How to land a UX design internship without losing your sanity
Don’t stop applying — some companies are still hiring!
COVID-19: Job market insights and search strategies from experts
Let’s admit it — job hunting can be a nightmare. On top of that, if you’re in school and seeking your first internship, you are better off being prepared for what’s coming at you. The good news is that there are quite a few articles out there that will provide you with valuable tips on how to land a UX design internship. However, instead of compiling general tips and strategies, I wanted to write down personal experiences and journeys that (mostly) MS-HCI students at Georgia Tech went through for their summer 2019 internship hunt. A process that has been dominated by ATS and automated rejections can use a human touch. That’s where I hope this article can come in to guide and inspire you to land the best possible internship you so deserve, all while staying sane. And yes, several of these tips and strategies can be utilized for landing a full-time job as well.
Meet my peers — Shelly, Hiroo, Tanuja, and Shubhangi.
Each one’s experience has been divided into four parts -
- Getting ready for the internship hunt
- Finding opportunities and landing interviews
- Interviewing
- Reflection
Shelly (Xi) Chen
Background — CS undergrad at Peking University. 1 year of UX research assistantship at Georgia Tech-a hybrid role between research, design, and development. A UX internship at Microsoft and UX design internship at Tencent before starting here.
Getting ready for the internship hunt
When do UX design internships for summer usually open? When did you start applying?
Big tech companies open up positions pretty early around Fall. Most opportunities open up in Spring, though. I started applying in mid-October. For the companies that you really want to work at, please apply as soon as they open up a relevant position. For instance, Facebook opens up positions early in August. So do Adobe, Microsoft, Amazon, LinkedIn, and Lyft. It changes every year, though. So keep an eye out.
My portfolio was ready with a couple of projects (2 internship projects and a research project) before starting at Georgia Tech. I used to upload and update my ongoing projects on the portfolio every month throughout the first semester.
What job materials did you prepare to seek an internship in UX design?
Resume and portfolio. I only wrote a cover letter for companies I really wanted to work for. I’ve heard that companies randomly decide whether or not to look at your cover letter. If you apply to 100+ places, cover letters are impractical to do.
How did you tailor your resume for this role?
I had many iterations on my resume. Based on a lot of suggestions, I decided to focus on my role on projects as well as the impact I had. If you have worked on products or features that have shipped, mention the metrics you tracked to measure success. For instance, if your work led to an increase in monthly active users, you should say that. (For both resume and portfolio, more details can be found in my article).
How did you tailor your portfolio for this role?
Let’s start with the landing page of the portfolio. There are different ways to design for the first impression — some like to show their work directly. Some will use more creative ways and show the strengths they want to emphasize. For example, coding some captivating animations or creating some illustrations.
I started my case studies with an overview, which includes my process along with the problem I solved as well as why it was necessary to solve and the outcome. My portfolio was focused on intentionality. For each step of the process, I showed why I did it and how the outcomes led to the next step of the process. I also shared my intentions behind the designs. I really like sharing my designs before and after a design iteration to demonstrate the changes I made based on user feedback.
Finding opportunities and landing interviews
Once you thought your job materials were ready, what strategies did you use to find internship opportunities?
I applied to about 50 companies.
I used LinkedIn and Glassdoor to find out open positions. There are two ways I used to apply to jobs — 1. Mass apply online. 2 — Network — Try to find alumni and ask them for feedback on my portfolio and resume, and learn more about the company. Then ask for a referral.
If I see an opening at a company where I want to work, I try to find alumni from my undergrad (Peking University) and Georgia Tech. I then messaged 2–3 alumni who were either designers from Georgia Tech or engineers from Peking University.
I used Cofolios to find interns who worked at companies I wanted to work for to ask when and how they applied.
How did you build a network which can help you with referrals?
To begin with, try to utilize your 1st or 2nd-degree network on LinkedIn. Even if the people you approach are not designers, you can learn about the company culture and see if they have connections with some designers. Your network will offer you more support.
If you don’t know the person you’re contacting, start with a small introduction and ask for feedback on your resume and portfolio. Try to learn what that person’s day to day looks like and learn more about the company. Instead of conversing over text, ask if they could chat over a call. Sometimes, it’ll save time for both you and them. You also get to know each other more and end up forming a more profound connection than what online messaging/emailing affords.
