Where do you work and what positions have you held?
I work at DEV, which is one of the 14 agencies at Harvard Student Agencies. DEV focuses on building apps and websites. I joined as a UX/UI designer, designing apps and websites for entrepreneurs, and now work as Head of Sales. I serve as the main contact point between a potential client and our company, helping them figure out their idea and negotiating how we can work together.
 
What is UX/UI design and what was the transition from UX/UI designer to head of sales at DEV like?
UX/UI design is the thoughtful design of apps and websites for an optimal user experience. Websites and apps with good UX/UI design are easy to understand and fun to browse - essential for modern day businesses. From the moment I got to DEV, I knew I was interested in learning more about the business side of how the company was run. When the opportunity arose to be Head of Sales, I was really excited - I learned a lot about pitching to clients from my predecessor, as well as being able to create long-term relationships with repeat customers. Having a design background and having worked closely with the engineering team on past projects was essential for me to explain to clients what working with us would look like.
 
What did the jobs entail? What are your responsibilities?
My responsibilities as a UX/UI designer involved market research, user testing, prototype design, and lots of calls with clients. There are a lot of steps to creating a good design, so I also sketched a lot and asked my co-designers for their feedback. As Head of Sales, my responsibilities include reviewing the budget with our Managing Director, setting up calls with clients who are interested in working with us, negotiating terms, and closing deals so that our designers and engineers have a steady stream of projects to work on.
 
How did you first become interested in the jobs? How did you get the position?
I first explored UX/UI design because I've always enjoyed art and technology as hobbies and got the position after the winter bootcamp DEV runs every year to hire new designers and engineers. I was really excited to be one of the three selected to join. My interest in Head of Sales came after I realized my favorite part of working with every client was the beginning stages, when we fleshed out their idea and finalized their business model - this made me think that the Sales role would be an exciting next fit.
 
What do you like most about your work?
My favorite part about my work is speaking with clients in the very first stages, when they have an idea and want to see it become reality. They are always very excited and energetic, and their ideas are almost always really interesting. It's special to get to work so closely with entrepreneurs who are very passionate about their projects, and also really meaningful that I get to help them finalize the details of what they are trying to create. Even if the client doesn't end up working with DEV, we still provide an advisory role in the early stages to help them ideate a bit more and share our experience in what it takes to actually finish a project.
 
What is something that's challenging?
A challenging part is handling capacity on our teams. We always want to have just the right number of projects, so that every designer and engineer is perfectly occupied - so timing when deals come through is something that requires a lot of planning. We want to make sure that neither our clients nor our designers or engineers are waiting too long at any point and lining up ideal start dates for both takes a lot of consideration.
 
Does this work relate to your concentration or your future career goals?
I love pitching our work and working with entrepreneurs, and I'd like to stay in a business or finance advisory role in the future. Connecting with clients and developing a relationship with them is really enjoyable as well, so I'd like to bring that into my future career.
 
Anything else you'd like to share about your experience?
DEV has worked with companies in very different industries - fashion, housing, cargo, education, environmental efforts, weddings, fitness, philanthropy, and more. Our website is hsa.dev