Candice McFarland🇺🇸

About Candice McFarland

Principal UX Researcher at Freelance

Hi, folks,

I am an 20-year UX research veteran who has coached and mentored people as part of my job. I love helping others and would love to learn about you and what you’re dealing with.

My favorite part of research is solving mysteries, turning insights into action and figuring out how to combine qual and quant data to discover new insights. I have a specialty in Voice of the Customer research and insights.

Updated April 2024. For those looking to break into UX Research, the past 2 years have seen an incredible shift in our job function. It used to be the case that people could find a way in with little to no experience because jobs were so plentiful. That has completely ended. A master's degree in a relevant field is a bare minimum and most/almost everyone is looking for someone with 2 years of experience minimum on top of that. Please, please do not get a certificate or spend money on a bootcamp if you have no experience in this industry. At this point, this is just wasted money. I can't right now recommend anyone try to break into UX unless they feel that's their only calling and they are willing to wait possibly years for their first job. Please do not just take my word on this. Please talk to others.

Expertise

Sessions with Candice McFarland

• Let's Talk About It (45 min): Whewwwwwww. You're dealing with a lot, right? Do you just need someone to talk to about your work, your boss, your teammates, your struggles, how weird everything is right now? This is an open session to just talk things out. If you want, we can work on solutions. But if you just want to a virtual shoulder to vent on, cry on or laugh at the insanity, I'm here. Note: I will have my camera off. Feel free to have your camera on or off.
• Project Management for Researchers (60 min): In this mentorship, we'll work on and talk about how to create a research project roadmap, keep projects on track, work with busy stakeholders, keep our plans organized and anything else that you want to discuss. Note: I will have my camera off. Feel free to have your camera on or off.
• Level Up Research Skills (60 min): In this mentorship, we'll explore the art of research through hands-on learning and practical exercises. Gain expertise in one or more of the following: formulating research objectives, creating a test script/discussion guide, creating a note-taking guide, analyzing data or working on a specific methodology (interview, survey, usability test, card sort, tree test, persona creation, etc.). Throughout the sessions, you'll receive feedback to refine your research projects and develop compelling research findings. Note: I will have my camera off. Feel free to have your camera on or off.
• Prepping for Job Interviews (45 min): In this mentorship session, we can talk about anything you want as you prep for a job interview. Examples: We can do a mock interview, we can walk through past interview questions and talk through them, we can talk about confidence, etc. Whatever you are interested in. Note: I will have my camera off. Feel free to have your camera on or off.

What mentees say

“Candice pointed out areas of my resume that didn't make sense or were confusing and offered great advice on better options. She also give great insight on the current hiring scene and helped me hone in on job functions that would be right for me.”

“Can't say enough positive things about my experience with Candice, :) she clearly has a wealth of knowledge around research and has taught me so much in only 2 sessions, she's really positive and encouraging too, thank you for being so generous with your time Candice!”

“Candice was so complete and thorough with my needs. She was also fairly detailed in her feedback. I really appreciate her flexibility in staying the extra time to go over all my queries. And our little chat afters about the general challenges making it a very holistic session for me.”