What were some helpful online resources (websites, blogs) that were crucial in your search?
Cofolios compiles portfolios of design interns from big tech companies. You can refer to their background or build connections. Bestfolios collects top portfolios from full-time designers. I also checked portfolios of students from Georgia Tech and the University of Washington. Another great resource I highly recommend is to refer to the blogs by the design teams at Uber, Facebook, and Google. These case studies show their UX processes and demonstrate how they approach problems. In addition, Medium is a place where you can find answers to almost any UX-related question you may have. Many designers have shared their job-hunting experiences.
Interviewing
What was the interview process like? How did you prepare for different types/stages of the process?
I interviewed with about 10 companies. I got offers from Facebook and Google.
Generally, the interview process involves 3 rounds — 1. Recruiter call to understand your background, interests, and tell you more about the interview process. 2nd and 3rd (if any) rounds are technical interviews that usually involve a portfolio review. You talk with hiring managers for one of these interviews and with other designers in the other interview. If you had a design challenge, you’d also discuss that in one of your initial technical interviews.
For Google, you start by discussing your submission for the design challenge and answering behavioral questions. The second round is with the intern manager to understand if your interests align with what they work on. You might have the 2nd round with other teams too if they are interested in speaking with you.
Facebook’s 2nd round will have an app critique. You share your thoughts about different features and how you can improve them.
Microsoft’s 1st round is with a design manager. You briefly introduce one project and answer behavioral questions. You then go for on-site interviews, which involve 5 rounds. It can be any combination of portfolio presentation, whiteboard challenge, and app critique.
In general, you need to prepare an elevator pitch. Write it down and practice it. It’s useful for all interview rounds. I usually divide my elevator pitch into two parts — 1. Quick story about myself and how I got into design. 2. My strengths as a designer to set expectations for them. It’s also a good practice to prepare for behavioral questions for all rounds. I had a list of questions I had prepared for. I compiled these questions through my interviews as well as through online articles. Some common ones include — how do you collaborate? Strengths/weaknesses? I also used to prepare my questions for interviewers.
For the recruiter call, I mainly prepared for general behavioral questions.
For the portfolio review, storytelling is crucial. I practiced talking to different people, including non-designers. You should be able to speak of the problems clearly as well as why they’re essential to solve. When you talk about your process, share the intentionality behind the design decisions you made. Instead of saying whatever’s already there on your portfolio, you should add more context and details on each step. For instance, how you collaborated with others and what challenges you had.
For the app critique, I practiced for 5 or 6 apps with myself or others. I crafted a structure from Medium articles and tailored it as I saw fit — start by talking about the business model of the product as well as who the target audience is and what their goals are. Then choose a user flow or ask them if there’s a specific user flow they would like you to talk about. To further structure the critique, for each screen, you share user goals first along with your thoughts about the interactions, hierarchy, and visuals. Talk about what changes you think are appropriate. Instead of directly criticizing, try to share why you think there’s a problem, why you feel the app is designed the way it is now, and then share what changes you can make and why. Make the process more conversational. Every once in a while, ask the interviewers for their thoughts as well. For instance, if you don’t know the answer to a question they asked, you can ask them what they think. Show that you’re open to learning their perspectives too. The app critique is meant to test your ability to seek design feedback as well as provide feedback to others (Julie Zhuo) and show what it would be like to work with you.
For the whiteboard challenge, I created a template inspired by online articles and my own experience. I practiced with other designers to check if I’m well-versed with my template and that I’m in control of the time. Talk about user goals, business goals, problems you’re trying to solve, and task analysis or user flows on the left part. On the right part, come up with 2 or 3 ideas and share pros and cons at a high-level for each idea. Select one of the ideas accordingly and draw wireframes. Then share more specific pros and cons for your concept as they relate to the wireframes. If you’ve time, mention edge cases too. End your challenge by talking about the metrics you’ll use to measure success and the next steps. Communication is very crucial. Ask interviewers about their thoughts along each step of your process. For research, ask them clarification questions to understand the problem. For solution space, ask for feedback on your designs, etc.
