Student Question: Hello Master, I’ve noticed that many job descriptions require candidates to have a keen sense and understanding of industry trends. For someone just starting out in a new field, how can they actually develop this ability?
Master Chi’s Response: This is genuinely difficult for newcomers. Understanding an industry requires long periods of accumulation and immersion. Here are some basic but reliable methods:
Study your competitors’ products and think through their development and improvement decisions. (Why did they add this feature? Why did they run this campaign? Why was a strategy used consistently in previous versions dropped entirely in the new release?)
Research the standout products in your field (for example, the top 100 apps in download rankings). Break each product down into modules and look for what they share in common. (What features appear across all excellent products? What are the mainstream approaches to user guidance? What strategies do all products seem to use?)
Think about what your work actually contributes to your company. Why does the company need you specifically to handle this, and what does your output give the company in return? (If I took a month off and this work went undone, what losses would that cause? Do other companies in the industry have someone in a similar role? Are they doing it well?)
Actively seek advice from outstanding colleagues and supervisors. (This is the most direct and most important method of all.)
Communicate regularly with your product’s users and genuinely listen to what they think. (For example — are many people complaining about the product? When they stop using it, where do they go instead?)