Selling yourself as an extrovert in Product: Activation at SXSW(Mar 2022)
Ever get the sense that the portfolio you send to companies barely shows you as a person? If you’ve been reading my past few articles, you’ll know what it’s like to run HotJar and watch the talent acquisition team reject you without even checking your portfolio.
In January, I found out that all the internship positions I had applied for were not even applicable to me. After two months of relentless emailing and cold calling to find out that I should have been applying for Junior roles, I was back to the drawing board.
Here is the dilemma I encountered: With the rest of my February, I could A. Focus on applying to Junior roles for February, OR B. Show off my ability to design products and show my process in person.
TL; DR: If you are an extrovert, your massive advantage is minimized whenever you choose your computer over meeting others in real life. Never forget that UX and Product Design are highly collaborative and communicative fields. Going in person shows what kind of person you are, not only as an individual contributor but also as someone who can take charge and lead initiatives unprovoked.
My activation, which lasted five days, generated 600 unique visitors, 1300 page views, and 14 referrals. Want to know how I did it? Read more below.
Entering My SXSW Activation
Soft Skills Tip: Know Thyself
While I love nothing more than reading a great magazine on a Friday Night, a simple phone call or text from a good friend is enough for me to head to the bar/club within the hour. I read plenty, from Inc, Fast Company, and Architectural Digest to industry-specific platforms like The Esports Observer, The Overthinkers, and Reforge.
I like going out of my way to meet new people because I’m just curious. As much as I would like to think of myself as a technical designer, I am not. What makes me such a great designer is my affinity for collaboration. Years of competitive ice hockey will help you understand the power of delegation and that in life, we care about teams that win, not individuals.
As an extrovert, I looked for events that brought in huge traffic and revolved around product design and experiences. SXSW brings in nearly 196,000 travelers and is located in the third-largest product design hub in America.
Going in Person: Brainstorming for SXSW
Let’s wind back the calendar to my last post. It’s February 9th, and I have just applied for my 50th company of the new year. I was in a place where I was having ok 3rd round interviews with all of these companies and got the notification that I would hear back in April 2022.
Between February 9th and April, I wanted to use my time productively, so I looked at what events were happening in March. In person, SXSW in Austin, Texas, was slated for the 11th-20th of March.
For those who don’t know what SouthBy(SXSW) is, it is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences jointly organized mid-March in Austin, Texas.
Before buying my ticket, pass, and Airbnb, I started brainstorming how to sell myself at SXSW.
Welcome to my brainstorming purgatory
Where, When, What & Why
Where is it?
Austin, Texas
When is it?
March 11th-March 20th
What’s the end goal?
Getting my name and portfolio into the consideration pool for talent acquisition & product teams.
Bringing my organic search results up
Getting referrals to companies I would like to work for
Why SXSW?
The panels at SXSW would help me develop unique insights for my next interview rounds.
Austin, Texas, has had the second-fastest growth in the country, and its product design teams, behind New York and Seattle, have grown the third-fastest.
I like meeting people & learning new things
Give & Take Strategy: Building a Unique Product
Whenever you go to events, remember that you are one of a hundred thousand people. The question you need to answer is: Why should people remember me?
Change the way you approach the relationship.
Senior Designers and Recruiters are people, too. Truly think about this for a second. The next time you think about handing someone your business card, put yourself in that person’s shoes. Even if the mission is to get a job in the end, no one likes to be sold to, at least not that directly.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, people want relationships, not transactions. If possible, give the other person a reason to follow up with you. There are plenty of things that you can do to stand out.
Offer a great life story.
Find common ground.
Show them a new experience.
Here’s what I did specifically.
Introducing the Non-Business Card
The adoption of QR codes & use of popular culture
If you haven’t seen Squid Game, the premise is that a well-dressed Korean man(me) plays a game called Ddakji(the red and blue squares), and when you win, you get a prize. In this case, you get this card that costs me $1.
What do you get?
I curated a list of events that were not sold out and included details on how to RSVP for a private event. Nearly 300 events happen every day.
