D.Circle
Let's try an experiment! I (Julie Zhuo) would like to gather a group of 8 young, talented, female designers for a virtual mentorship circle that will run for 3 months (7 one-hour sessions). The goal will be to work on defining what a successful design career means to you, and how to overcome the specific barriers that might hold you back. This will be entirely free. I've never done this before, and I want to try for 3 reasons: 1) I believe strongly that none of us are islands when it comes to our careers; other people invested and believed in us, and we in turn should believe and invest in others. I'm hoping that my past experiences and lessons, as well as my network, can meaningfully help others earlier in their path. 2) I know I will learn a lot from and personally enjoy getting to interact with a group of amazing designers 3) I want to focus in particular on women and traditionally under-represented groups in tech because I'd like to see that diversity reflected in future leadership. -- Who is the ideal participant? * You're young but not completely new to the world of design, specifically product design. You've done 2-5 years of full-time product design professionally, or the equivalent. * You're an individual contributor designer, not a manager. * Your design fundamentals are strong. * You have big dreams for your career ahead. * You can fully commit to being present, open and engaged for 7 sessions between now and January. They will be every other Thursday evening at 8pm PST starting on October 15. There will be some light prep work ahead of each session, as well as coordination within a Facebook Group. The full calendar at 8pm PST: Oct 15, Oct 22, Nov 5, Nov 19, Dec 3, Dec 17, Jan 7 I know this time may not work for many people (especially those in non PST time-zones, especially Europe, Africa, Middle East and Eastern Americas), and I apologize for the narrow window it presents. At the moment, this was the only slot that works for me. -- What will we cover? Here's a rough sketch of the different topics we'll cover, a work-in-progress that will evolve based on what the participants feel will be most useful. - Designing the career you want, and how to have career conversations - Playing the confidence game - Translating the language of design so our peers can understand our intent - Honing our design skills - Being included and fostering inclusion - Getting the support you need to thrive -- If you're interested in participating, fill out the form below by EOD Thursday October 8th. Participants will be informed by Sunday, October 11th, and selected on the potential of this program to make a meaningful difference for them and the overall design community. Any questions? Hit me up at match@juliezhuo.com! And if you read to the very end, thank you, and please tell me your favorite animal under "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"