We are indefinitely calling it "quits" on New Layer, this is potentially our last episode. When is the right time to call something "quits?" Quitting never feels good, it even has many negative connotations surrounding it, but sometimes stepping away from something is the best thing you can do for it and yourself. For the New Layer podcast, the time has come for Jasmine and Tanner to step away. Learn more in this short episode.

When to Call it Quits

What's a dream job and how will you know it when you see it? In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine break down what it means to have a "dream job" and why so many designers end up in their dream job only to realize it wasn't very dreamy after all.

Dream Jobs

What is influence and how do designers build it? In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine uncover the various ways designers can build influence in their lives and careers. Influence is built through showing up and having a presence, reflecting authority appropriately, leveraging information to build social proof, being consistent, and reciprocating influence from others. All this and more, in this week's episode of New Layer!
Mentioned in this episode:
How to Win Friends & Influence People - https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034/
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X/

Building Influence

What exactly *is* a design workshop? What's the difference between an effective meeting, a workshop, and an email? In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner ruminate and discuss, as well as share experiences of hosting and attending workshops that worked well. Whether you're planning to host a workshop soon or just want to expand your toolset, this is a must-listen episode.

Hosting Design Workshops

In this short but sweet episode of New Layer: Tanner covers for Jasmine, who is out sick, by reading one of her highly regarded article How to look at evidence and not translate it into your own agenda. We'll be back next week for our regularly recorded programming.

Looking at Evidence Without Bias

What is ambiguity and why do product designers talk about it so often? A listener to the podcast emailed us for help on the subject, so we obliged. Whether you're just starting out in your career and hear the term come up often, or have been designing for a while and are still unsure of what it means to deal with ambiguity, this episode we talk about it all. Note: Jasmine was overcoming a sickness on this episode so is a little cough-y.

Dealing with Ambiguity

When you start a new job, take on a new challenge, or join a new team, you probably find yourself experiencing some form of doubt. Worse is as you progress in your career and that doubt remains. When do career professionals stop doubting themselves, if ever? In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine share their experiences with career doubt, dive into the true meaning of the word, and spotlight techniques and tools anyone can use to take advantage of doubt and turn it into a superpower.

When Do You Stop Doubting Yourself?

What is a "strategy" and why does it matter? What responsibility do product designers have to be good strategists? In this episode Tanner and Jasmine discuss the meaning of strategy, why it's important to invest in, and how anyone—at any level—can become better strategic thinkers.

What We Mean When We Talk About Strategy

Have you ever been wrong? Of course you have, we all have. What matters more than being wrong or right is what you do when you're wrong (and therein after). In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine Friedl and Tanner Christensen talk about what it means to be wrong as a product designer and leader, and why building cultures where "strong opinions, loosely held" is optimal for teams and individuals alike.

What to do When You're Wrong

What's the value of being a certified designer? For designers interested in getting certification or those hoping a certificate program will help them land a job, what should they know before signing onto a bootcamp or similar program? In this episode Tanner and Jasmine share their personal—spicy—opinions on the subject.

Design Certification

How do designers track their work? Should they? In this episode, Tanner and Jasmine discuss the importance of tracking your work—through journaling, screenshots, video, and more. When it comes time to reflect on your growth, your toolkit of processes and knowledge, or sharing with peers or stakeholders, tracking work plays a major role.

Keeping Track of Work

What do you do when you get blocked? That is: what's the best course of action when something is obstructing your path forward, to success? In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner share examples of times they've been blocked in their career and the variable ways to get unblocked. From naming the block to exploring the landscape around it, this episode is packed full of what we hope to be helpful tips (and some very unhelpful jokes).

Getting Unblocked

What are you responsible for at your job? To find out you'll have to talk with your team, your manager, and even your customers. But often we don't have those conversations, why? To do your best work you must understand not only what your role and responsibilities are, but what those are for your team too. In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner discuss responsibility as it relates to expectations and the ever-expanding circle of responsibilities we each have when it comes to the work we do.
Mentioned in this episode: How to define roles and responsibilities, a playbook from Atlassian (https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/roles-and-responsibilities).

Responsibility

What should you look for when choosing a manager? What type of manager would you work with best and what signals might you use to determine as much? In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine discuss their past experiences with good (and not so good) managers, as well as what types of managers are out there and how to identify the right manager for you.

Choosing a Manager

Recruiters are a vital, but often neglected or otherwise belittled, part of the job-finding process. In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner share what it is exactly recruiters do, how they do it, and why it's so important that designers treat recruiters as any other member of the team. From being your authentic self to getting to know the recruiters, negotiating, and more.

How to Talk to Recruiters

Personal values are how we measure our lives and evaluate trade-offs. They enable us to quickly and effectively make decisions while ensuring a high quality of work and livelihood. In this episode of New Layer, both Tanner and Jasmine share their personal values and how each came up with them. Spoiler: there's no right or wrong way to define your personal values. What matters is that you identify what matters most for you in your life and career so you can ensure you're making decisions toward those values.
For more on values check out: https://www.lifehack.org/866227/personal-values

Developing Personal Values

What does remote communication offer that in-person can't? What challenges, opportunities, and unique value does communicating remotely provide designers and the teams we work on? We discuss all this and more in this episode of New Layer!

Remote Communication

Looking for your first design job? Thinking of making the switch to a larger or smaller company? Moving from freelance to in-house? Each type of job has different benefits and drawbacks, as with most things we discuss today: the right type of job for you is going to depend a lot on who you are and what you want from your career.
In this episode, Jasmine and Tanner discuss some of the tradeoffs they've observed with each different type of job designers might consider. Personal stories, lessons learned, and skills (plus a reminder) all designers should be mindful of no matter what stage of a career they're in.

Types of Jobs

Is there space in the product design industry for older designers? What should designers do as they reach ages 40, 50, 60 and beyond? A New Layer listener recently asked and in this episode we answer. Jasmine and Tanner talk about what it means to be an older designer: the advantages and disadvantages faced, who to look for as an example, why you should keep designing no matter your age, and the role biases play in the hiring of older designers. This and more in this episode of New Layer!

Age and Design

What is interaction design, why does it matter, and how do you go about it? In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine outline what interaction design is and why it's a core part of digital product design; from mapping out comprehensive user experience to defining and understanding the underlining architecture of a digital experience, interaction design is a core part of the product design skillset.
Resources for learning more about interaction design:

 Interaction design basics from usability.gov
 A visual vocabulary  for describing information architecture and interaction design
  NNGroup Journey Mapping 101

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