Hi! Nice to meet you

What I think about UX Research mentoring

It's really really hard. ...it's not hard, it's just super time-consuming.

Mentoring is not a weekly 1-on-1. It's not a Q&A or an AMA with your line manager. Mentoring is following your mentees everyday work and showing them how to do things better. To mentor someone during a project takes almost as much time for the mentor as for the mentee to complete the project.

But it's not only time-consuming for the mentor, it's also extra work for the mentee. After all they need to organize those feedback sessions, prepare for them, show their work, explain their thinking. Figure out what to do about the feedback.

No wonder most UXRs don't give or receive mentoring. It's just a lot of work on top of their already busy workday.

As I struggled with this myself, I noticed that the advice I give to my mentees is repetitive. People after people they fell into the same traps when doing usability tests and customer interviews. So maybe these pieces of advice is not only relevant for my mentees, but for many more people. Maybe for you too or for your mentee.

Who I am

My name is actually Zsombor Varnagy-Toth, but that is hard to remember and pronounce.

I am an T3 UX Researcher at SAP Emarsys and a psychology MA. Sometimes I work with other UXRs, train them, mentor them. Check my LinkedIn for the full picture.

I am not super-intelligent, I am not a UX superstar by any means. But I have been doing this UXR thing for a while now so I have my perspective and noticed a couple things.

And of course: opinions expressed here are my own and may not express the views or opinions of my employer.