From Resume to Job Offer. Everything Designer Needs to Know About Employment

Hi! I’m Nadia, Product Designer at START streaming service. In my work, I frequently come across beginners who struggle with finding a job. In this article, I’am to shed light on key points worth noting. While preparing it, I had discussions with several team leaders and recruiters.

Let’s take a look at all the steps involved in getting a job.

Step 0: What to think about before looking for a job
First, ask yourself:
— what am I ready to learn?
— what do I want to do every day?
— in what field do I want to grow throughout my career?

Here’s a tip: think about the tasks you would do even for free and the knowledge you’d be willing to pay for? Your honest answers to these questions will help to identify your main areas of interest.

Step 1: Creating a resume
Once you’ve decided your direction, you can start preparing your resume. HR typically reviews about 100 resumes each day. Each resume is reviewed for less than 2 minutes. Many recruiters are searching for candidates for multiple job vacancies. They get less attentive, so your resume should definitely stand out!

Many applicants want to get creative and design their own resume templates. Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel — use the well-structured resume template from online recruitment platforms popular in your country. Recruiters get used to the most common templates, they have a keen eye and can quickly and efficiently assess a candidate.

If you have little or no experience, don’t try to make your resume look more impressive by adding unnecessary information. Think of everything that directly relates to the vacancy. For instance, if you’re applying for a design system designer role, your experience should include relevant jobs, not just creating mockups and passing them on to development.

If you’ve worked in a lesser-known company, take the time to briefly describe what the company does. This way, potential employers won’t need to search for additional information and waste their time.

Sometimes HR doesn’t take freelancing seriously. However, there’s a trick that can turn your experience into an advantage. State that you performed the duties of a designer for the company you collaborated with. If asked about formal employment, explain that it was a project-based job under a civil contract.

A cover letter is an excellent opportunity to make your resume stand out. Let’s together review a few excerpts from cover letters and decide which ones we like and which ones we don’t.

These are the skills that every designer should inherently have. This does not set the candidate apart from other competitors.

This is an intrigue associated with the work of a designer. Most likely, even a team leader might be interested in this. They will review the resume and invite you for an interview.

This is vague information about the designer’s work. The designer’s personal contribution to the product development is unclear.

In this example, the candidate demonstrates several strengths: willingness to take responsibility and develop skills to improve their performance.

The designer clearly:
– shows interest in the company’s activities;
– has taken time to review the site, analyze it, and form improvement hypotheses.

Such an approach will certainly impress the employer.

Step 2: Portfolio design and posting
Remember, case studies should be strictly related to the position you’re applying for. If you’re looking for a UX/UI designer position, cases with logos and banners are unnecessary.

Places where you shouldn’t post your portfolio:

• Figma link: it’s not always possible to view the project from a computer and opening the project via a phone can be a hassle;
• Google Drive link: the link leads to numerous folders where you have to dig through and try to find it. Please avoid doing this;
• Video: unless you’re a motion designer, you shouldn’t create a video presentation of your work. While it may look beautiful and dynamic, it’s impossible to examine the design, especially UX/UI work, in this format.

Best options for portfolio placement:

• Behance: it’s a safe choice to publish your portfolio on this platform. It’s a great chance to display your visuals;
• Dribbble: it’s also convenient and attractive, but it doesn’t support long case studies. It’s better suited for illustrators;
• Notion: a good option for posting both your portfolio and resume. The platform’s templates will help you create a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing design.

Which projects should you definitely include?
Select a few of your best works — even just one or two, but make sure they are well thought out, beautifully presented, and you can tell a compelling story about them. It’s better to have fewer projects, but of high quality.

When presenting a case, focus on the most crucial screens — don’t spend too much time on authorization screens, card data input, and other pages. Avoid lengthy descriptions in your projects — they often go unread.

What should you definitely describe?
For UX/UI designers: the problem, the hypothesis, and the outcome. This is what employers are most interested in. How you manage assigned tasks and what the final result looks like. If you decide to slightly embellish your results, do it in a way that won’t get you caught.

Studio & product company

What do those hiring for a studio look for in designers? They focus on work speed and visuals. Therefore, your portfolio should demonstrate that you are fast and good at the basic stuff: margins, spacing, the rule of outer and inner, etc.

To be honest, it’s quite challenging for someone without experience to get into a product company.

In product design, they focus on metrics and your understanding of how to influence them.

They often hire designers with web studio experience. Here’s a tip: try getting a job in product design by working on a design system. Work for half a year to a year and you’ll have the chance to transition to a product designer role.

Step 3: Where to find job openings and post your resume
Keep an eye out for offers on the most popular recruiting online platforms in your region/country (or the country where you want to move), and check the job sections on the websites of companies you’re interested in.

Search for vacancies through friends, acquaintances, and former colleagues (if you’re still in touch with them). Don’t hesitate to look through your contacts for people connected to the companies you’re interested in and ask them directly — many companies offer a substantial bonus to employees who refer successful candidates. Interviews based on recommendations happen more frequently than others.

