July 9, 2024 • 10 mins
If you want to transition to a career in tech, you have to use tech! Ever wondered how AI can transform your career transition from teaching to UX design? I'm Coach Zee, a 15-year teacher turned UX Researcher and in this episode, I uncover the secrets behind leveraging AI to streamline your job search and land your dream role in the tech industry. Whether you're a seasoned educator ready for a career change or simply curious about merging education with technology, this episode will give you actionable insights to guide you smoothly into the tech industry.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Zee (00:00):
Hello teacher friends, welcome back to the UX Teacher
Prep Podcast.
When it comes to AI artificialintelligence I find that there's
two camps those who love it andare intrigued and curious to
learn more.
They use AI in their day-to-daytasks, whether at work or at
home, and they appreciate how itimproves their productivity.
Then there's the others, thefolks who are just like nope,
(00:24):
nope, deaf to AI, use your ownbrain, etc.
I will tell you if you haven'tfigured it out from my previous
episodes.
I'm in the first camp.
I've seen firsthand how usingAI can improve my quality of
life, increase productivity andbasically free up my time to
move from doing the boring,redundant tasks to getting more
creative and doing the things Ilove to do.
(00:44):
From doing the boring,redundant tasks to getting more
creative and doing the things Ilove to do.
So today we'll be diving intohow teachers can leverage AI to
help them in their job searchfor UX positions.
Whether you're a seasonededucator looking to make a
change or just curious about theintersection of education and
technology, this episode is foryou.
Stay tuned.
Narrator (01:04):
Welcome to the UX Teacher Prep Podcast, the
ultimate destination foreducators who aspire to break
into the field of userexperience and product design.
Your host, zee Arnold, a15-year teacher turned UX
researcher, is here to guide,coach and mentor you through
every twist and turn as you makeyour career transition into
tech.
If you're ready for a moresatisfying career and lifestyle
(01:27):
and you want the balance tounleash your creativity, this
podcast is for you.
Now for the show.
Zee (01:46):
All right.
So teachers have a unique setof skills that can be incredibly
valuable in the UX field, fromstrong communication abilities
to a knack for problem solving.
Teachers just have what ittakes to excel in user
experience research roles, and Isay that over and over again
because I truly believe it.
But it's hard to navigate thejob market and land that perfect
(02:06):
UX job.
Today I'm going to talk aboutfive great ways AI can help you
in your job search so you canland your new role, the role
that you've been looking for,and finally turn the page and
get started in your new career.
So first, let's talk aboutAI-powered job boards.
Websites like LinkedIn andIndeed use advanced algorithms
(02:26):
to match your profile withrelevant job listings.
I bet you didn't even realizethat LinkedIn was an AI-powered
job board If you haven't already.
Create a profile on theseplatforms and make sure to
detail your experience andskills On LinkedIn.
Set up alerts for UX researcherroles or user research or user
experience design, etc.
Whatever role you're lookingfor.
(02:48):
You can customize these alertsbased on your location, your
desired company and experiencelevel.
Linkedin's AI is going tonotify you whenever a new job
that matches your criteria isposted.
I know there's some people whosay don't look for jobs on
LinkedIn, go here, go there.
I still believe that you canstart on LinkedIn as a starting
(03:08):
point to be able to see whattypes of jobs are out there and
to be able to see the jobdescription so you can match it.
Similarly, on Indeed, usekeywords and filter the results
to find the best matches foryour qualifications.
This is a type of artificialintelligence that has been
around for a very long time but,like I said, I bet some of you
(03:28):
don't even realize that thesesites were powered by AI.
Next, you can use AI tools tooptimize your resume.
Platforms like Jobscan, tealhqand Resiai can be incredibly
helpful.
These tools analyze your resumeagainst job descriptions to
make sure that you're using theright keywords and highlighting
(03:49):
the most relevant skills thatyou have.
