How to intern as a designer with no experience
My freshman year of college I landed two design internships with no design experience. I barely even had a portfolio.
Background
I went to The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga freshman year and interned at two places, Bellhops and SimpleFocus. I definitely wasn’t the smartest person in the city, but I knew how to position myself for good opportunities.
1. Truly believe that it’s possible
This step definitely sounds cheesy, but it’s the most important step in the process. My professors, peers, and even my family told me it wasn’t possible. I was constantly surrounded by negativity trying to achieve this goal.
Moreover, I literally had no type of UX/UI skill or training(it wasn’t even offered at the school), but the companies took me in anyway.
All odds were against me, but I persevered until I landed an internship.
2. Network with actual designers
Every other day in Chattanooga I would be at a networking event related to the field I was interested in. I went to weekly UX, developer, business, and graphic design meetups across town.
www.Meetup.com — Easiest way to search for local meetups
Go to these meetups and talk to the people there. You don’t have to impress them or anything, just get to know people. The cool thing about designers is that most of them are pretty informal and laid back. They’re like the friends you make in school, just older and wiser.
When first meeting them, I usually asked questions like:
“What’s it like to be a UX designer?”
“How did you get into the field?”
“What’s the best advice you can give me as someone trying to get in the field??”
Get to know them I would just ask about random things that don’t really matter to just get to know the person. It’s literally the same process you go through making a new friend.
Get their contact info Ask for their email & remember their name. You’ll want to have little coffee dates after to get to know them better later on. Keep them updated on your progress on becoming a designer.
Don’t pester them about internships Casually drop hints that you’re looking for an internship, but never come out and directly say it. They’ll eventually come around and give you one or point you in the right direction.
Referrals are godsend Also, just because the person you’re talking to doesn’t own a firm or product, doesn’t mean they can’t help you.
3. Actually learn about design
You’re going to have to put in some leg work so you’re at least competent at designing.
You should be learning about UX design while attending these networking events. Read books/articles about design, redesign websites/apps, and practice solving problems that you personally experience on apps.
It’s not that bad, you’ll want to read a couple articles here or there and design some screens occasionally.
These are some helpful books/articles that helped me start:
4. Results
If you continue this process for a few months, you’re likely to start seeing results. All of my internships have come from referrals from people I’ve met at these meetups.
Conclusion
Many of my friends were asking how I interned my first year in college, so I retraced the steps I took to get them. It pretty much boils down to basic networking.
It’s not that hard, it just takes a few hours every week~
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Networking is 🔑
