Landing a UX Design Job at Google as a New Grad: What I Learned
Tips for students, new grads, and all aspiring UXers on getting a first design job that excites you.
About Me
I’m Gaby. I graduated from Stanford in Spring 2018 with newfound dreams of becoming a UX designer. Unfortunately, college graduation left me with an irrelevant biology degree and no UX-related work experience. Still, a little over a year later, I had a UX design job offer from Google.
This article describes my journey towards landing this first UX design gig. Like most worthwhile things, it was challenging, and with challenge comes growth. So, I’m writing this article as a letter of guidance to my younger self. I hope my small insights will be useful to anyone who is looking to jumpstart their career in UX. More generally, I hope it will guide people in finding the career that resonates with them.
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Like many career paths, mine was circuitous. To simplify things, I’ve broken it down into 5 distinct parts. Let’s jump in.
Part I: The Lost Phase
Winter 2016 — Fall 2017, Sophomore/Junior year of college
A directionless period of life, during which my carefully laid career plans were completely upended.
Dear Gaby: nurture your creative side. It’s an indispensable yet undervalued skill.
For much of my life, I felt torn between two seemingly irreconcilable interests: an interest in science, and an interest in art. I loved drawing, sculpting, and creative writing. But I also loved science — particularly behavioral biology and psychology — and its empirical, objective mindset.
In early high school, I made the decision to choose the path of science for my career, one I thought would ultimately be more practical (and respectable). I would pursue medicine, as my father and grandfather had. I could nurture my artistic side through hobbies and extracurriculars. But as school became more demanding, I stopped pursuing most of my artistic interests altogether.
When I started college at Stanford, I signed up for chemistry and biology classes. I declared my major as Human Biology, a popular pre-med major, and interned in labs.
By junior year, I had what you might call a mid-college crisis. One day while sitting in a health policy class, my extreme boredom triggered a moment of sudden clarity: I realized I didn’t want to be a doctor. I knew I wasn’t passionate enough about medicine to justify the investment of time, energy, and resources (another 4 years of medical school and 2+ years of residency). Though I found some of my science classes fascinating — particularly those related to human behavior — all were missing the creative element I desperately craved. I needed to do something that nourished my artistic side as well. I just didn’t know what that would be. Since my right brain had been out of commission for some time, I felt confused and incompetent. Enter: the Lost Phase.
Dear Gaby: the career you choose will consume the majority of your waking hours. It should excite you.
I wished I had focused on drawing, painting, and writing — activities that brought me true joy — all through high school and college. At the time I didn’t see it as being valuable or practical. Now in the working world, I understand that having a creative mindset is extremely important for problem solving. Not only that, but if I had nurtured my creative side earlier on, I would have been much more engaged in my classes, saved a nice sum of money on grad school, and honed skills like drawing that are useful for UX design. And the Lost Phase (which was quite stressful) would probably have never happened.
Dear Gaby: it’s okay to not have it all figured out. Exploration is necessary. Don’t stress.
I spent the last half of sophomore year and all of my junior year exploring different career options in a stressed-out frenzy, attempting to find the perfect one for me.
I picked up a creative writing minor. I took film production classes and business classes and computer science classes. I conducted informational interviews and I did an internship in marketing. At one point, I convinced myself that I was born to be a consultant and I threw myself into studying for case interviews. But nothing quite fit. Nothing gave me that feeling of excitement, the exhilarating sense that "this is what I'm meant to do." I was more lost than ever. I even considered running back to medicine.
It wasn’t until I took classes at the Stanford Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (aka the “d.school”), that I found something that sparked my interest.
The d.school introduced me to design thinking, the strategic process behind developing design concepts. This methodology that sat at the intersection of my interests in science and art. I could be as creative as I wanted, as long as that creativity was supported by thorough testing and research to understand the psyche of the user.
What I loved most about design thinking was its bias towards action. I wasn’t just sitting in a classroom cramming facts about neurotransmitters or health policy into my brain. I was designing and building and testing something completely new, something that could make a difference in peoples’ lives. I fell in love with this act of radical creativity immediately, and ultimately became a designer because of it.
I set out to learn as much about the field of design as possible. I talked to industry professionals, read Medium articles like this one, and watched Youtube videos. The more I learned, the more I felt that being a designer was what I wanted to do. I decided to focus on UX because of its holistic approach to design and ample job opportunities in the digital space. The Lost Phase had come to an end. By this time, I was starting my senior year of college.