So you can use Jobscan tocompare your resume with the job
descriptions of postings you'reinterested in.
This is why I said LinkedIn isimportant.
The tool is going to suggestimprovements to increase your
chances of getting noticed byrecruiters.
For example, you can input ajob description and ask the AI
to analyze your resume forkeywords like user research
(04:12):
methodologies, data analysis andcommunication.
You can also do this byinputting your resume and then
the job description into ChatGPT.
If you do this, I'd recommendnot putting any personal
identifying information intoChatGPT, and there's settings
that you can turn off in there,too, to make sure that your
information is not training themodel if that's not what you
(04:33):
want it to do.
And speaking of ChatGPT, you canuse ChatGPT to save yourself
from writing the dreaded coverletter that no one wants to
write.
Ai writing assistants likeChatGPT or Jasper can help you
draft cover letters tailored tospecific job applications.
And before I get deeper intothis episode, I do want to say
that tools like ChatGPT thatbuild on LLMs large language
(04:58):
models are not always 100%accurate, so make sure that you
read over any document youcreate using AI tools.
Once you read it, you canrevise it, edit and add your own
personal touch.
Please remember that part.
So back to the dreaded coverletter.
So imagine you're applying fora UX researcher position at
company XYZ.
You can use a prompt like writea cover letter for UX
(05:21):
researcher position at XYZhighlighting my eight years of
teaching experience and myskills in analyzing data,
communication and collaboration.
The AI will generate apersonalized cover letter that
you can then tweak and customizefurther.
It's that easy.
They can literally generatethis in seconds.
Think of how much time you'llsave by having ChatGPT create a
(05:44):
first draft cover letter for you.
I think back to when I wasapplying for jobs and I was
writing every single tailoredcover letter and there were a
lot from scratch.
It was extremely time consuming, to the point where I stopped
submitting cover lettersaltogether.
You have the tools at yourfingertips to be able to do this
rapidly and continue to iterateon your work.
(06:05):
Get a quick draft out there andthen you can go ahead and
revise it and make it fit whatyou need it to fit.
All right, let's move onNetworking.
Networking is another crucialaspect of the job search process
and I'm sure you know this bynow.
So LinkedIn's AI-powerednetworking suggestions can help
you connect with professionalsin the UX field.
(06:25):
Did you know that you canactually use prompts like find
professionals working as UXresearchers at X company or Y
organization and get suggestionsfor personalized connection
messages?
You can.
The AI is going to give you alist of potential connections
and even draft messages to helpyou make a great first
(06:45):
impression on them.
It really doesn't get anybetter than that.
I've talked to dozens oftransitioning teachers who've
told me that they felt stuck onLinkedIn and didn't even know
how to find the right people tonetwork with, let alone reach
out to a random person Coldnetworking they have no idea how
to even get that conversationstarted.
With AI, the guesswork is gone.
(07:07):
That's how helpful it reallycan be in your job search.
You need to leverage all thetools you have available to you,
and most of you actuallyprobably all of you are on
summer vacation right now, soyou do want to spend your time
enjoying the beach, enjoyingfamily, friends and whatever you
do in the summer.
So try to utilize AI so youhave more time back.
The last bit I want to talkabout is preparing for
(07:29):
interviews.
This is super important because, as a teacher, you're going
into a new field and you need asmuch practice and understanding
of the new field as you can get.
You need chances to mess up andfix your mistakes before
stepping into a real interview.
Now I know that career coaches,including myself, offer
interview prep and I honestlythink that the best way to go is
to work with a coach, but ifthat's not affordable or a
(07:52):
viable option for you, ai is thenext best thing.
So platforms like Pramp andinterviewingio offer AI-driven
mock interviews and feedback.
Interviewingio has anonymousmock interviews with engineers
from Amazon, google, facebookand other top companies.
For example, you can use aprompt like simulate a UX
(08:14):
researcher interview for anentry-level position, focusing
on questions related to userresearch methods and
problem-solving scenarios.
