Career growth doesn’t happen by accident. 
Approach your design career strategically. 
There is a 4-step process I recommend:

1. Understand the core skills 
2. Assess your current level 
3. Describe where you want to be 
4. Set goals

1. UNDERSTAND THE CORE SKILLS 
I like to split the competencies into two areas: Technical and Collaborative.

Technical competencies include: 
• User research: understand user needs, behaviors, and motivations through various research methods. 
• Information architecture: organize and structure information to improve usability. 
• Prototyping and user testing: create prototypes to test and validate concepts. 
• Visual design: create visually appealing designs that meet usability and accessibility standards.

Collaborative competencies include: 
• Product thinking: develop a collaborative process for understanding problems relying on input from users and internal stakeholders. 
• Articulation: clearly express design concepts and ideas verbally and in writing. 
• Presentation: present designs effectively to stakeholders and team members, providing context and insight into the decision-making process.
• Negotiation: help everyone involved in a design project to reach agreements and make acceptable compromises. 
• Feedback: able to receive and provide constructive criticism and incorporate feedback into the design process. 
• Cross-functional teamwork: work effectively with individuals from various departments, such as engineering, marketing, sales and product.

2. ASSESS YOUR CURRENT LEVEL 
Take all the above competencies and list them (Figjam link in the comments). Under each competency, add tasks you’ve worked on and rate your competency level according to the scale below (0 if there are no tasks). 
0: I have never done this 
1: Beginner - I understand the theory but have no experience 
2: Junior - With guidance, I’m able to do the basics 
3: Mid-level - I can do this on my own 
4: Senior - I could show others how to do this 
5: Expert - I’m optimizing the process and finding better ways to work

3. DESCRIBE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE 
Create a “career manifesto”, a written statement outlining your beliefs, values, and ambitions related to your work. Here’s how I approach this for design leadership: https://lnkd.in/dJEpfa6b. Think about what you want to be doing two years from now. For a long-lasting and fulfilling career, focus on the areas that you find interesting and enjoyable.

4. SET GOALS 
Set specific, achievable, time-constrained goals—eg. Perform three user tests with five participants per test before the end of the year—that will help you get closer to the career ambitions you set out in the previous step.

If you have a mentor or manager you trust, get them to work on this with you. Be honest, but not too hard on yourself! In the words of Shunryu Suzuki: “each of you is perfect the way you are...and you can use a little improvement”.Career growth doesn’t happen by accident. 
Approach your design career strategically. 
There is a 4-step process I recommend:

1. Understand the core skills 
2. Assess your current level 
3. Describe where you want to be 
4. Set goals

1. UNDERSTAND THE CORE SKILLS 
I like to split the competencies into two areas: Technical and Collaborative.

Technical competencies include: 
• User research: understand user needs, behaviors, and motivations through various research methods. 
• Information architecture: organize and structure information to improve usability. 
• Prototyping and user testing: create prototypes to test and validate concepts. 
• Visual design: create visually appealing designs that meet usability and accessibility standards.

Collaborative competencies include: 
• Product thinking: develop a collaborative process for understanding problems relying on input from users and internal stakeholders. 
• Articulation: clearly express design concepts and ideas verbally and in writing. 
• Presentation: present designs effectively to stakeholders and team members, providing context and insight into the decision-making process.
• Negotiation: help everyone involved in a design project to reach agreements and make acceptable compromises. 
• Feedback: able to receive and provide constructive criticism and incorporate feedback into the design process. 
• Cross-functional teamwork: work effectively with individuals from various departments, such as engineering, marketing, sales and product.

2. ASSESS YOUR CURRENT LEVEL 
Take all the above competencies and list them (Figjam link in the comments). Under each competency, add tasks you’ve worked on and rate your competency level according to the scale below (0 if there are no tasks). 
0: I have never done this 
1: Beginner - I understand the theory but have no experience 
2: Junior - With guidance, I’m able to do the basics 
3: Mid-level - I can do this on my own 
4: Senior - I could show others how to do this 
5: Expert - I’m optimizing the process and finding better ways to work

3. DESCRIBE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE 
Create a “career manifesto”, a written statement outlining your beliefs, values, and ambitions related to your work. Here’s how I approach this for design leadership: https://lnkd.in/dJEpfa6b. Think about what you want to be doing two years from now. For a long-lasting and fulfilling career, focus on the areas that you find interesting and enjoyable.

4. SET GOALS 
Set specific, achievable, time-constrained goals—eg. Perform three user tests with five participants per test before the end of the year—that will help you get closer to the career ambitions you set out in the previous step.

If you have a mentor or manager you trust, get them to work on this with you. Be honest, but not too hard on yourself! In the words of Shunryu Suzuki: “each of you is perfect the way you are...and you can use a little improvement”.