A Guide to Your First UX Internship, Interviews, and Resume-Building
We asked several e-board members to share a little bit about their experiences and what advice they would impart on those who are just getting started. This article is split up into general advice for interviews, internships, your resume, and your portfolio. Thank you Sarah, Abby, Monica, and Andy!
Interviews
What is the best way to prepare for a design interview?
Have your portfolio ready.
Often, recruiters will ask you to walk them through a case study, which is why it’s crucial to have talking points for each section, be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of your work, and comfortably talk about what you have learned or reflected upon. Recruiters want to understand the rationale between your design decisions, and going through your portfolio is the best way to show off your skills.
Research the company.
For startups especially, expressing interest and knowledge about their mission comes a long way. They will appreciate it more if you can explain why you are passionate about working for them.
For larger companies, it may be more important to be confident in answering technical questions related to your portfolio and your design process, as these are the things that will differentiate you from other designers and make you stand out.
Brush up on design concepts.
This will be covered in the next question, but know your basics like the STAR method, the basic design process, etc.
Prepare for typical interview questions.
Be well-versed in and have responses ready for generic interview questions! You want to show that you’re a proficient designer, but also someone who can have an actual conversation with the recruiter or HR. Being personable and authentic is just as important as whatever skills you can bring to the table.
What are some important concepts or skills you should know?
UX:
Knowing the ins-and-outs of the design process and being able to understand each step is extremely important, like how to identify a problem and make a problem statement. Read up on our last article if you need a refresher on the design process and other basic concepts! Research and analysis are equally critical towards showing recruiters that you can draw conclusions from insights and data. Be confident when you are conducting yourself, even to simple “yes” or “no” questions.
UI:
Some fundamentals of UI that you should know are general concepts about typography, color theory, and spacing. If you need a brush up on any of these, try the Daily UI challenge or read our latest article on color theory. However, keep in mind that knowing user research generally takes priority over user interface.
Software:
Figma is an industry standard, but it can be helpful to have knowledge about other platforms such as Sketch, InVision, Adobe XD, and Framer, which converts prototypes directly into HTML/CSS. A good practice tip is to take a snapshot of an interface that interests you, paste it into your software of choice, and try to recreate it!
Other:
Although not necessary, familiarity or proficiency with video-editing, 3-D motion design, graphic design, and Photoshop are always a plus and may even set you apart from other candidates. Most recruiters will also ask you questions about working in groups or with different people, as designers in the actual workplace are frequently placed in cross-functional teams and have to collaborate with other designers, developers, etc.
Common Design Interview Questions
What is your design process?
When have you disagreed with a developer?
What is one project that was ambiguous and how did you overcome that and face it?
What tools do you use?
What is one project you’re proud of?
What do you hope to get out of this internship?
In your own words what do you think ___ does?
What is one challenge that you think __ faces?
On what spectrum would you say you are UX design, UI design, or UX research?
Internships
Best advice for landing your first internship?
Apply early and be organized.
If you have an eye on a specific company, keep track of when their application goes live! It’s also important in general to know where all of your files are, especially if you intend on creating different resumes, writing cover letters, etc. The basic Notion template for internships is pretty effective for anyone looking to start.
Network.
Networking can sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be — something as simple as asking your friends and family for any UI/UX opportunities can be more than enough. This is also why it’s important to join clubs, as your peers can write you recommendations and pitch your name to other recruiters if they have had prior experiences.
And most importantly — don’t give up.
Applying to internships is a numbers game. It might feel discouraging not hearing back from companies or seeing everyone else seemingly land their dream job on Linkedin, but try to be proactive and take any rejections in stride. As said so eloquently by our Community Director, Andy:
“To anyone feeling dejected or feeling like they are not good enough, because they got rejected by a whole list of companies, do not worry. Your chance and your time will come. You’ll have 6000 rejections before you’ll have one offer. So, keep pushing because you just need one yes. Don’t feel discouraged and just keep moving forward.”
What platforms are best for finding internships?
- Handshake
- Indeed
- Design Twitter
- Hexagon UX Slack
- payinterns.nyc
- interns.design (not active anymore, but keep an eye out if that changes!)
How do you quantify/write about your first interning/working experience?
Talk about identifying user needs and user research.
Mention how many people were impacted, how many people you conducted user testability on, and your experience collaborating within a team. Showing that you are an effective communicator even with people completely unfamiliar with design is key!
“What” and “Why”.
This is how Monica shared her experience:
“I talked about what I did, which is building wireframes, building mockups, and prototyping on Figma. “Why did I do it?” It was to satisfy stakeholder needs. “What did I do it for?” I talked about how the product I worked on was mainly for human resource and compliance.”
Resume
What are some resume tips?
Follow a general format, but don’t be afraid to spice it up.
Keep your descriptions short, but not too general. As designers, it’s okay to add some personality to your resume; there’s no right or wrong way to make your resume. You can look online for templates to find one that suits you and personalize from there. Making a hyperlink for your Linkedin and portfolio is also a great way to save time for recruiters, as they can just click directly from your resume.
Emphasize leadership and technical skills with power verbs.
This link from the Harvard Law School includes a lot of action verbs you can use in your resume.
Keep it current.
A general rule of thumb is to take out any old experiences, such as things from high-school, after a year into college. Unless these are outstanding accomplishments, it’s best to keep your resume relevant to what you have been doing recently.
Consistency.
Try to align your resume with your portfolio — if your portfolio has a certain design, make sure that the transition to your resume is seamless and represents your brand.
Get feedback.
Ask your peers, family, and mentors to give you feedback on your resume! This is the best way to improve, as it helps to have a fresh set of eyes on it.
Always tailor your resume to the job description.
Resumes are often run through a machine that looks for key words. Having a too-general resume might prevent you from even moving past the first step.
Figma vs. Word.
A lot of people tend to make their resumes on Figma, but if you want to stay on the safe side, Word is also good because it scans well for bigger companies.
Portfolio
What are some must-haves in your portfolio?
A description of who you are.
This is the first thing recruiters will see when on your portfolio, so definitely put some thought into what you want to express to other people. Make it specific and personal to who you are, and avoid using terms like “aspiring designer” — you ARE a designer.
2–4 projects.
Three tends to be the “golden number”, and over this amount the employer might not even look at your other case studies. Keep in mind everyone’s at their own pace; it’s okay if you don’t have a lot of projects, and having a portfolio site that is a work in progress is still better than no portfolio at all. At the end of the day, quality matters over quantity. You can also add non-design projects like graphic design, photography, or coding.
Keep it easy to use and professional.
If you think about it, your portfolio is its own UI/UX project: you have to consider how people will interact with and navigate your site. Think about how the layout, colors and fonts reflect your personality and skills. With so many people applying to internships right now, recruiters don’t have a lot of time to try and figure out your site.
About section and contact info readily available.
We hope you enjoyed this guide to everything you need to know during internship season — watch out for another article going more in-depth about your portfolio. Good luck to everyone and always feel free to reach out to anyone in the Discord for any help or other advice!