You’re usually given a few days to do the design challenge, so time management is essential. Leave enough time for the narrative. If you’ve 6 days, spend 4 days on the project itself. 2 days on research. 2 days on design iterations and the last 2 days on creating the narrative. Also, companies might have different criteria as to what they’re looking for in your submission. Ask them for their requirements and focus on those things. Some companies will ask you to focus on visual design while some might ask you to focus on product thinking. My strength is ideation and product strategy. I made sure to highlight that irrespective of what the company’s requirements were.
Here is a list of articles I found pretty useful (Shoutout to our program’s alumni Geunbae "GB" Lee and Nishant Panchal):
Interviewing in general:
A Guide to Interviewing for Product Design Internships
How to prepare for your first UX interview
The Ignored Obvious of UX Design Interviews (and interviews in general)
Portfolio Presentation:
Get any UX job with a stellar portfolio presentation by reading this Applying for a Product Design Internship? 3 Portfolio Tips”
App critique:
App critique framework for product design interviews
Company-specific:
How I got an internship at Microsoft — interview process and learnings
My Facebook Product Design Internship Interview
What are some of the best practices for portfolio presentation?
Practice with non-designers to make sure everyone can understand. Talk about how you collaborated, challenges you had and how you overcame them.
What surprised you during the interview process?
Whether you land an interview or get an offer is sometimes out of your control. There might be many reasons why you didn’t succeed at a particular company’s application. Talk to others who are in the same shoes as you and keep applying to stay motivated.
How did you deal with rejections?
Keep applying. For every rejection I got, I applied to 10 more companies.
Did you change your strategies as a result of your learnings during the interview process?
I realized the importance of networking. I wasn’t good at it, to be honest. You’ll get some interviews by applying online, but you won’t hear back much. In Spring, I started networking more because I realized that you get more interviews that way. I started talking to more alumni at companies where I wanted to work to understand what they look for in candidates.
I also made sure to highlight my strengths for behavioral questions. I focused not just on the UX process but also on who I’m as a designer.
Reflection
In hindsight, can you think of anything you would have done differently?
Apply as soon as you can. I kept thinking my portfolio could be better. While skills are essential, timing is more critical. If you apply late, companies will be pickier because they’ll have fewer opening spots or more applicants to choose from.
Hiroo Aoyama*
Background — B.S. in Biophysics at Emory University
Getting ready for the internship hunt
When do UX design internships for summer usually open? When did you start applying?
Design internships can open as early as August to as late as March. Companies mostly hire on a rolling basis, so people shouldn’t wait till the last minute. I started applying in August.
What job materials did you prepare to seek an internship in UX design?
I started by stalking designers on LinkedIn. I was trying to get a sense of what it means to be a product designer and how people got to where they are now. My personal takeaways were that 1. The role of design can range from brainstorm and research to actual design and analysis. 2. When I read portfolio pieces, I enjoyed reading the product thinking process the most. 3. I enjoyed reading pieces that dealt with connecting people and communities.
From these, I figured I should first apply to companies that are in the social media space and that are hiring design interns with a focus on product thinking. And so, I did a bunch of side projects in that space and tailored my resume accordingly. I also always wrote cover letters — not all companies read them, but I’ve had good interviews, especially from startups that read and talked about my cover letter. I usually keep it to two paragraphs:
- The 1st paragraph is about why you are choosing the company. Mention their mission, their projects and your thoughts about them.
- The 2nd paragraph is about why the company should choose you. Mention your past projects. Mention your strengths. Mention what you are looking for during the internship.
How did you tailor your resume for this role?
As mentioned, I narrowed down my search so I can tailor very specifically. For instance, I made sure the bullet points under projects were focused on strategy — so I would point out how I led a team or how I found the initial problem. I also tried to get a sense of the company’s culture. I knew Facebook cares a lot about moving fast, so instead of case studies that I wrote, I put my Hackathon experience under projects and focused on writing about the potential impact.
At one point, these just became what kind of designer I am (e.g., I like Hackathon, and I like abstract projects instead of purely visual ones) and so it doesn’t feel like I’m faking myself to fit a role anymore. Yes, it’s essential to tailor your resume, but I think it’s equally as important to find out what your passion and strengths are. After all, why work for a company that won’t fit you and utilizes you to your full potential?
How did you tailor your portfolio for this role?
I didn’t. A portfolio is a place for you. It should be about your projects and what interests you have, not about the companies you apply to.