Don’t hesitate to apply for jobs you like, even if you feel you don’t meet 100% of the requirements. At the very least, you’ll gain interview experience and understand what needs improvement. And with a bit of luck, you’ll find yourself part of the team.

Step 4: Interview with a recruiter
If you’re new to interviewing, it’s a good idea to prepare.

Jot down answers to the following questions on a piece of paper:

– who are you;

– how long have you been in your profession;

– what have you been doing in recent years;

– what are the projects in your portfolio and have they been implemented.

Prepare ahead of time, research the company, and make a list of questions.

Keep in mind that HR often doesn’t have a deep understanding of a designer’s role. Therefore, it’s crucial to demonstrate soft skills (universal skills that are fostered in childhood and can be improved throughout life. These include communication skills, critical thinking, and idea generation).

What salary should you ask for?
Consider the average market salary, but bear in mind that it varies between regions and countries and even cities. Keep in mind that your salary is compensation for your investment and expenses on education and self-improvement.

Lifehack: don’t put your salary in the resume. This could scare off a recruiter if the salary is too low or too high.

You’re unlikely to get an answer to the question, “How much can you offer me?” They will still ask for a specific figure. In this case, you can inquire about the company’s salary range. Every company has one.

The best lifehack: don’t disclose your desired salary until you’re sure they’re interested in you. Then you can start to negotiate.

What to do if you receive a rejection?
Much depends on the stage at which you were eliminated. If it happened after the interview or test assignment presentation, feel free to reach out to the recruiter and ask for feedback. Reach out through available communication channels. It would be great if it’s a well-reasoned letter.

Not just a “Give me feedback,” but something like: “I would like to know the reason my application was rejected. This information is crucial for my growth, I want to acknowledge all my mistakes, correct them, and avoid repeating them in the future.”

Rejection is normal
Rejections are normal. These are the companies that rejected me during the interview and test assignment stages. Can you imagine how many companies completely ignored my resume? I spent four months trying to find my first job.

Rejection = the employer is not ready to take risks, not ready to utilize you as a business tool. Don’t take it to heart. The rejection is not of you, but of your skills.

Step 5: Interview with the chief designer
Let’s move on to the good part and assume you’ve passed the recruiter’s interview. You have a meeting lined up with the head of design. Remember during the interview that employment is a two-way street. You’re not only being selected as an employee, but you’re also choosing an employer.

Look for a company that aligns with your character and values. This is crucial because landing a “wrong” job can lead to a loss of faith in yourself and your profession.

What to research:
— the company’s website;
— their blog or presentation;
— if it’s a service, register and see how it operates from the inside.

Why you should do this:
– to determine how interested you are in working for this company and in this industry;
– when the manager or HR asks what you know about the company, you’ll have an answer ready.

Five qualities that will definitely impress a team leader:
— empathy: the ability to understand another person’s feelings. The ability to create a safe space;
— passion: if it’s clear that a person is passionate about their profession, it’s appealing;
— honesty: don’t exaggerate your achievements. Speak honestly about your experience;
— confidence: even though you’re not a professional yet, you’re certain that this career path is right for you and that you’ll definitely succeed;
— engagement: evident in conversation, in your eyes, in the questions you ask the employer.

Examples of questions you can ask the manager
— Describe a typical workday for your employees.
— Is there a career development plan for designers? What does it entail?
— What does your ideal team look like?
— Under what circumstances would you fire an employee?

Lifehack: If you’re unsure what to ask, mirror the questions that were asked of you.

Step 6: Completing a test assignment
An important point I want every designer to understand is:
experience ≠ number of works completed
experience ≠ scale of works completed
experience = understanding what you did and why you did it.

The test assignment plays a significant role. Rejections often occur because the employer fails to understand the candidate’s thought process, problem-solving steps, and thus, cannot fully evaluate their experience.

A test assignment is usually not required if the portfolio displays impressive visuals and the candidate has experience working with a major company.

Two weeks is considered the optimal time for completing the assignment.
Here is the result of the test assignment created using a well-prepared presentation (which can also be created in Figma). Remember to include a direct link to the design layouts.

The cover is beneficial for those in charge, so reiterate the task, its title, and who it’s assigned to. Provide an insight into your efficiency by indicating the time taken to complete the assignment. Employers find it crucial to know how quickly you can finish similar tasks.

Detail your action plan as much as possible, or structure the test assignment in steps to demonstrate how you would approach such a task.

Step 7: Receiving a job offer
A job offer is an employment proposal from an employer outlining all the key terms of the future employment contract.

The offer must include the following:
– position;
– salary (before and after tax);
– additional benefits (health insurance, etc.);
– start date;
– probation period tasks;
– the offer’s expiry date.

It’s tough for aspiring designers. Competition is a constant reality. To achieve your goals, it’s necessary to develop a career plan and job search strategy. Above all, believe in yourself.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. I’ll do my best to answer them all🧡

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