Jess Phoa
Quick Responder

Jess Phoa

Senior Product Designer
5.0
(24 reviews)
10+ years of experience in design
United States of America Active this week Usually responds in half a day

Services

$160 / month

Start free, decide later

  1. 1 Free 7-day trial
    No charge until day 7. Cancel anytime.
  2. 2 Ongoing calls + chat
    Regular calls plus unlimited Q&A via chat. Replies in 24 hours or less.
  3. 3 No lock-in
    Month to month, no contract.
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MentorCruise summary

Jess is a Senior Product Designer at Filament. She has more than 10 years of design experience and holds a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. She helps aspiring designers improve portfolios and resumes, prepare for interviews and job searches, and move into design roles.

Based on 20 verified mentee reviews

  • Reviewers often praise her practical, tailored feedback on portfolios, resumes, and design projects.
  • Mentees value her quick responses and detailed answers to their design and career questions.
  • Several reviewers describe her as kind, genuine, and motivating throughout their mentorship.

About

I'm a product design generalist currently at Filament who's worked at companies large and small. My peers describe me as hard-working and exuberant. Past organizations include Mastercard, Chartbeat, Gladly, Postscript, and DataGrail.

I earned both my B.A. in History and Human-Computer Interaction and Master of Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University.

✨ Ways I can support you ✨
• Hands-on resume critique
• Portfolio and interview take-home exercise reviews
• Advice for students, recent grads, and those changing careers (e.g. transitioning from school to work, job shadowing)
• Career wisdom (e.g. Maintaining work-life balance, navigating tricky workplace dynamics)

🤝 How we can make this mentorship a success 🤝
• Be human — share whatever you're comfortable sharing and I'll do the same
• When scheduling, be mindful of time zones — I live in PT (UTC -8)
• Be transparent with timelines and expectations (e.g. don't ask for a take-home exercise review hours before it's due)

Especially interested in supporting womxn, LGBTQIA+ people, and those from underrepresented groups. If you're a full-time student, let me know and I'll give you a discount!

What mentees say

5 out of 5 stars

After nearly ten years as a UX writer in Russia, I moved to the US with two big goals: getting into a grad program here and landing a job, which meant reworking my resume and portfolio for a whole new market. Jess has been in my corner the entire way. Her advice is practical and specific. She has a great eye for how my experience comes across to a US audience and helps me frame it so it actually clicks. She’s gone through my application materials more times than I can count, and they get sharper every round. Just as important, she gets how tough it is to start over in a new country. I walk out of every session with fresh energy and a clear sense of what to do next. If you’re making a career move or relocating to the US, Jess is the mentor you want.

Irina

Irina

Standard Plan • 4 months

5 out of 5 stars

I started the mentoring to get feedback on my portfolio. She is really a great mentor, she's very kind and gives thoughtful feedback. I was able to change my portfolio and iterate faster by getting another UX designer to look at everything from an outsider's perspective.

Sophia

Sophia

Standard Plan • 1 month

Sophia wrote 1 more review for the same mentorship

5 out of 5 stars

Sophia

Sophia

5 out of 5 stars

Jess is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I’ve ever met. She was my mentor throughout my Master’s program and beyond, and there’s truly no one else I would have rather had by my side during that journey. She’s been my advisor, a huge support, and a really dear friend. Throughout our time together, we worked on building my portfolio, passion projects, strategizing job search, preparing for interviews, reviewing my work, and so much more. She’d often go out of her way to help me with my goals and always made time to meet over calls. She’s incredibly easy to talk to, fun to work with, and always made me feel heard and supported. We built my goals together and always worked through them with actionable steps. She also shared a lot from her own experiences, which helped shape how I think about design and the kind of designer I want to be. Looking back, my journey—and who I am today—would not have been the same without Jess. I've grown to admire her and feel lucky and grateful to have found her.

Rishi

Rishi

Standard Plan • 2 years

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What happens when you start

You tell Jess your goals. They see exactly what you want to work on before session one.

You meet within days. Jess reviews your application and books your first session, usually within a day or two.

You leave with a plan. Concrete next steps and a weekly rhythm from your very first week.

Start your mentorship

Skills

Design UI Design Product Design Prototyping Product Management Project Management UX Design Design Thinking Design Thinking Startup UX Writing Generative AI Illustration Content Design User Research Wireframing Sketching Interaction Design