Students often ask if they should make two portfolios, one for research and the other for design. And I strongly suggest anyone new to UX to start broadly. As a product designer (or UX designer, I think they are the same terminology), you should do both research and design. And when you write out the projects on your portfolio, write everything but focus on the areas that you contributed the most or that you enjoyed the most. Remember — You researched so you can later come up with solutions and designs. You designed based on past research and also probably iterated with additional research. These two fields are very connected, and as you start to do more projects, you will naturally find out what part of the process you enjoy, and your portfolio will start to reflect that.
Don’t force yourself to pick design or research in the beginning. Start broad and allow yourself to try the entire design process. I figured out not through writing but by explaining my projects to my friends and peers in school. I realized I enjoyed talking about how we identified the problem more than showing the actual product. I also exposed myself to the design community — people around me, Facebook groups, design meetups — and it helped me hear more about design roles and try out new things like AR design.
Finding opportunities and landing interviews
Once you thought your job materials were ready, what strategies did you use to find internship opportunities?
I first came up with a list of companies and startups I wanted to intern at. Then I went on Linkedin and found out if there’s anyone I know working there. If not, I messaged a bunch of designers working, thereby adding them with a personalized note. My strategy was to mention briefly about me and about how I was interested in knowing more about projects they are working on. I tried to be specific, and asked “why” questions e.g., why did XYZ decide to do an ABC feature? Keep in mind that the reply rates are very low, but if one does reply, make sure the initial conversation is about them and not about you. After all, you are curious about them, their company, and their project — you should convey that. Later, you can bring up something you did before or just be honest and say that you hope to intern there.
How did you build a network which can help you with referrals?
Referrals shouldn’t be the primary thing on your mind. Your mindset should be that you’re purely interested in the company, the projects, and the people.
I write quite a bit on Medium, and that’s how I built my network. Designers are really nice and many are willing to add you on Linkedin to have conversations about the article. I also proactively reach out to others when I’m writing articles to ask about their expertise.
Other advice includes: attending career fairs, talking to alumni, following people on Linkedin, liking and commenting on posts that you find interesting, and joining design or product communities and events.
What were some helpful online resources (websites, blogs) that were crucial in your search?
I use Linkedin. I follow a lot of designers and design recruiters. If they like another person’s post about an opening, it will show up on my feed. Then I can like and start following that person or that company, and my follow list will expand more. (Feel free to follow or connect with me on Linkedin.)
Job search shouldn’t be considered as a one-off thing. If you work on improving as a designer, in general, every single day, you’re already ahead of the curve. There are several resources I use to train my design skills in general.
- Keeping up with tech trends via newsletters (e.g., Robinhood snacks, New York Times): I think to see what companies are doing and what problems they may be facing, say, increasing revenue helps to train product thinking skills.
- Keeping up with design trends via Medium (e.g., UX Collective): I think reading other case studies and design articles helps to expand your design point of view and absorb new trends in design.
- Staying conscious while using apps (e.g., Spotify, Google Maps): I think you should always ask “why”s if you spot a new update or designs that catch your attention. Also, this isn’t limited to apps — you can do this with school posters, buildings, and pretty much anything. Trust me, this helps with the interview as well.
Interviewing
What was the interview process like? How did you prepare for different types/stages of the process?
In general, for product design internships, there are three+ stages to the interview process. a) preliminary call with the recruiter to understand if you know the basics and if you are a good fit. b) portfolio review to understand your past projects and experience in the design process. c) whiteboard session, design challenge, or app critique to test your design skills.
For recruiter calls, you need to research the company, understand why you want to work there, and have an elevator pitch ready with your basic information and the kind of designer you are. You might also talk about one of your projects at a high-level. Start with the context — state the problem, why it was necessary to solve, and a brief overview of the project. End with the outcome — if you shipped the project, talk about the metrics and what success looked like. If you didn’t ship anything, talk about your learnings.
For portfolio reviews, pick the projects that you like and practice explaining them to your friends. The more you talk to others, the better you get at telling your project as a story. If it’s a short school project, perhaps work more on it even after it’s over by yourself. Do an additional iteration on your own, and share the impact of that iteration.
