Femke and Charli share their insights on how to approach the application process in the 2024 design job market. The hosts share strategies on how to optimize your application, stand out from the crowd, and increase your chances of securing your desired position. As competition intensifies and hiring standards rise, it is important to excel in every aspect of your application, whether it's a case study, website, or resume. Tune in to discover how to effectively showcase your design expertise and gain essential guidance for thriving in today's fiercely competitive job market.

Show Timestamps:

01:40 Catch up

03:49 What are you looking for as a hiring manager?

09:08 How to approach an application process?

12:13 What are the tips for standing out more among other applicants?

16:09 What to focus on in the case studies?

17:32 Where would you be looking for the roles?

19:49 Instagram creator recommendation - @badasscareers

21:26 Extracurricular activities and side hustles

25:24 Extra tips

Show links:

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

In this episode, Charli reflects on her 7-year journey at her current workplace, emphasizing the importance of difficult conversations in clarifying issues such as salary and job satisfaction. Femke talks about the struggles she experienced of leaving behind internal reputation and connections when transitioning roles, highlighting the value of established relationships within a company. They discuss the concept of "golden handcuffs" and the need to see if current job aligns with personal growth and challenges. Charli and Femke also share personal experiences of leaving previous jobs in tech, offering insights into recognizing signs for change and taking the first steps towards opportunities.

Shownotes:

01:02 Episode intro

02:01 Life update

05:42 Charli shares her journey at the current workplace and emphasises the importance of addressing concerns

09:45 The value of reputation and relationships you’ve built within the company.

10:48 What is golden handcuffs concept?

11:35 How to identifying important things in your role if you are starting to think it’s time to move on?

12:52 Why did Femke decide to move on from her first position?

15:59 Charli shares why she moved on from her first job in tech.

17:14 Why did Femke leave her second role?

18:59 Femke shares the signs that made it clear to her that she should move on.

20:27 What was the timeframe from the decision to taking the first steps to move on?

24:44 Was there a moment at Uber when Femke thought it’s time to move on but then realised she should continue?

Show links:

Charli's Design Career Checkpoint worksheet

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

In this episode Charli and Femke talk about their experience of having retreats with their teams, how retreats should be structured, what is their purpose and how to make the best out of in-person time with your teammates.

As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent and we usually do not get the chance to see our co-workers’ faces outside of video-calls, team offsites can greatly improve the team dynamic and subsequently enhance communication between team members. Changing scenery and experiencing new things with your team will create space for creativity to approach challenges and open doors to have crucial discussions, paving the way for growth and innovation.

Show Timestamps:

0:57 Intro

01:50 Life update

6:13 Femke’s offsite in Denver

7:56 Charli’s team retreat in France

10:00 Purpose of retreats at Charli’s workplace

10:30 Retreats as a manager vs. an individual contributor (IC)

11:46 Structure of the retreat

17:22 Did the offsite match out to the expectations?

20:50 Femke talks about her upcoming off-sight to San Francisco

23:55 Is there anything that you learnt at an offsite in Denver that you will bring to San Francisco?

24:33 Takeaways from this episode

Show links:

Charli's live workshop in New Zealand

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

In this podcast episode, Femke and Charli delve into the concept of personal branding. They discuss whether personal branding requires strategic planning and the level of intentionality one should have regarding their personal brand. Femke and Charli explore the distinction between personal and company brands, the objectives personal branding can help achieve and whether individuals can truly control others' perceptions of them through personal branding. Femke and Charli also touch upon the importance of personal branding for designers and how to cultivate it within a company they work at. Finally, the hosts address the issue of misalignment between one's perceived and desired personal brand, offering guidance on how to navigate this discrepancy.

Timestamps:

01:54 - Life update

04:22 - Is personal brand something that is instinctive or do you need to be strategic about it?

5: 00 Femke shares her thoughts on the difference between her personal and her company brands

07:11 - What goals personal brand can helps you achieve? 

09:40 - How intentional are you about your personal brand? Is it something that you change every year?

12:52 - Can you control what people think about you with personal branding? 

15:38 Why as designers we need to think more about our personal brand? How to build your personal brand internally in your company?

17:54 Femke asks Charli how has her personal brand evolved over the years.

