How to hire the best design talent 💭

So far I’ve been asked twice this week by a hiring manager… “Jess, how can we speed up our hiring process?”

We all know that a long hiring process risks losing out on securing the best possible talent right? Well, if you don’t, then it does. Even given the global layoffs happening given the current climate, design talent is still super hot right now and I’m seeing so many companies lose out on great people because they’re being beaten to the chase. Candidate’s are statistically most likely to accept the first opportunity they are presented with.

I’ve asked this question before and I’ll ask it again… Have you UX’d your UX hiring process? Design managers, are you looking at scaling your team this year?

Here are a few pointers to consider…

🔥 Speed up the process. I’m working with clients who are smashing through a 2–3 week process, meaning that they can secure the best talent in the market before they’re beaten to it by someone else!

🔥 If you can avoid it, don’t send out a design task. Instead, consider asking a candidate to talk you through a case study from a previous project in depth. This will shorten the prep time needed from a candidate’s side and you can still ascertain a particular skillset if you need to. We also all know that the majority of candidates don’t like doing a design task (especially if it’s just free consulting 😑). I posted a poll recently about this, you can check out the results here.

🔥 Spend a little extra time evaluating someone’s portfolio. Candidates spend a lot of time ensuring their folio showcases their best work and it deserves to be seen. Prepare some questions to ask them about it. This also ultimately increases your chances of a candidate accepting an offer if you prove to them at an early stage that you’re interested in what they have to offer.

🔥 Have a colleague in the meeting with you in interviews. This is very beneficial as the candidate gets to meet more members of the team (meaning they’re more likely to accept an offer if extended to them) and you can compare notes straight after meeting them. It also means you can potentially cut out an extra few days of the process trying to book in separate meetings.

🔥 Provide feedback to every candidate that you interview. The design industry is so small, you never know who’s in someone’s network, meaning you never know where a bad reference can be passed on. Plus, everyone deserves some feedback after taking time out of their day to meet you right?!

Drop me a message if you’re looking to hire design talent in the near future and I’ll advise on how I can help.

Completely irrelevant sunset pic I recently took at the beach, pretty though eh?