For whiteboard challenges, don’t forget to have fun. You became a designer because you enjoy solving problems. Instead of jumping into the formula that you grabbed from googling “how to ace whiteboard challenge,” try to take a step back and brainstorm many ideas or even ask why you should be solving the given prompt. If you’ve been keeping up with tech trends, you can use those to your advantage — “I read that XYZ tried e-commerce, so maybe that’s an option.” You should also practice with others since they might share something you have never thought of.
For design challenges, I’d say it’s very similar to whiteboard challenges. Take a step back to figure out the context. Think broadly and creatively about solutions. The more you’ve thought of, the more you can weigh the pros and cons and pick one that truly matches the problem, the user needs, or brings additional $$$. Also, practice talking about it.
For app critiques, again, if you’ve been asking yourself “why”s while using apps, you should be fine. Start with the context — what the app is used for, who the target users are, and how they make money. Also, keep the conversation open — ask the interviewer what they think and have a chat.
What are some of the best practices for portfolio presentation?
I would say make sure you are not blindly following a design process. Every step of your process should have a reason behind why you chose to do it and how it led to the next step. Like for real — you don’t always need a persona section. If you’ve clearly defined the problem in the beginning and talked about the context, it’s already clear that you are solving for a college student.
Keep your process flexible.
What surprised you during the interview process?
I’m quite surprised at how diverse of a perspective there is out there in the field of design. When I’m doing a portfolio presentation, I come very prepared. But during the interview, I get surprised by the in-depth and varied questions that people ask — things that I’ve never even thought of. I’m always amazed by how fluid the field of design is. There are so many things to solve and so many ways to solve them.
How did you deal with rejections?
If I didn’t even make it to an interview, I try not to care. If I don’t hear back in 3–5 weeks, I assume it’s a rejection.
Did you change your strategies as a result of your learnings during the interview process?
Yeah, for my very first recruiter call, I didn’t know how I should describe my project. I was all over the place, and I got rejected. I reached out to the recruiter, and she advised me to prioritize context from next time and make recruiters understand the problem more.
I failed my first whiteboard challenge by jumping into a solution, which is precisely why I started reading tech news to expand my knowledge in a variety of fields. I also began to share screenshots of apps with my friends and informally discuss the “why”s — it’s always interesting to hear new perspectives, and it’ll help you stay calm during the Q&A of portfolio reviews.
Reflection
In hindsight, can you think of anything you would have done differently?
I used to look up profiles of designers and tried to copy their style of design and design process. It does help you to understand their expertise and learn from them. But you should also take the time to explore by yourself. Don’t compare too much and slow down in the beginning. (: Also, follow me on Medium.
Tanuja Sawant
Background — Undergraduate in CS and Physics, did an HCI research internship at Telecom ParisTech and a Design Research Internship at Microsoft Research India before joining Georgia Tech
Getting ready for the internship hunt
When do UX design internships for summer usually open? When did you start applying?
Big tech companies like Microsoft and Facebook start recruiting earlier in Fall and finish hiring by January. Most UX opportunities open up in Spring. I started applying late in January. I applied to both UX design and UX research positions. An internship is an excellent opportunity to test the waters and figure out what your specific UX interests are. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do design or research, so I predominantly sought UX generalist positions.
What job materials did you prepare to seek an internship in UX design?
Resume, cover letter, and portfolio. I wrote personalized cover letters for companies that I really wanted to interview for. Cover letters can be a good place to highlight how your work experience overlaps with the required skill sets, why you’re interested in the company, and what’s unique about you. Not writing cover letters for all companies accelerated my application process, mainly because not all companies read cover letters.
How did you tailor your resume for this role?
I had separate resumes for design and research which described the same projects but highlighted respective skills. I had separate sections for Design and Research skills, and I simply reordered the skills based on the type of resume. During the internship search, I iterated on my resumes by seeking inspiration from some of the good ones out there posted on websites like cofolios and bestfolios. I also asked for feedback from the then 2nd years and alumni of GT’s MS HCI program and referred their resumes.
How did you tailor your portfolio for this role?