These platforms provide youwith a realistic interview
experience and constructivefeedback to help you get better
and better.
You can also do the same thingin ChatGPT.
You can use a prompt like I'mpreparing for an interview for
(08:37):
an entry level UX researcherposition.
Give me 10 common interviewquestions and answers to help me
prepare.
What I like about the specificinterview prep platform, though,
is that they give you in themoment feedback.
Chatgpt can also do this, butit's going to take a little bit
more crafting and knowing how toengineer the prompts to make
(08:58):
that happen.
So when I chat with clients, Iget more into details about the
prompts you could use tofacilitate this.
Now let me let you in onsomething.
I used AI tools to help mewrite this very podcast episode,
just to show you it waspossible, and it cut my
production time in half,literally.
The key is prompt engineering,knowing your audience and asking
(09:20):
the right questions.
That's how you work with AI, soleveraging AI can significantly
enhance any work that you'redoing.
The same goes for your jobsearch as you transition out of
the classroom, so I want you totake advantage of AI-powered job
boards like LinkedIn, indeed.
Optimize your resume withJobscan, teal HQ or Resi AI.
(09:41):
Craft personalized coverletters with ChatGPT or Jasper
network, effectively usingLinkedIn's AI suggestions, and
prepare for interviews withplatforms like Pramp and
interviewingio.
All of these are going to bevital tools for you, and I just
named a few tools.
There's so many more out there.
That's all for today's episode.
(10:02):
I hope these tips will help youin your journey from teaching
to a rewarding career and userexperience.
If you found this episodeuseful, remember to share it
with a friend.
Thanks for listening.
Until next time, be well.
Narrator (10:17):
Hey, thanks so much for tuning in.
If you like this podcast, hit,follow and scroll down to leave
a five star rating.
Then share it with a friend.
If you're looking for resourcesto help you on your tech
transition journey, head over touxteacherprepcom.
(10:38):
Follow us on LinkedIn andInstagram at uxteacherprep for
daily tips and motivation.
Have a topic you'd like to hearaddressed on the show?
Send us a DM on Instagram.
If you're listening on YouTube,like, subscribe and share.
Until next time, be well.
Hello teacher friends, welcome back to the UX Teacher
Prep Podcast.
When it comes to AI artificialintelligence I find that there's
two camps those who love it andare intrigued and curious to
learn more.
They use AI in their day-to-daytasks, whether at work or at
home, and they appreciate how itimproves their productivity.
Then there's the others, thefolks who are just like nope,
(00:24):
nope, deaf to AI, use your ownbrain, etc.
I will tell you if you haven'tfigured it out from my previous
episodes.
I'm in the first camp.
I've seen firsthand how usingAI can improve my quality of
life, increase productivity andbasically free up my time to
move from doing the boring,redundant tasks to getting more
creative and doing the things Ilove to do.
(00:44):
From doing the boring,redundant tasks to getting more
creative and doing the things Ilove to do.
So today we'll be diving intohow teachers can leverage AI to
help them in their job searchfor UX positions.
Whether you're a seasonededucator looking to make a
change or just curious about theintersection of education and
technology, this episode is foryou.
Stay tuned.
Narrator (01:04):
Welcome to the UX Teacher Prep Podcast, the
ultimate destination foreducators who aspire to break
into the field of userexperience and product design.
Your host, zee Arnold, a15-year teacher turned UX
researcher, is here to guide,coach and mentor you through
every twist and turn as you makeyour career transition into
tech.
If you're ready for a moresatisfying career and lifestyle
(01:27):
and you want the balance tounleash your creativity, this
podcast is for you.
Now for the show.
Zee (01:46):
All right.
So teachers have a unique setof skills that can be incredibly
valuable in the UX field, fromstrong communication abilities
to a knack for problem solving.
Teachers just have what ittakes to excel in user
experience research roles, and Isay that over and over again
because I truly believe it.
