UX is a desired and established field, and the world needs more UX pros than ever (source, source, source, source… you get the picture.) Being an expert at something more specific than “design” makes you even more highly valuable (and it’s not as hard as it sounds!). Here are some ideas on how designers can unlock their expertise for design application, and how design managers can support them.

I share my view on this as a design exec who has spent 15 years defining roles and job descriptions, building and maturing teams, making the case for headcount, aligning organizational needs with designer skillsets, sourcing and interviewing hundreds of designers, promoting people with those skills, and building teams around experts.

As a hiring manager and design leader, it only takes a few minutes of conversation to spot an expert — put simply, they can talk nerdy.

Fields of expertise (or opportunity to nerd-out on something) are limitless. Too often we limit our field of view to design-specific specialities, but expertise can be much broader! Here are just a few topics I’ve either hired for or supported pros on my team in their development that go beyond traditional design specialities:

• Accessibility / inclusive design
• B2B (business to business)
• Internal tools (where your co-workers are your users)
• Industry specific (for example: fin-tech, edu-tech, retail, legal)
• Design Systems
• Native mobile design
• Customer support
• Analytics / business intelligence / big data
• Machine learning / AI
• Cross-departmental facilitation (please don’t tell me you know “design thinking”)
• Establishing software development process including design and research
• and so many more!

But wait, they say; those just sound like ways of designing or things to design, they say. Yes! Exactly! It’s design! But it’s design with a specific lens you use to focus your expertise and application of design skills. Having participated in, crossed-paths with, or read a book about one or more of these is not the same as demonstrating expertise. We wouldn’t say that about research for example; the same is true of other areas of expertise. So, how do you know?

Designers: what’s your expertise? Show it off!

What are you an expert in? You need to define it yourself, because us hiring managers need to know it and find you! Can you speak to your subject of expertise in-depth with another expert? Can you describe what’s different about it from other design challenges? Do you have anecdotes about how you started doing things differently once you became well-versed in it? Does your work speak clearly to how you used that expertise to deliver high quality in that area specifically?

If you can, then showcase your expertise in how you present your career, your interests, and your work — your story should center this! First, let’s bust a few myths:

“Every designer should know this stuff; there’s no point in me highlighting it.” False. Whatever you took extra effort and time to dive deeply into is by definition not well understood by all designers — we cannot all spend the effort on all topics, period. Design leaders and well-seasoned design recruiters know these specialities and how they differ from others; we are looking for people who know it and know how to talk about it and lead others through it. So tell that story!

“If I highlight that expertise, I’ll be pigeon-holed into only those roles.” False. Unless you assert that you are only interested in certain roles, designers who have become experts in a certain space immediately showcase their growth mindset and ability to become an expert in other areas. That’s valuable for every design position, especially emerging fields where expertise is thin.

“I am an expert at my company, but not… you know… THE expert.” Stop, just stop. If you put in the work and answered yes to the questions above, you’ve got expertise. Job openings each have a unique combinations of needs and rarely center on needing a qualified “best” in a very narrow topic. There are countless companies recruiting for designers right now, many that look just like your company did before you became the company expert.

If you have an interest in a topic but are not yet an expert, design your own path

More than half of the designers I mentor land on a topic where my response is this: “It’s just a design problem; give yourself the gift of designing the solution.” First, patience. Recognize that building an expertise in anything requires time to pass so that we can apply learnings in multiple scenarios. Second, recognize it as a goal, not just an interest. There’s plenty of evidence that goals motivate us to develop strategies — and it’s a part of the design process. Know a problem, set a goal, design a solution. A few tips:

