A buddy of mine suggested I post to HN, so here goes. I'd love to hear your thoughts -- or other examples of new products that had/have a UX optimized for the first-timer...
People who are actively looking for work -- and especially those who haven't yet built up a solid network for referrals -- will increase their chances of making it through the primary gatekeeper (be it a startup CEO, HR rep, or dev director) if they are GENUINE and ORIGINAL.
People responsible for hiring (esp. in today's market) are inundated with TONS of resumes. It's completely logical that a great (and efficient) way of vetting them is by (A) looking for any errors because, if such errors exist, it's an immediate dismissal and (B) automatically taking notice of the non-boring ones.
I think the "standard" resume -- the ones that have language akin to "I am seeking a position at an established organization..." are dead. And they should be. Because they're such a snore. (I mean, I almost fell asleep while typing that sentence up there.)
But a running record of achievement that tells a story of how awesome you are, how you think/approach challenges, and what you've accomplished (from business-level results through granular, specific technical learning) is very much alive and well.
I've found that people who email with no explanation or "sell" of their own but just immediate, terse requests like "What are your rates?" or "I need a copywriter. You available?" are typically NOT interested in finding the right person for themselves or their product; instead, they're looking to just outsource what they think they COULD do themselves, if only they had time/energy/desire.
People who know they're considering (hopefully carefully) how to add value to their product/life are the ones who will take the time to build trust from the beginning, will be honest about expectations, and are more likely to give the freedom and flexibility necessary to maintain a healthy working relationship over time.
Finding this is hard, especially because we non-techies are likely on a learning curve when we're having substantive discussions with you about the evolution of our product.
But I think that as long as we're informed on technology (opportunities and hurdles) and have truly crystallized some initial business plan, I think we're better poised to experience that essential chemistry.
I agree with weego that the place to start with user experience designs is with THE USER. Describe these (assumed) primary and secondary players that support whatever business and marketing efforts you've got.
Simple persona style might be:
-- Jim is 32, an accountant, online 4-5 hours a day, has an iPhone, 2 toddlers, and no time for anything except his fantasy football league and the occasional game of Angry Birds while on the metro each morning. --
By getting my team or clients onboard with Jim right out of the gates, I've found that I can say "Seriously, 'Jim' doesn't care about button colors or sharing this on Facebook," when projects typically might otherwise get distracted, and the development cycle then stays more uniformly focused on the user (our ultimate goal, usability wise).
Then, I complement this user development with MEANING creation. What does "Jim" really care about? What core aspect of our app makes his life easier, means more to him, or is /the/ most entertaining way to engage his attention?
From there, I'd build (ugly) only that feature/interaction with great content that provides necessary cues, then go find a few Jims. Test, re-test, evolve, and FINALLY layer in the pretty (and additional features essential to bolstering usability... not just for the purpose of adding stuff).
Rinse and repeat for all target audiences. Well, repeat anyway. :)