I tailored it towards both design and research because I was open to UX internships in general. I made sure that I described each step of my UX process. Later on, during the internship search, I made my portfolio case studies concise and added more visuals. I took inspiration from some good portfolios from cofolios and GT students. Providing a glimpse of your final project outcome at the top of the project page, then showcasing the whole process as a timeline, detailing your contributions, and then diving into the entire process helps. I asked alumni and 2nd year HCI students for portfolio feedback, and that helped me understand who I’m designing my portfolio for. Generally, there are three types of portfolio readers: who have about 20s — 2 min, 2–10 min, or 10+ min. I reflected on how I could convey my skills and project work best for all three types of users.
Finding opportunities and landing interviews
Once you thought your job materials were ready, what strategies did you use to find internship opportunities?
I applied to about 100 positions, including both design and research roles. I had referrals for about 15–20 companies, and most were small or medium sized companies. I was friends with some people in the HCI program, and at places I’d interned before. These people were kind enough to introduce me to the right person or team who might be hiring at their company or others, regardless of whether the position was posted online. That’s how most job openings are filled. People you know or have worked with can personally vouch for you.
Georgia Tech’s HCI career fair, Interactivity helped in landing interviews too. I wasn’t sure how an internship search works in the US, especially because everyone has different experiences, and there are so many ways to apply for jobs. So I ended up trying most job search methods — from LinkedIn Easy Apply to referrals.
How did you build a network which can help you with referrals?
I didn’t build a network with the motive of landing a job; it sort of happened as I met people while at Georgia Tech. I wanted to make connections organically. I attended career fairs, networking events, talks, HCI/UX conferences, or asked someone I looked up to for a short call to learn from their experience.
What were some helpful online resources (websites, blogs) that were crucial in your search?
I read blogs on Medium for specific companies. These blogs provided me with useful guidance on what to expect for interviews and how to prepare for certain types of interviews regardless of the company I interviewed for.
Interviewing
What was the interview process like? How did you prepare for different types/stages of the process?
I interviewed with about 12 companies — 2 UXR, 3 research/design hybrid, and 7 UXD. I received offers from ADP and a couple of other companies.
Each company has a different interview process, so as I landed interviews, I tried to learn more about that company from someone who had already worked/interviewed there. For design, the usual process was — 1. Recruiter call. 2 Portfolio review. 3. Design challenge. ADP representatives had visited the college campus for our career fair, but I wasn’t able to meet them. A then second-year helped me connect with the UX manager, and that helped me land an interview. The interview was only one round, but it was more conversational and grilling than any of my other interviews. We spoke about UX design and research, and my thought processes while solving problems. I was asked to talk about one of my internship projects without referring to my portfolio or any visuals. The interviewer picked up different parts of the process and questioned me about specific design and research decisions.
I prepared for portfolio reviews by doing mock interviews with myself, my peers, and my friends.
For the design challenges, I went through the end-to-end design process.
I also had a document with FAQs, including behavioral questions for UX interviews, but I could have fleshed out and spent more time practicing the answers.
What are some of the best practices for portfolio presentation?
It’s good to have slide decks of your portfolio case studies to present during interviews. I didn’t use any decks back then, but I’m using them now, and it helps drive the discussion to focus on essential topics. Also, have a pdf slide deck ready in case there are internet connection problems during the interview. During the portfolio review, it’s vital to turn the interview to a two-person conversation rather than a one-way presentation. Some ways to do this is to stop time and again to ask if they’re following, what they would like to know more about after mentioning the process briefly, and ask for more thoughts when they ask a question or make a comment. Keeping interviewers engaged in the conversation is something I learned over time, as I interviewed. Timing and tuning your portfolio presentation to match time allotted for the portfolio review helps too.
What surprised you during the interview process?
I was shocked to see how widely each company’s interview process can differ. Also, there is no fair evaluation of candidates to land interviews — it’s a mixture of luck, connections, timing, and efforts. After I joined the HCI program, I was caught off guard by how soon I needed to have a good design portfolio and be prepared to find an internship right away. Job hunting, in general, can get very complicated and stressful, we just have to do our best persistently.
How did you deal with rejections?
I realized that I cared about rejections much more if I had interviewed for some rounds. It hurt especially if I thought the interviews went well, or if there were other circumstances like a late application, miscommunication, lack of sponsorship, etc. The best I could do was ask for feedback from interviewers and recruiters, and work on my next application. Like any other thing, you get used to rejections over time and learn to perform better. Rejections motivated me to keep at it and not give up.
