Cultural Compass: Steering Your UX Career Across International Borders with Joseph Mercieca

How can UX designers effectively navigate cultural norms and expectations when applying abroad?

This week, Joseph Mercieca, a UX designer whose career has spanned multiple European countries, joins us to share his experience applying for jobs across different cultures. He offers a unique perspective on navigating the often perplexing world of international job hunting.

Joseph reveals how expectations can vary dramatically from country to country – from the emphasis on visual design in Germany to the focus on growth design in Poland. He discusses the challenges of language barriers, the importance of understanding local work cultures, and the sometimes surprising criteria that hiring managers in different countries prioritize.

Whether you’re a UX designer looking to expand your career internationally or a hiring manager working with global talent, this episode provides valuable insights. Joseph’s experiences show that understanding different cultures in the global job market is just as important as having technical skills.

Topics:
• 12:18 – What are the challenges of finding work in a place like Europe
• 17:50 – What is finding a job abroad like?
• 26:28 – Some countries are less direct than others
• 31:08 – Spend the first month getting to know everyone
• 34:07 – What do various countries look for?
• 42:44 – UI is subjective, especially across cultures
• 46:59 – Don’t take culture and geopolitics for granted
• 47:47 – Understand the icons you’re using
• 49:40 – Dealing with cross-generational norms
• 55:58 – How do we learn these things?
• 57:02 – You need to be interested and want to learn about other cultures
• 64:39 – There’s only so much you can learn from a book

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Joseph on LinkedIn
• anotherconcept.net

Joseph Mercieca
Product Designer, UX Researcher, & Accessibility Specialist

About Joseph

With over a decade of experience, Joseph has guided multinational stakeholders in leveraging UX, CX, CRO, and KPIs to drive growth through optimized products and services, including enterprise SaaS, ML software, web, and apps. His expertise lies in leading research and design initiatives through strategic planning with multi-disciplinary stakeholders, tackling complex challenges, and fostering design culture across diverse settings. His interests encompass design futures, cognitive behaviorism, ubiquitous computing, AI, ethics, and the geopolitical influence on the digital ecosystem. In his downtime, he enjoys traveling, writing articles, volunteering, and performing music.

Connect with Joseph on LinkedIn

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