I first removed the events with bad sponsors. Next, I looked for events that were too similar and searched everyone online to learn more about the company and why they were holding the event. Third, I reached out to my friends in nightlife and hospitality in Austin to not only have exclusive events only found on my website but also have quality links to parties and events.
How did I find these events?
I am incredibly good at metasearch.
My Principle on QR Codes
QR codes are a form of CTA. Because they are such straightforward CTAs, they better lead to a good experience. Check it out below.
The Technical Side: Building a Unique Product
Let’s discuss why I built a curated list for SXSW. Every year, experts across all fields have trouble finding events because they are busy.
Speakers/Event Coordinators/Heads of Programs are:
Busy speaking at Events
Too Tired to Find Events
Have Strange Hours of Operations & Downtime
Imagine speaking for 3 hours of your afternoon to a crowded convention room full of people, and you now have downtime at 7 PM:
Guess what? You have a strange card with only one CTA: Scan the QR Code. It leads you to a site that shows you the time, the event site, and the details for not only RSVPing but also getting in.
The WoodyKim Promise: I will never put up an event that I would not personally go to.
How did I build it?
From February 20th to March 10th, I worked 9 AM–5 PM checking venues, sponsors, size of occupancy, links to events, and registration details. Six days a week x 20 hours of work on this x 18 days: Nearly 2000 hours of work to create a perfect curated list and working chat function so that I could recommend and highlight events at SXSW.
Product Strategy — 200 Lucky Card Holders
So now you have 200 cards you can give to 200 lucky individuals. What do you do now?
Create FOMO, Hype, & Record Cohorts of Engagement
There is an SXSW Discord, Reddit, WhatsApp, and Telegram group. I dropped the link in each chat in the days leading up to the event. https://www.woodykim.com/sxsw(dead link, unfortunately)
Then, I posted pictures like the one below and challenged anyone to play the game and win one of my cards below.
You will be met with skepticism(naturally)
Every single time I handed my card out, I was met with skepticism, which is natural. Think about this for a second. A random guy(sure he has a badge) comes up to you and tells you he has THE list of the must-go-to parties AND wants nothing in return.
Here’s what ends up happening.
State the obvious(Hi + Name + I am product designer, I design products, duh)
Who doesn’t like a good party? (Strong Value Prop)(Here’s my card, the link takes you to a curated list of the best events, official and unofficial, at SXSW)
They ask (What’s In it For You?)
Hit them with the facts (Well, Austin has the 3rd most significant concentration of product designers, 2nd fastest metropolitan growth, and one of the largest tech gatherings(SXSW) annually. If you like the curated list I made or like me as a person, I’m looking to join a product design team.
If they can’t help you* (This card is meant to be shared, if you enjoyed talking to me, and want to help someone else at SXSW, please share)
If they can help you, get their contact, their name, their LinkedIn, their preferred contact method, you hit the jackpot(Appreciate it! Hey, if there are any events you are looking for specifically, let me know! and a relationship begins :)
What the QR Code Brings You To
Desktop View — March 11th Events
The Immediate Result
Proctor & Gambles First Moment of Truth(2005)
Coined by Procter & Gamble, the First Moment of Truth reflects the first time a customer, in this case, a recruiter, views your product. In my case, it was the curated list.
Would you rather they see a UX Case Study that helps them in no capacity or a curated list that they can go to during the event? If you build a product that people like, they will remember the experience and circumstances in which they used it.
The Results:
I had 200 business cards, a website, and myself. Starting on March 9th, when I landed on my return flight on March 15th, I increased my site views by 420% and page views by 459%.
Job Prospects
14 Referrals, 2 Interviews, and 23 prospects in the pipeline.
The Takeaway:
Applying for jobs is soul-sucking and rough. Everyone has their own methodology for finding a job. For extroverts, the pandemic made it hard to showcase what it would be like to join a team. We don’t just build products; we bring our enthusiasm and energy daily because that's who we are. For the extroverts, never forget that joining a product/UX design team is more than just the work. People want to discuss the products they build, collaborate, and work together to make something refreshing and new. Sure, you can cold call/email them, but why not just show them your full potential?