Meghan Schofield is an Ohio-native who has an impressive knack for creative problem solving. Prior to her current role as a UX/Product Designer at infrastructure startup, CoreOS, Meghan worked in the field of museum exhibit design for 15 years and she also ventured into project management at some point. Meghan is passionate about creating a positive impact in people’s lives and she firmly believes that you need to have a deep understanding of your medium to become great at whatever you do in whichever field you’re in.

Key Points:

1. As a designer, you’re solving a problem. You’re not just creating something beautiful for the sake of it, but there’s always an element involved. There are parameters, goals, and rules to consider and always a consumer on one side of it. Think really deeply about what your goal is.

2. As a designer, you’re communicating all the time. Designers being visual, you need to be able to create a well-designed, well-thought of resume that stands out from the pile.

3. Curiosity, attention to detail, and knowing what people expect are three essential elements that make up a good candidate for a design role.

Enthusiasm is key during the interview process. Don’t pretend you know something or can make something up on the spot. Instead, ask them about their pain points or the problems they’re solving.

4. If you want to be a great designer, get to know the medium you’re in. You have to understand how certain pieces and parts come together. Also, having basic knowledge of HTML or CSS can come handy especially when you’re working with engineers.

SHOW NOTES (FOCUS ON THE STEPPING STONES):

[03:00] Her transition from illustration to design

[05:13] Her journey to museum exhibit design

[08:01] Day-to-day job of a museum exhibit designer [09:07] The art of creative problem solving

[10:23] Whetting her creative appetite

[12:27] Applying for tech jobs in DC was another struggle for her

[13:38] Learning HTML and CSS

[15:35] Her crushing job search experience

[17:53] Meghan’s first break into tech

[20:02] How she learned the specific skill sets required [23:14] Some curve balls she encountered at the tech company

[26:11] Another job transition

[28:19] What a design interview looks like at a tech startup [31:33] How to deal with the hard interview questions [34:44] The characteristics of a good candidate

[39:16] Meghan’s future plans

[40:49] The Lightning Round

1. Imagine that you get dropped in a brand new city. You don’t know anyone. You’re trying to start again and you only have $100. What would you do and how would you spend the $100 to get back on your feet?

Meghan would research a company that she really wanted to work for and reach out to somebody there that she could take out for dinner.

2. When you were in some of those frustrating moments when you couldn’t find a museum job or you couldn’t find a tech job, did you listen to any music or a movie or interact with any art piece that helped you brave through this situation?

Meghan spent a lot of time going to art museums to try to stay inspired.

3. Knowing what you know now, having gone through this amazing career of starting out in design then switching jobs, switching industries, ending up in tech, what is the one piece of advice that you have for our listeners who are contemplating starting on this journey?

It’s really important to have at least done some things in HTML and CSS. As a designer, you need to understand the limitations of what you’re going to be creating. You don’t have to be doing it constantly but at least have an understanding of your medium.