Did you change your strategies as a result of your learnings during the interview process?
It so happened that as the Spring semester progressed, I applied to more jobs through my contacts rather than just online applications. I learned to manage time, communicate well, read cues, present better as I interviewed with more companies. Having a document ready with a short blurb for an elevator pitch, what you are looking for, why you’re interested in the company, and some well-thought-out questions for the interviewer ahead of the interview helps. Initial interviews are an excellent opportunity for us to learn our weaknesses, fail faster, and prepare for interviews with the next company.
Reflection
In hindsight, can you think of anything you would have done differently?
Investing time and effort on my portfolio right from the first semester, and starting job applications early in Fall. I would have also liked to practice visual design skills and incorporate them into my portfolio sooner. Many companies expect UX designers to have good visual design skills. Starting to work on your portfolio as soon as grad school starts is important. Grad school gives you the resources to find a job, but it’s really up to you to plan and execute, and it’s pretty open-ended about when and how to do that. So it’s up to us to find the time to start making a portfolio early and keep learning design skills on the side. Portfolio design is a long and never-ending process. It’s essential not to wait to apply until your portfolio is perfect. Applying early with an okayish portfolio is better than applying late with an almost ideal portfolio because many companies hire on a rolling basis.
Shubhangi Gupta
Background — Bachelor of Design from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati with a focus on HCI. Design and research internships at IISc Bangalore, MSR India and LRI, University of Paris SUD.
Getting ready for the internship hunt
When do UX design internships for summer usually open? When did you start applying?
I was applying for both design and research roles. I started applying at the end of January, but I was late. I was not aware that positions start opening up in the Fall. I later got delayed refining my portfolio.
What job materials did you prepare to seek an internship in UX design?
Resume, portfolio, and cover letters, if needed. I had a template for the cover letter and modified it slightly based on the requirements of the post I was applying for. If it was a company I liked and they had an option to submit a cover letter, I generally wrote one personalized to them.
How did you tailor your resume for this role?
I had separate resumes for design and research. I also used to change the content (skills and projects) for every company based on what they were looking for, which can generally be found in their role descriptions. I used to reorder my skills based on the kind of role I was applying for.
How did you tailor your portfolio for this role?
I could have divided my work into research and design projects, which, I believe, would have been helpful. One of the projects at the top of my portfolio was research-heavy, and the other one was innovation-based. Looking back, I should have had a traditional user-centered end-to-end HCI project to present my basic skills in UX design and research. It’s helpful to keep or highlight your top projects on your portfolio. Instead, I had kept a bunch of projects I liked in my portfolio to show diversity in projects and skills
Finding opportunities and landing interviews
Once you thought your job materials were ready, what strategies did you use to find internship opportunities?
A couple of graduates of the HCI program had shared a long list of openings through a website that documented them. I googled those companies to read up about them and then went on to LinkedIn to find if I know anyone at these companies. Most people I knew were from my undergrad university. I landed a couple of interviews through them. If I didn’t have a referral, I would directly apply.
Here’s the thing, though. I was getting a lot of rejects — I had no idea why and what’s worse — neither did my referrers. Most of them weren’t involved with hiring for that position. Their general response was that my experience and interests might not be a match for what the team might be looking for.
Around April, I started sorting my LinkedIn with folks from my undergrad working in the US, not necessarily alumni in my UG major, and requested to connect. 80/90% of them got back. What I realized then was that I was late for some of the opportunities. The person who introduced me to the design team of Striim, where I finally landed an internship, was a Software engineer at Striim from my undergrad. This position hadn’t been posted online. Back then, I could only imagine the number of interviews I would have had if I had employed this strategy earlier in my internship hunt.
I tried to contact Georgia Tech HCI alumni, too, and received a couple of referrals that way. Although I think that if people share your resume personally, you have a higher chance of hearing back. One thing to keep in mind while approaching strangers is if you’re able to find a common point between them and you, then you hear back from them even more often. If you have a specific shared interest within HCI like accessibility or ethics, it becomes easier to strike a conversation.
Applying online directly might work as well, but you need to mass apply to hear back from anyone at all. I heard back from IDEO and Bose that way. I got an offer from Bose.
