An open letter to those joining the industry wearing rose-coloured glasses — When I wrote my article, “Still can’t get a UX job? Give up”, it was unsurprisingly met with a lot of controversy. I get asked why I always seem so negative with my views, and why I seemingly won’t stop discouraging people from joining the industry. Look, guys. My perspectives…

Sincerely, every design hiring manager out there — Want me to screen your portfolio? Details here. We are designers. We are supposedly the creatives that will help solve problems with creativity. We are the jack-of-all-trades; adaptable and witty, ready to take on any task. And yet, we can’t make unique portfolios even to save our lives. “What is up with all…

Why it will make your career in UX short-lived, and why specialising will give you a long-term edge — Among all the stories I hear during my coffee chats with other seniors and mentors in the design space, I find the stories where people are successfully employed in the UX industry, only to lose their edge immediately after their first job to be the most tragic one. …

Because let’s face it, you probably can’t get one because you suck. — Update: Back to the first version after winning a battle against censorship. Enjoy. Before I switched to private mentoring, I had loads of 1-on-1s with juniors with the same problem: The inability to get their first job in UX. The common story line starts with them having already searched for…

The struggle of UX designers continues with this controversial topic of diversifying or finding a niche — I wrote a while ago that designers shouldn’t fall into the UX generalist trap, and that article was targeted specifically at struggling, unemployed UX professionals and junior designers for 2022’s bullish hiring market. It didn’t sit well with me after; while I know specialising or framing your unique offerings will…

Ageism isn’t the problem, our self-sabotaging mindsets are. — I never called myself senior until I’ve clocked in 6 years of actual experience in the UX field. It was a heavy thing to do, because of the amount of judgement you’ll subject yourself to when you have the audacity to label yourself as one. With my usual honest, yet…

The biased opinion from a senior designer who is partially self-taught and taught in bootcamps — “Hey, Melody. If you are a junior today and had to choose, which path would you take? Self-taught or bootcamp?” Almost immediately, I would have answered the self-taught route. I think it’s no secret to my close circle and my readers that I really dislike bootcamps. Or any learn-shit-quick educational…

My advice for job searching, career planning, and defining your success in a design career — I am very lucky to have met almost all my career milestones at the intended timelines that I planned for. All things considered, I think I can call myself pretty successful* compared to my peers of similar background. *I hope I don’t jinx myself. Because I know success is very…

Buying courses and learning more won’t get you the job, delivering designs will — What is the key success metric of an employable designer? This has been a question that I have been asking myself as a hiring manager and something my mentees consistently sought my perspectives on. “Do you think learning more and buying more courses will make me more attractive to hire?” …