Dive Club 🤿 Ryan Scott - The skills that get designers promoted
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Nov 7, 2025 Ryan Scott, a designer and product strategist with experience at Airbnb and DoorDash, shares invaluable insights on career advancement for designers. He stresses the importance of showing business impact over mere craft to captivate hiring leaders. Ryan discusses how to effectively pitch ideas, utilize data, and tell compelling portfolio stories that reflect business value. He also explores strategic opportunities and how designers can adapt to the evolving job market, particularly with AI's rise and changing team dynamics.
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Tell Directional Stories When Metrics Are Missing
- If you lack exact metrics, show directional evidence: launches, competitive response, or customer demand.
- Tell the best story you can with available evidence to demonstrate value.
AI Is Redrawing Role Boundaries
- AI collapses role boundaries so designers, PMs, and engineers overlap more.
- Designers must move toward PM and engineering skills to retain strategic influence.
Turn Design Strengths Into Strategic Leverage
- Leverage designers' strengths: customer-first thinking and systems perspective.
- Use those instincts as a foundation to take on more strategic, business-facing work.