Designers needed — restrictions apply
You are a newly minted designer. Fresh out of a UX program where you learned a wide array of practical methods to solve complex problems with design. As you start your job search, you quickly hit a wall — ”Designers wanted, *Restrictions Apply.”
In a multi-thread discussion, Nick Finck asks “how many years of experience are required for an entry level design job?”
The conversation around experience for entry level roles takes on different paths, so let’s examine a few of them.
Years of Experience is the wrong metric
Jared M. Spool, UIE & Center Centre, argues that years of experience is the wrong way to look at this issue. He says that “being industry-ready, with the right skills, to do the job” is what hiring managers are expecting from new designers.
“Many years of experience” does not mean a person has mastered the craft. It should not be the only indicator either to qualify or disqualify a candidate for a role.
A good candidate may have experience in one or two projects that are a match to the needs you have. Wouldn’t you want to have this person in join your team?
This perspective is also a criticism of how our design education system has been structured up to this point. Some UX programs take a holistic approach including design and research methods, production, sales, and marketing. Others concentrate on the craft of design.
We are seeing an increase in Business schools incorporating design as part of their curriculum. It maybe time for design programs to make more emphasis in a cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach that challenges students in an environment that closely simulates the “real world.”
Designers treating designers as “the other”
It is interesting to observe some harsh criticism in social media about UX immersion, bootcamp and masterclass programs. In a recent article written by Dan Oliver, he interviews design leaders , and here is a quote that caught my attention — “The vast majority of courses aren’t worth the paper their loan applications are written on.”
Juan Madrigal mentioned how designers treat each other harshly —” in my experience transitioning from a Graphic Designer to a Web/Product Designer and then to UX Designer, I did notice a lot of disrespect from fellow UX, Product Designers and Design Leaders to “other” designers as they will underestimate their capacity to learn new skills.”
This bias, unconscious or explicit, is hurting our growth and development as a profession. We may be discarding great talent because on paper they don’t “look like us,” or don’t have the “traditional” education background that we are expecting to find in a candidate.
We champion empathy with the people we design for, and many times we forget to apply the same principle towards the people we work with.
No experience, no opportunity
Greg Dilley recently commented that this is a problem at all levels of the UX and Design professional practice. Design leaders are passed for higher level roles because they “haven’t been in a [fill in the role] DIrector, Sr. Director or VP.”
Jr. Designers face a great challenge, if an entry level role requires X years of experience, “what do they do between 0 and X to gain the experience required?”
This is an issue that is very prevalent for new designers, in particular for career switchers. However, we see some organizations that embrace this diversity of backgrounds and designers from immersion programs flourish when they get the opportunity.
The hiring process is broken
Jared M. Spool has written extensively on this subject. He says that traditional hiring methods don’t work for designers. He advocates for an intentionally designed hiring process.
“With a smart, intentionally-designed hiring process, the hiring manager crafts a job ad that attracts and helps screen candidates who are capable of doing the work. Because they’ve defined the hiring criteria up front, they know exactly who they’re seeking.” Jared M. Spool
This is a challenge that new Design managers need to overcome. They may follow the guidance provided by their HR and Talent teams, but should be assertive and guide these teams to help them find the best talent for the role.
Over the last several years two intentionally designed hiring process for designers come to mind .
- Catherine Courage had a dedicated UX recruiter for her team at Citrix — this was by design and it was better for the hiring team as well as the candidate.
- Amazon’s leadership principle #1 is “Customer Obsession. Leaders start with the customer and work backwards.” In their recruiting process, the candidate and the hiring manager are the customer. Transparency, efficiency and time are readily apparent throughout the entire process.
Check list approach
HR and Talent practitioners in many cases use a binary approach to screen candidates — meets or does not meet the requirements. The items in the job description vary widely. For example:
- In-house or agency experience
- Web apps, websites, mobile apps
- Technology knowledge or hands on experience (i.e. coding HTML, CSS, JS)
- Tools laundry list like Adobe, Sketch, Invision or Axure to name a few
- Industry vertical
- Enterprise or Consumer products
The laundry list can go on… design managers need to collaborate closely with their HR and Talent partners to ensure there is a clear understanding of the role and what is expected of the candidates.
We have to act
Design leaders have to do the hard work and create the right conditions to build diverse and inclusive teams. This includes a broad array of talent with different levels of experience and educational background.
Design candidates need to find ways to demonstrate their craft and their readiness to do the job. Develop personal projects, find freelance opportunities, take on a challenge like the 100 Days UI Challenge by Daily UI.
Design education programs need to continue evolving, ensuring that students are prepared and ready; getting the tools and practical experience they need to meet the industry expectations.