But it's hard to navigate thejob market and land that perfect
(02:06):
UX job.
Today I'm going to talk aboutfive great ways AI can help you
in your job search so you canland your new role, the role
that you've been looking for,and finally turn the page and
get started in your new career.
So first, let's talk aboutAI-powered job boards.
Websites like LinkedIn andIndeed use advanced algorithms
(02:26):
to match your profile withrelevant job listings.
I bet you didn't even realizethat LinkedIn was an AI-powered
job board If you haven't already.
Create a profile on theseplatforms and make sure to
detail your experience andskills On LinkedIn.
Set up alerts for UX researcherroles or user research or user
experience design, etc.
Whatever role you're lookingfor.
(02:48):
You can customize these alertsbased on your location, your
desired company and experiencelevel.
Linkedin's AI is going tonotify you whenever a new job
that matches your criteria isposted.
I know there's some people whosay don't look for jobs on
LinkedIn, go here, go there.
I still believe that you canstart on LinkedIn as a starting
(03:08):
point to be able to see whattypes of jobs are out there and
to be able to see the jobdescription so you can match it.
Similarly, on Indeed, usekeywords and filter the results
to find the best matches foryour qualifications.
This is a type of artificialintelligence that has been
around for a very long time but,like I said, I bet some of you
(03:28):
don't even realize that thesesites were powered by AI.
Next, you can use AI tools tooptimize your resume.
Platforms like Jobscan, tealhqand Resiai can be incredibly
helpful.
These tools analyze your resumeagainst job descriptions to
make sure that you're using theright keywords and highlighting
(03:49):
the most relevant skills thatyou have.
So you can use Jobscan tocompare your resume with the job
descriptions of postings you'reinterested in.
This is why I said LinkedIn isimportant.
The tool is going to suggestimprovements to increase your
chances of getting noticed byrecruiters.
For example, you can input ajob description and ask the AI
to analyze your resume forkeywords like user research
(04:12):
methodologies, data analysis andcommunication.
You can also do this byinputting your resume and then
the job description into ChatGPT.
If you do this, I'd recommendnot putting any personal
identifying information intoChatGPT, and there's settings
that you can turn off in there,too, to make sure that your
information is not training themodel if that's not what you
(04:33):
want it to do.
And speaking of ChatGPT, you canuse ChatGPT to save yourself
from writing the dreaded coverletter that no one wants to
write.
Ai writing assistants likeChatGPT or Jasper can help you
draft cover letters tailored tospecific job applications.
And before I get deeper intothis episode, I do want to say
that tools like ChatGPT thatbuild on LLMs large language
(04:58):
models are not always 100%accurate, so make sure that you
read over any document youcreate using AI tools.
Once you read it, you canrevise it, edit and add your own
personal touch.
Please remember that part.
So back to the dreaded coverletter.
So imagine you're applying fora UX researcher position at
company XYZ.
You can use a prompt like writea cover letter for UX
(05:21):
researcher position at XYZhighlighting my eight years of
teaching experience and myskills in analyzing data,
communication and collaboration.
The AI will generate apersonalized cover letter that
you can then tweak and customizefurther.
It's that easy.
They can literally generatethis in seconds.
Think of how much time you'llsave by having ChatGPT create a
(05:44):
first draft cover letter for you.
I think back to when I wasapplying for jobs and I was
writing every single tailoredcover letter and there were a
lot from scratch.
It was extremely time consuming, to the point where I stopped
submitting cover lettersaltogether.
You have the tools at yourfingertips to be able to do this
rapidly and continue to iterateon your work.
(06:05):
Get a quick draft out there andthen you can go ahead and
revise it and make it fit whatyou need it to fit.
All right, let's move onNetworking.
Networking is another crucialaspect of the job search process
and I'm sure you know this bynow.
So LinkedIn's AI-powerednetworking suggestions can help
you connect with professionalsin the UX field.