I also asked my advisor, who I was doing an independent study with, to inquire about possible roles she would be aware of. It did not work out, but can be a helpful approach if your advisor has industry connections
How did you build a network which can help you with referrals?
I would recommend connecting with as many recruiters as you can that are hiring for design or research roles early in Fall or ASAP. Don’t just connect with designers — connect with recruiters, and researchers as well. They share a bunch of roles online. I also looked for people who say they are hiring in their LinkedIn headline. I then checked their activity to find if they’ve shared any relevant openings.
What were some helpful online resources (websites, blogs) that were crucial in your search?
Alumni from my UG university, as well as Georgia Tech, had shared a list of companies they had applied to. As an international student, I don’t know many companies with offices only in the US. It served as a good starting point. I had also set up email alerts to find out the latest and relevant opportunities. However, it was tough to analyze the quality of work happening at companies I have not heard of.
I also studied portfolios of alumni whose work I appreciated and admired to see how they were presenting their case studies. Behance is pretty good for understanding potential improvements for your portfolio in terms of visual design. You can also look at some of the best resumes out there and get inspiration for your own.
Interviewing
What was the interview process like? How did you prepare for different types/stages of the process?
I’ve been a design student since my undergrad and am confident about my skills. I did practice runs to get better at talking about my work. I did not work on improving my skills at that point so much. The HCI research methods class here was pretty helpful in understanding the terminologies I need to use during interviews.
Striim’s first interview was an audio call. During the call, I had a portfolio review where I picked up a project in my portfolio and walked them through it while they asked me to share the kind of challenges I had faced. They also discussed my background. After that interview, I heard back for a design-cum-research challenge. They sent me a video of their system being used and asked me to (1) note down UX problems and (2) if I were to redesign it, how would I do so? They asked for lo-fi designs. I first spoke with an HCI alumna to figure out how to approach the challenge, which was helpful. I started with some secondary research to understand the product as well as the company. I then wrote down my user research plan (that’s what they had asked of me). I made some assumptions to carry out my design process, which I clearly stated in my documentation.
What are some of the best practices for portfolio presentation?
Always talk about challenges. Talk about the problems you faced and how that changed your process. Concentrate on design decisions and be explicit about the ‘why’ behind each crucial decision you made.
What surprised you during the interview process?
Some companies started hiring for roles even in late Spring, like VMware. Don’t give up till the end. Also, my internship with Striim was not even posted online. You never know what roles open up. We might end up finding positions unexpectedly if we look enough and talk to many people. What irritated me, though, was the lack of feedback for rejects. If you don’t get any feedback, you start coming up with wild theories as to why you got a reject.
How did you deal with rejections?
I wanted to get feedback but didn’t know how to do it. Most places just send an automated reply when they reject you before any interviews.
If I had started forming connections earlier, like reaching out to recruiters, I could have been on a different trajectory. It’s a good practice to be connected to people with companies you would like to work with. Be curious about other people’s work. I recently spoke with a UX research manager at Google, whose work aligns with my interests. This helped me form a connection with him, and he was happy to hop on a call to discuss all things research. He had mentioned in his LinkedIn bio what he was working on. Not everyone does this, though. So be sure to make most out of the description, if they write one, and also check their activity on LinkedIn.
Did you change your strategies as a result of your learnings during the interview process?
I took a personalized approach later in the internship hunt. If you’re interested in a specific HCI field, contact designers or researchers working in it and ask them if you could learn more, even if they’re strangers.
Reflection
In hindsight, can you think of anything you would have done differently?
Opportunities start opening up early in the year from September/October. I could have started applying right then because I have a design background, and I already had projects to present in my portfolio.
Start early and talk to more people, especially those who have things in common with you. Sometimes, if you reach out to the “wrong person” they will point you in the right direction. That’s helpful too. Approaching people working for companies based outside the US might work too as long as they have offices in the US.
Yay, you made it till the end!
Pat yourself on the back. You’re already ahead of the curve.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it to be useful! Please feel free to drop a comment below if you have any questions.
*Hiroo Aoyama is pursuing his MS in Industrial Design.
Special thanks to my wonderful peers Shelly, Hiroo, Tanuja, and Shubhangi, for sharing their experiences. I also thank Tushar for talking to first-year MS-HCI students looking for an internship this year to ensure I was asking the right questions.
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