1. Pick your target. What might you fall in love designing for? If you aren’t certain, start volunteering for the “weird” projects on the team. Talk to your manager about what the open positions on the team would take on and what expertise they are recruiting for. Choosing options that align with the needs of your current business or team will create more opportunities for you to learn.
2. Once you know, make it clear to your manager that you have this goal. Ask for support in identifying opportunities where you can dive deeply into the topic, while at the same time serving the business and customers. And here’s the truth: if your manager does not support a growth goal that could help customers, it may be time to find a new manager. While this takes time, you can use your goal as a filter when you are job or team seeking: where can I go that will let me grow?
3. Do the research. Shout out to the design community — we are incredible at sharing. Start there but don’t limit yourself to the design world of literature. Want to become an expert in analytics design? Go catch up on the latest solutions and review AWS or Microsoft or past conference materials. Learn to speak the language and find new paths for discovery.
4. Find mentors and experts. Use groups like adplist.org or use your own network — find someone who has become an expert in the topic. Don’t limit your search to designers. Want to go deeper in designing customer support experiences? Go find the best customer support exec you can find, and ask them about how they built their knowledge. Seek them out in your own company and they may give you more opportunities for continued learning.
5. Consider your story as you progress. Every time you solve something in that space for a user or business, consider it as a win in you understanding that world a little more. Tell that part of your story.
6. And a controversial one: sign up for extra work. I hope to create teams where this is not required, but everyone is not in a space like that. You may need to consider putting in extra time beyond your norm to sign up for additional work. Consider it an investment in your professional development. If that’s what it takes to get actual experience applying what you are learning and testing it with real products and users, then go for it. Just be sure to manage your mental health along the way — this requires privilege to even consider, but if it’s an option, don’t dismiss it without thinking about how it might help you reach your goal.

Design managers: you are not off the hook

What opportunities are you creating for your people to become experts? You don’t have to hire them all; you can let some of them grow in your team. Does it take time to support this type of learning curve? Of course; but so does hiring. So don’t overlook its value; find a strategic balance!

Some of my favorite stories and sense of accomplishment come of seeing designers on my team become experts. They took a topic they knew nothing about and just… started. They considered it a challenge instead of a threat. I gave each of them the the support to go learn it. Some examples:

• Well before accessibility was mainstream in design, I asked a designer on my team to figure out how we could deliver fully accessible software on every launch. Her response: “I know nothing about this; how will I figure this out?” Me: “I’ve got you. Let’s go.” All she needed was my support and confidence. She subsequently led the company to win innovation awards in accessibility and leads a team of accessibility experts for one of the largest companies in the world today.
• Several years ago I desperately hunted for an expert in analytics design — someone who could craft a new and powerful analytics product. After searching for 9+ months, I realized I was missing the opportunity for my own team. I saw potential in one designer who was extraordinarily detail-oriented, had informed me he was seeking a growth challenge, and had the rapport with engineering to build from. His design inspired a complete change to the product roadmap, and they launched the most successful product redesigns the group had ever seen. Happy customers, happy team, newly-formed and applied expertise.
• One year I asked a designer on my team to invest in truly knowing our customers in the business payments space. She knew a little, but felt empowered to go big. She partnered with a colleague and they pitched a six-digit budget for a year-long international study whose results informed a successful multi-year product roadmap for the business. She just needed the go-ahead.

Look for the self-starters, the curious ones, the ones with a growth mindset. Match them with a business problem that is important enough to get prioritized and would benefit from seeing some progress early. For the love of all things good, do not require them to do double the work to get this experience. Be honest when the opportunity is not available or a match for the company, but also be dutiful in seeking out the possibility or finding related work. Help designers find experts outside the company as needed — consider a short-term consultant to assist them, or a class to boost their knowledge. I recently spoke to a designer who went to Ground School (“kindergarten for pilots” as she called it) to go deep when she started designing in aerospace!

These are the folx who become experts. Invest in them, or lose them. Because I’ll find them :).

The UX Collective donates US$1 for each article we publish. This story contributed to World-Class Designer School: a college-level, tuition-free design school focused on preparing young and talented African designers for the local and international digital product market. Build the design community you believe in.