Trading Customer Service for User Experience
By: Stefany Pantuso
Tags: Career Paths, User Experience Designer, Career Change, User Experience Design, UX Design

When I first started working in a TD branch in my second year of university, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career. I wanted a part-time job that would give me the flexibility to explore what I wanted to do next in life — like graduate school or working with people. Through this role I quickly realized that I was good at making connections with people, catering to their needs, and providing possible solutions to their problems.

Working as a customer service representative (formerly known as a bank teller) taught me empathy and compassion; I learned through the shared life experiences of those who came to my wicket seeking guidance, support, and understanding. I saw first-hand the impact of financial decisions and the barriers to financial literacy. And, most importantly, I learned that my experiences aren’t the only experiences within the world. There is no universal experience and you need to adapt your service (and style) to the person, meeting them where they are at in that moment.

From my time as a frontline worker, I knew I wanted to make connections to help people. I planned to go to graduate school for communications, so I started to look for corporate roles at TD that provided a predictable schedule that my classes could work around. Taking a chance, I applied for a role supporting the executive leading the Innovation Center of Excellence, which included TD Lab, an innovation team focused on the unique financial experiences of students. I got the job, and that was when I was first exposed to the world of rapid ideation, prototyping, and design. I was hooked.

Had I not taken a chance to try something new, I would have never realized how much I love UX design. And how perfect a fit I am for the role.

Like many with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, I thought my only pathway to a career was going back to school. I thought my skills weren’t transferable. Each year in university, my program’s administration would outline potential future jobs associated with English majors — design wasn’t one of them. Because of that, I didn’t think my type of creativity and problem-solving skills would apply to technical roles. But that’s the beauty of design — it’s truly a middle ground. If you are passionate about people, are an empathetic problem solver, and love diving into problems at a deeper level, that’s what matters.

When I realized I didn’t need to be an engineer to be in a technical role — that’s when I mentally opened my career opportunities and enrolled in the Brainstation UX Design Bootcamp.

This was the first time I was supervised in the end-to-end design process, while also learning about design principles. It was a great experience. I created a network and friendships that I still lean on to this day. We created our own little community — and having this community powers me to be the best designer that I can be. Taking this leap into formal design learning also set me up to further grow within our team.

Having taken a leave of absence to complete this program, I kept TD up to date on my projects. After completing my course, I came back to the team in a new role that was created to give me the opportunity to showcase my abilities and spend half of my time supporting the design team. After six months of demonstrating my skills and contributing to a number of design projects, I was offered a full-time UX/UI designer role at TD Lab in early March 2020. More than a year later, I’ve gone on to be the lead designer on projects and mentor my own co-op students

When you’re a designer, you’re forever learning. You’re constantly going back to the customer’s experience and I often think back to experiences that I had when I worked in a branch. Both in a branch and in an innovation lab, you learn that there’s no universal experience — two different people can experience the same application in two incredibly unique ways. The goal is trying to find ways to make both of their lives better, and we can only do that when we are empathetic.

With such a small, collaborative team at the Lab, I’m also able to learn about and appreciate so many different parts of the design and development process. Our culture is one that makes all of us learn and grow together. Even though I’m early in my career, I’m treated equally — my feedback, ideas, and designs all help shape the final product. At the end of the day, when I look at my work and what I’m creating, it all circles back to wanting to help and build up connections with people. They won’t know I made it, but if it makes their lives easier, that’s the goal.

The work is challenging but it’s so worth it. I love being able to be constantly challenged and stepping out of my comfort zone. My whole career journey has been stepping out of my comfort zone — and I wouldn’t want it any other way.