The Lost Phase, ironically enough, happened because I tried to control my career path too tightly. I’m the kind of person who likes to have details nailed down and planned out, which is why I was initially drawn to the field of medicine — and why it was so stressful to pivot away from that into the unknown. Looking back, my frenetic search for the perfect career was unnecessary, as was the stress that came with it. Exploring your interests is something that should be exciting and rewarding. If I had taken the time to do this from the beginning, I would have found UX (or a similarly engaging field) earlier. So: don’t stress, explore your interests, and trust the process.
Part II: The Rejection Phase
Fall 2017 — Spring 2018, Senior year of college
A period of life during which applied to every UX position I could find, only to receive rejections from every single one (even positions that were unpaid).
Dear Gaby: failure is something to be learned from, not discouraged by.
By the start of senior year, I knew I wanted to be a UX designer, but I also knew it was too late to change my major. So, how to make that dream a reality?
I naively thought I would be able to land a full time UX job or internship at a small company after I graduated from Stanford, even with my minimal design experience and biology degree. After all, I had taken a fair number of design thinking classes and had some group projects I could talk about. I crafted a small (very lackluster) portfolio in a Google doc. And the Stanford name would help me out right? Wrong. And the Rejection Phase began.
I applied to anything UX-related that I could find. I didn’t discriminate — paid, unpaid, internship, full-time, startup, corporation — I just wanted experience. I focused on UX research roles, thinking it would be a solid entry point since I had a science background. But nobody, and I mean NOBODY, even called me in for an interview. I was rejected from more than 50 jobs, and that’s probably a conservative estimate. Many companies didn’t even grace me with a response. Turns out, UX is an extremely competitive field bursting with much more qualified applicants. And it makes sense, given that from 1983 to 2017, the number of UX professionals grew from about 1,000 to 1 million people. With a surplus of applicants, companies tend to look for formal signals that a designer is qualified, often in the form of a design degree, previous work experience, or known client list. I had none of these.
At first I was extremely discouraged by the rejections. My self esteem was diminished, and my UX design dreams seemed completely out of reach. But with support from friends and family, I realized I shouldn’t let these failures discourage me — I should let it motivate me. That mindset is what helped me through the rejection phase.
Dear Gaby: UX design is a competitive field. You’ll need a strong portfolio, design experience, and a relevant degree.
I learned from my rejections, making a list of action items I could do to change the outcome of my job applications.
- Build a strong portfolio with at least 5 or 6 case studies of digital design work. My meager Google doc was definitely not going to cut it.
- Learn how to use popular design tools like Figma and Principle.
- Get some additional education targeted at UX design. A biology degree wasn’t enough.
I realized these items could be accomplished in conjunction if I did a masters program. After substantial research, I decided to apply to Human Computer Interaction programs at two schools: Carnegie Mellon and University College London. I ultimately choose Carnegie Mellon because of its outstanding reputation and hands-on curriculum.
For anyone looking to pivot into the field of UX, I would highly recommend getting a formal education, ideally a master’s degree, instead of doing popular online courses like General Assembly. A master’s program has more credibility and promotes focused learning alongside like-minded individuals. You will emerge with a top-notch skillset in a short period of time. Masters degrees can be expensive, but in Carnegie Mellon’s case, the well-paying job opportunities make it worth the price. And many degree programs offer scholarship opportunities that can mitigate the financial burden.
Part III: The Master’s Grind
Fall 2018 — Fall 2019, Graduate school
A period of life during which I shut myself off from the outside world and put every ounce of my being into developing UX skills.
Dear Gaby: your master’s program will be much harder than you think. But it will be worth it.
My time at CMU was extremely rewarding but also extremely demanding. I knew it was going to be intense, but I still wasn’t prepared for the level of focus and dedication it would take. I worked harder during this one-year program than I did in my entire undergrad experience, learning about design from all angles; front-end development, print design, graphic design, cognitive science, UX research, and interaction design. I went from no substantial experience creating digital interfaces to having a full blown portfolio built out by Spring 2019. I spent hours on Stack Overflow figuring out how to finish programming assignments and customize my portfolio with Javascript. I watched countless tutorials for design and prototyping software.
It was exhausting. I would be lying if I said my mental health didn’t suffer. Yet, I think anything worthwhile requires some sacrifice. And in this case, the sacrifice was worth it; it got me where I wanted to go in a short period of time.
Dear Gaby: every project does not have to be perfect.
I am a perfectionist. And because I was building a portfolio from scratch, I wanted every project to be absolutely flawless so I could showcase the best design work possible. This meant working late nights and arguing with team members to tweak the smallest details of every mock and report.
It turned out this wasn’t necessary, because at the end of the day you only need 5 or 6 strong case studies to land a job interview. The interviews themselves usually only cover one or two projects.
