretty tough. I am dedicated to a single product team. Within that product we then have subteams that focus on specific areas (i.e. sign up, dashboard, etc.) Since I'm working with those teams day in and day out (attending the product meetings, design reviews, OKR reviews etc.) it makes it possible to build up enough understanding to identify when research could help us make decisions or explore a new opportunity (I find that more difficult to achieve with a centralized team since you don't get to spend enough time learning the ins and outs). From what I've observed centralized yields more breadth and embedded yields more depth. From a staffing perspective centralized is often used as a way to scale research with fewer people.

[@funkyandbold]

This interview was great!!!

[@mishandledgrace]

I really resonated with Vanessa on levels!!! I am in my 30s and just breaking into this KNOWING I am being called and its like my dream position.

[@zerotoux]

Right on, Mishanda!!! Thanks for watching and welcome to the UXR journey!

[@olivia-in-progress17]

Omg! I needed this! Im an EA and I was wondering how to make the shift now that I learned about UX research

[@zerotoux]

Yay!! Glad it helped; Vanessa is awesome :) Good luck on the journey and you can always let me know (or Vanessa) if you have any questions

[@Zyks10]

Go Vanessa! 👏🏽👏🏽

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

Thanks Sahil :)

[@Ralphunreal]

When you said every time you got rejected you learned something new, was it feedback that they gave you or how did you know what to change?

[@zerotoux]

Very few gave feedback, but I also knew which interview questions I stumbled on or wasn't very confident about. So afterwards I would do research and explore different ways to approach problems, and implement this in my own studies!

[@saraelisa8938]

Thank you very much for the great interview, Kevin! These are helpful, they give you an idea of how things work out. Your channel is absolutely awesome! So much value! In case you're looking for video ideas, it'd be nice if you made a video showing the tasks a UX Reasearcher does, how the actual job is. I've done some research myself and gathered the requirements in job offers and it seams Statistics is a big deal. Is that correct? Do you do Data Visualizations? Thank you much! Take care :)

[@jalexanderevans]

That is one impressive chica!

[@uxudit]

Hey Kevin, for UX Researcher in a company like a google Master degree in Psychology or into a similar field necessary? if someone has experience though in UX research.

[@jai7787]

I helped a very early age startup with their research to release a basic MVP. Can I present a case study mentioning I helped to release a mvp which later became a really engaging product?

[@sijioluloto4586]

Yes. You should Ritika! Put it on your UX Research portfolio site too.

[@calebhung7141]

do you think UX jobs require a masters as a prerequisite? or is it possible to succeed with only a bachelors?

[@zerotoux]

It's possible with a bachelors! I did it with my B.S. only. But that was 2015. While it CAN be done with a B.S., it's getting more difficult to stand out with a lot more candidates in the mix learning about UXR in 2020. If you have a bachelors and do not want a masters, I suggest getting hands-on experience by volunteering or freelancing ASAP, building out client projects and a portfolio to showcase your skills.

[@calebhung7141]

@@zerotoux Would you suggest taking the route of doing your own experiments? I’m having a hard time finding hands-on research opportunities at my university where I’m not just a research assistant. I applied to some internships, but obviously those aren’t guaranteed so I’m trying to see how I can market myself as a worthwhile investment to companies. Would love to talk to you more about this if you have the time!

[@zizio.1776]

Thank you for such an educative interview. Her story is very inspiring. What kind of graduate degree did you both get?

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

M.S. Degree! The program name is Human Factors in Information Design :)

[@oleksandralytvak8752]

Hi, thank you for great videos, I'm interested in career change, I have MS Social psychology, looking the way to break in to UX research:UX/UI booth camp, Data Analysis Booth camp or Second Master in HCI or UC Berkley UX Certification?? Will be grateful for suggestions:)

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

I wouldn't get another MS since you already have a strong foundation in social science. Look into ways you can get actual project experience so you can build a portfolio. That could be in the form of a class, Bootcamp, or seeking your own opportunities to conduct research like Kevin did :)

[@keshavkesuu]

0:52 that's where I am right now

[@mahn289]

What did Vanessa get her masters degree in?

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

Human Factors in Information Design :) its a program that Bentley University offers

[@nt6017-c2t]

@@Vanessa-sp6im Sounds interesting! How has it helped with UX? Like do you think it's too broad for UX but fun for people who are into that stuff? Or that it's a course that it's very dedicated to UX? Also, what would it be like for a person who doesn't have a psych background to take masters like that?

[@Vanessa-sp6im]

@@nt6017-c2t I know the program name is a bit odd but the curriculum is actually very UX focused! And I recall other classmates having a variety of backgrounds. Here's a link to the program: www.bentley.edu/academics/graduate-programs/masters-human-factors If you scroll to the bottom you can see a list of courses and the types of topics that are covered. They are all highly useful for a career in UX.

[@nt6017-c2t]

@@Vanessa-sp6im Thanks so much Vanessa!