I don't hire unicorns
Ten years ago I gave a talk at Interact called "Unicorns - legend or fable?". The question was whether a designer should be able to do everything. Research, information architecture, visual design, copy, front end code. All in one person.
My answer then is my answer now. I don't hire unicorns.
At the time, the internet was full of ways to become one. Become a UX unicorn in five easy steps - for $23 a month. A LinkedIn post promising to "embed UX in every organisation"... with a one-day training course. And I lost count of the times someone in the business asked "can't you just train me? Isn't there a three-day course?"
Everyone was being told to learn psychology. Funny - nobody was being told to learn to draw.
What I believe in
I believe strongly in the T-shaped person. But I don't believe in broadness for its own sake. I believe in specialists. I believe in talent.
The best information architect, the best visual designer, the best copywriter and the best coder, working together, will give you the best experience. My job is to bring the right talent in at the right time. Because ultimately it's about success for the customer - not about proving that agile can turn a person into a generalist.
Ten years on
The unicorn has a new name. AI means anyone can produce a screen, a flow, a bit of copy, some working code. That's genuinely useful. But it's the same promise as the five easy steps - just faster.
What I look for hasn't changed. People who are exceptional at their craft, and who can join the dots with everyone else's. You don't need to be a Jedi master at everything. You do need to know who is.
Tip
Hire for depth, then build the team for breadth. If one person could do it all, you wouldn't need a team.
Starter for 10 - some useful links
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool - how real expertise is built
Range by David Epstein - the case for generalists, if you want the other side of the argument
Tim Brown of IDEO on T-shaped people - the origin of the idea
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