18:47 - Is there anything that people reach out to you for surprises you?

21:44 - What to do if people’s perception of you is not aligned with your personal brand?

24:33 - Updates on Charli’s workshop

Show links:

Charli's live workshop in New Zealand

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

In this episode, Charli and Femke give an elaborate reply to one of the listener's requests: whether deadlines should be taken seriously. The hosts share real stories of how they approached deadlines in different projects, how unrealistic deadlines should be handled, what to do in situations when a deadline cannot be met, how to discuss deadlines and set reasonable expectations, and how one's perspective on them changes depending on their role in the project.

Show Timestamps:

01:13 Intro

02:34 Charli’s workshop and life updates

04:21 Femke’s life update

07:01 Question submission from a listener about deadlines

07:14 Femke and Charli share how they approach deadlines in different situations

11:52 What is the importance of deadlines?

17:02 Charli elaborates on why she does not like fake (buffer) deadlines

19:00 Situation when the deadline is absolutely non-negotiable

26:08 Femke and Charli discuss milestone approach to projects rather than working towards one big hand off

29:08 Conclusion

Show links:

Charli's live workshop in New Zealand

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

In this episode Charli shares her personal experience of how she got burned out from her side projects. She talks about the subtle signs and symptoms that indicate burnout and how to confront them. Charli decided to drop her side projects and restructured her life to recover from burnout.

Charli and Femke touch upon how burn out can affect your career choices, the importance of diversifying your daily activities and hobbies, why burnout is so prevalent in creative professions and the importance of defining what is healthy balance for you.

SHOW TIMESTAMPS:

1:18 Femke shares her latest life updates

2:21 Charli shares her latest life updates

3:26 Charli reflects on how she realised she has burnout and how she confronted it

6:53 Charli delves into how stopping her side projects affected her full-time job

7:55 Charlie talks about how publicly announcing that she stopped her side projects affected her relationships with people

9:40 Charli shares what she does with the extra time and headspace she has now

11:59 Charli reflects on how she recognised she has a burn out

13:21 Charli gives advice for listeners who think they might be burned out

14:25 Femke talks about the importance of defining what healthy balance is for her in order to avoid burnout

15:54 Femke shares if she ever experienced burnout in her career

16:49 Femke discusses if burnout lead her to decisions to change her jobs

17:11 Charli shares how burn out affected her career choices

19:32 Charli shares if she learnt anything new about herself after she stopped her side projects and started spending more time on her hobbies

20:17 Femke discusses her perception of identity in relation to work

21:40 Charli talks about how burnout can happen outside of job context

24:05 Charli and Femke discuss why burn out is so prevalent in tech industry

SHOW LINKS:

Charli's live workshop in New Zealand

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

Welcome back, design enthusiasts! We're kicking off 2024 by bring you up to speed on our latest adventures and aspirations.

🌟 Life Updates: Tune in as we share the latest updates from our lives – from career milestones to more personal things, we're laying it all on the table.

💼 Career and Side Project Plans: Get ready to dive into our ambitious plans for the year ahead. We're talking side gigs, big dreams, and everything in between. Charlie is sharing her plans to organise an in-person meet up in New Zealand, her plans for the upcoming book, while Femke reveals the upcoming course you might still have the chance to sign up to.

🎨 Hobbies: But wait, there's more! Discover our latest passions outside the design world. From creative writing to sewing, we're exploring new passions and keeping the creativity flowing. Who knows? You might just find some inspiration for your own creative journey.

So, grab your favourite beverage, cozy up, and join us for a candid conversation about life, design, and the exciting adventures that lie ahead.

SHOW TIMESTAMPS:

1:15 Recent updates from Charli

2:48 Recent updates from Femke

4:02 Sharing vision, plans and projects for 2024

9:13 Anything new we would like to build this year?

9:27 Charli’s live workshop in New Zealand

10:20 Femke shares her plans for the upcoming year

14:40 Thoughts on task delegation

17:02 Charli’s career goals

18:08 Charli’s book updates

19:50 Charli shares how she started doing creative writing

21:31 Discussing our hobbies

24:11 New hobbies for 2024

25:36 Femke’s plans while being on maternity leave this year and how it can affect her content

SHOW LINKS:

Charli's live workshop in New Zealand

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]