(06:25):
Did you know that you canactually use prompts like find
professionals working as UXresearchers at X company or Y
organization and get suggestionsfor personalized connection
messages?
You can.
The AI is going to give you alist of potential connections
and even draft messages to helpyou make a great first
(06:45):
impression on them.
It really doesn't get anybetter than that.
I've talked to dozens oftransitioning teachers who've
told me that they felt stuck onLinkedIn and didn't even know
how to find the right people tonetwork with, let alone reach
out to a random person Coldnetworking they have no idea how
to even get that conversationstarted.
With AI, the guesswork is gone.
(07:07):
That's how helpful it reallycan be in your job search.
You need to leverage all thetools you have available to you,
and most of you actuallyprobably all of you are on
summer vacation right now, soyou do want to spend your time
enjoying the beach, enjoyingfamily, friends and whatever you
do in the summer.
So try to utilize AI so youhave more time back.
The last bit I want to talkabout is preparing for
(07:29):
interviews.
This is super important because, as a teacher, you're going
into a new field and you need asmuch practice and understanding
of the new field as you can get.
You need chances to mess up andfix your mistakes before
stepping into a real interview.
Now I know that career coaches,including myself, offer
interview prep and I honestlythink that the best way to go is
to work with a coach, but ifthat's not affordable or a
(07:52):
viable option for you, ai is thenext best thing.
So platforms like Pramp andinterviewingio offer AI-driven
mock interviews and feedback.
Interviewingio has anonymousmock interviews with engineers
from Amazon, google, facebookand other top companies.
For example, you can use aprompt like simulate a UX
(08:14):
researcher interview for anentry-level position, focusing
on questions related to userresearch methods and
problem-solving scenarios.
These platforms provide youwith a realistic interview
experience and constructivefeedback to help you get better
and better.
You can also do the same thingin ChatGPT.
You can use a prompt like I'mpreparing for an interview for
(08:37):
an entry level UX researcherposition.
Give me 10 common interviewquestions and answers to help me
prepare.
What I like about the specificinterview prep platform, though,
is that they give you in themoment feedback.
Chatgpt can also do this, butit's going to take a little bit
more crafting and knowing how toengineer the prompts to make
(08:58):
that happen.
So when I chat with clients, Iget more into details about the
prompts you could use tofacilitate this.
Now let me let you in onsomething.
I used AI tools to help mewrite this very podcast episode,
just to show you it waspossible, and it cut my
production time in half,literally.
The key is prompt engineering,knowing your audience and asking
(09:20):
the right questions.
That's how you work with AI, soleveraging AI can significantly
enhance any work that you'redoing.
The same goes for your jobsearch as you transition out of
the classroom, so I want you totake advantage of AI-powered job
boards like LinkedIn, indeed.
Optimize your resume withJobscan, teal HQ or Resi AI.
(09:41):
Craft personalized coverletters with ChatGPT or Jasper
network, effectively usingLinkedIn's AI suggestions, and
prepare for interviews withplatforms like Pramp and
interviewingio.
All of these are going to bevital tools for you, and I just
named a few tools.
There's so many more out there.
That's all for today's episode.
(10:02):
I hope these tips will help youin your journey from teaching
to a rewarding career and userexperience.
If you found this episodeuseful, remember to share it
with a friend.
Thanks for listening.
Until next time, be well.
Narrator (10:17):
Hey, thanks so much for tuning in.
If you like this podcast, hit,follow and scroll down to leave
a five star rating.
Then share it with a friend.
If you're looking for resourcesto help you on your tech
transition journey, head over touxteacherprepcom.
(10:38):
Follow us on LinkedIn andInstagram at uxteacherprep for
daily tips and motivation.
Have a topic you'd like to hearaddressed on the show?
Send us a DM on Instagram.
If you're listening on YouTube,like, subscribe and share.
Until next time, be well.
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