Gabriela MuñozI'm a UX designer currently working at Terapify. Terapify is a video chat platform that easily and securely connects people in need of psychological help with trusted psychologists who share their culture and language.
In the beginning
I graduated in graphic design three years ago. When I was in my last year of college I met friends from programming careers and started learning programming and how it works.
In this time I learned HTML and CSS, and made some pages in visual code. In this period I made some pages with HTML, CSS and Wordpress, but I found that I liked the interaction with the user or how a person uses a website. I left this aside for a while.
My freelance history
I freelanced for about a year and a half. I worked as a graphic designer and did a lot of branding for local clients. I also did some book covers, which I never thought I would do!
I was a headhunter... Really? Sure, I was looking for talent for companies in Mexico and the United States. Basically I was looking for profiles on social networks, collecting CV's. This job was good. I learned more about how outsourcing works and what skills the industry demands. In this period I learned a lot and got to feed myself.
Well, is this article about how I became a UX designer? And where is the story?
In December 2018 I decided to stop freelancing and started looking for a job as a UI/UX Designer. It's important to mention that in my freelancer life I did some website and mobile app projects but I had no professional experience. My skills were basic and I didn't know how to interview.
The interviews!
I applied to many companies in Guadalajara and Mexico City.
The first interview was horrible. It was with a big company based in Mexico City... you know a user-centric company that only gave consulting to UX clients.
In this interview the recruiter was very good. He explained the process and always told the truth. I was not selected for this role but I received good feedback for my skills. I don't remember how many interviews I had. I just remember that in each interview I wrote down my learnings and how I needed to improve.
By the next month, I was tired. I didn't look for a job. I was about to give up.
I had two more interviews and got my first job as a UI/UX designer at a software consulting firm. Yes. This was my first job as a UI/UX designer. I learned a lot from Lucio. He always gave me feedback at the beginning. It was very complicated for me, because I had never worked with other designers before. In my time there I learned how to do information architecture, deliverables, user stories, prototyping, product quality and teamwork.
In my first job I felt like an apprentice. I didn't know many things and my knowledge was basic.
Then I came to the startup world!
Those who have worked in startups understand me; working in a startup is hard, of course depending on the size, but always growing and fast.
I worked in a startup in South America. I had the opportunity to work with people from different countries like Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, United States and Mexico. In this job I learned about how to make a product for many countries and how to work with big clients like finance, retail, health and ecommerce. Although I liked these things, I needed to make a bigger impact on users.
Now I am a UX designer at Terapify, where I understand how the things I do have an impact on many people. I'm not a trainee, I feel more confident with my role and my activities, and I do a lot of things for patients and psychologists. This path was not easy. I learned from others, took courses and made many mistakes, but I try continuously.
Now I know that I change the lives of others and that my work is very important in the start-up.
In conclusion, no matter how scared you are, being a good designer takes time but it is not impossible.
Have a good attitude, be humble, be curious and accept feedback.
This is my first article in English, if you have feedback let me know :-)