So work harder and smarter on only a few projects. Choose a couple promising projects to strategically invest your resources into, and spend less time stressing on the rest. You won’t be able to make everything you do perfect, and you don’t need to either.
Dear Gaby: learn from your peers, but don’t compare yourself to them. Do things in your own time.
My classmates were extremely supportive and helpful during my master’s program. People with backgrounds in web development taught me how to write cleaner code. The ones with design experience taught me how to craft beautiful interfaces through progressive disclosure and visual design tricks. I learned just as much from the talented people around me (if not more!) as I did from my coursework.
But many people, myself included, fell into the trap of comparing ourselves to each other. It created a competitive environment, especially once the job application process started. I remember feeling immense pressure to start applying to jobs during Spring semester because everybody else was. But I knew I wasn’t ready.
Rushing the job search isn’t a good idea. Many of my classmates were insanely stressed about jobs, applying before their portfolios were done and rushing to make decisions on offers (important note: some students had a tighter job schedule due to visa restrictions, but that’s another story). Don’t do this if you can help it. I started seriously applying to jobs much later than other classmates because I didn’t have the UX background many of them did. And at the end of the day, we all ended up with good jobs shortly after we graduated.
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By the end of Spring 2019, I had created a portfolio I was proud of. By now, I was in last phase of my masters program: the capstone project. Mine was an internship with NASA in Mountain View. The internship was remote and part-time during spring semester, and full time in the summer. It gave me the experience and confidence I needed to begin seriously interviewing.
It was time to start applying to jobs.
Part IV: The Job Offer
Summer–Fall 2019
A period of life during which I began seriously interviewing for design jobs and ultimately landed my offer at Google.
Dear Gaby: listen to others’ advice, but don’t let it limit you.
In the beginning of my master’s program, I was told by some that I probably wouldn’t be able to land a full-time job as a designer right out of school. I should start out as UX researcher, they said, because of my past experience working in research labs.
At first, this advice discouraged me from applying to design roles because I thought they were beyond my reach. But I eventually freed myself of this mental hurdle and started applying to design roles. And to my surprise, I started getting interview invitations. It’s worth noting that the CMU name helped me out, as CMU is a feeder into big tech UX.
Here’s my take: although it’s good be realistic and take advice from those with more experience, it is also important trust yourself and know your capabilities. If you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. By Summer 2019, I knew I could be a designer. It was now a matter of proving it to the companies I interviewed with.
Dear Gaby: focus on applying to jobs where you have a referral or school connection.
I sent applications out to many jobs. I received much more positive responses than I did before starting my master’s degree, but there were still a large number that I never heard back from. I put a lot of time and effort into every application, just to send them out into the black hole of the internet.
The jobs ones I heard back from were generally new grad positions with ties to CMU. For anyone applying to jobs, your time and energy will be best spent focusing on companies that have relationships with your university, or where you have referrals. It makes a big difference and prevents your resume from being lost in the void.
Dear Gaby: interviews are stressful. But practice makes perfect.
I interviewed all throughout my summer at NASA. The three main companies I interviewed with were SAP, Palantir, and Google.
I spent many hours studying for these interviews. At the time I thought it was overkill, but looking back I actually think it was extremely helpful. Even if you are the smartest, most capable person, you might find it hard to perform under pressure. Practice your answers to generic questions, and practice walking through design challenges. This will make you less likely to falter when you feel anxiety creeping in during an interview.
My first and only on-site was at Google — a full 5 hour day of presenting my design work and answering interview questions. I was very nervous. It was my first on-site interview ever for a design role! But I stayed calm (at least externally) and confident. Some parts, like the design challenge, were actually fun.
When I got the offer from Google, I was ecstatic (and in a state of mild disbelief); I knew an influential tech company like Google with resources and structure to guide new designers was where I wanted to be. I cancelled my other on-sites almost immediately.
Part V: Life at Google
October 2019–present
A period of life during which I made the transition from student to working adult. The end of school and the beginning of the *real world.*
I’ve now been at Google for 9 months! I’ve grown as a designer so much already, and I have much more growing yet to do. Working in UX full-time has affirmed that I’m in the right place.
The lessons I learned leading up to my time at Google continue to prove useful. I listen and learn from my talented peers, but I know I mustn’t compare myself to them. At a place like Google filled with intelligent and ambitious people, measuring yourself against others can be quite discouraging. I often remind myself that every project does not have to be perfect; especially in industry, it’s important to be strategic about the effort you invest in designs, balancing perfectionism with time and resource constraints. And reframing failures (which are plentiful in a first job) as learning opportunities has kept me in a positive growth mindset.
The working world has brought a new set of challenges, and with them, a new set of lessons. But I won’t get into those here. That’s another article, for another day.
