What I learned on my UX Job Search — Part I
When my time came to look for a new Job as an UX Designer, I was nervous and really anxious… I couldn’t wait to leave that job that I know wasn’t right for me anymore and to start a new dream job where I could learn and thrive!
Even if the process was a bit long and quite stressful, it was so worth it as ultimately I got a very good job on a nice company.
I feel that this experience taught me many lessons, so I would like to share them here in hopes it can help you others in their quest. If you are looking for your first job, if you’re in need for a change or if you have been searching for sometime and feel stuck, read on!
1. Always start with Research
When embarking on a new project or task I always like to research online first to find the “best way” to succeed.
Here are some gems on job hunting I can recommend:
General career advice:
The Muse:
The Muse is a website fully dedicated to job search and career advice. You will find there tones of articles on all subjects, from changing careers to getting back to work after maternity, how to ace your interviews and many more.
Portfolio advice:
Tobias van Schneider blog for Semplice
If you are a designer you probably know Tobias van Schneider, and if you don’t, you should! An accomplished designer he has recently launched a portfolio platform called Semplice, and he writes plenty of brilliant articles full of useful tips.
Sarah Doody channels
If you need help building your portfolio Sarah Doody is your girl! In her articles you will find many useful tips, and she has a lot of channels where you can find advice: a YouTube channel, a Facebook group, a mailing list and even courses.
Portfolio examples
If you are looking for inspiration, you should check bestfolios.com There you can find portfolio examples, case studies and even résumés!
There are many many more great sources on the Web (and on Medium there are a lot of great articles) but for me, these were the ones I used the most.
Tip: As there are many things to consider you may find useful to take note of the main points that resonated in you, so you know where to start. You can even prepare a document with links to your favorite sources for future reference.
Tip 2: If after checking other portfolios you feel somewhat discouraged, know that it’s completely normal to feel this way! In my case what worked was to bookmark my favorites, so I could come back later, as too much portfolio browsing on one afternoon is a bit soul-crushing…
2. Prepare your Job Searching Pack
Once you have studied the articles, listened to some podcasts and checked the best folios and résumés it’s time to prepare your own! As an UX designer, you should prepare:
- A “Design” CV: In other words, a CV that does not look like a Word document. Pay special attention to your alignment, white space and hierarchies. A nice typography can also help! Finally, try to limit it to one page max, and only list your more relevant and current information.
- Your portfolio: Here you will showcase your best work, focusing on quality before quantity.
There are many ways you can prepare it, from building your own website to using a designer platform like Behance or Dribble. If there are confidential projects you can not show on your online portfolio, you can prepare a PDF with the best ones and send it to recruiters. - Your Case Studies: UX is all about your process… and the best way to show your process is to write a case study. This will be the most time consuming part, but don’t despair! You don’t need to write a Case Study for all your projects, you can choose the top two or three, the most interesting ones or where you learned the most.
3. Ask for feedback
With your pack in hand is always a good idea to ask for feedback before sending it out. This will help you get an idea of how appropriate your profile is to your desired position, and make any adjustment you may need to do.
But who to ask? If you have some kind of “mentor” in the field, that is, someone with great UX experience who is willing to help you, that will be ideal!
Now if you don’t have a mentor, there is still a lot of places where you can find someone to show your portfolio to:
- Don’t miss the events: The UX community is now thriving! There are now tons of events everywhere, as well as meetups, design jams, conferences and more. These events are perfect to connect with the community and also with the recruiters, as they are bound to be there.
- Reach out to your UX network: As well as the events, you can also use the various online channels available. Look for your local UX Slack channels, Linkedin groups or others.
- Make friend with your recruiter: Some HR professionals are really friendly and helpful. If they see you are humble and genuinely interested in improving they may be willing to help and give your pointers on your CV and portfolio if you ask nicely.
Tip: Always show a positive attitude. Even when they tell you are not right for the job, that can only mean that you are not “right” today. In that case, ask for pointers on the areas you should improve or work on. Is it to refine your visual skills? To get more experience on research ? To prepare more detailed animated prototypes? And so on.
This concludes Part One of my article. Hope you find it useful :)
On Part 2 I will share more advice on how to tackle the second part of the process: the interviews.
- Choosing the “right” post for you.
- Thinking about your unique Brand.
- Facing the “we will call you” anxiety
See you then!