A Checklist To Troubleshoot Your UX Job Search
Hi friend, are you applying for a new role in 2023 and getting a bit stuck? Let's talk about the stages of the job searching and interview process and analyze why you might be getting stuck, or not moving at all.
📌📌📌 Much of the advice you see below is from our Career Checklist. It's a free tool, and an excellent quick blueprint for anyone looking for a new role this year.
Why am I not getting any job interviews as a UX designer?
If you've began to apply to jobs, but you're not hearing anything at all, something is missing in the eyes of recruiters or the ATS (applicant tracking system). Consider updating your portfolio, your resume, your LinkedIn with new work because they are choosing to not pass you through.
To fix this:
Consider adding new work to your portfolio, or updating your projects to tell a more effective story. (Remember your audience. What are you not telling them? What are you not showing them?)
Apply to more jobs, in the dozens and even the hundreds (especially if you’re pivoting!) Watch this interview with Yasmine to learn how she got a job by applying to hundreds of opportunities.
Run your resume through a tool like JobScan or Teal to see what keywords you’re missing from your resume.
Look at common job descriptions on LinkedIn to get richer keywords for your own resume.
I'm getting calls with the recruiter but then I never hear anything back
It seems you have a decent portfolio and resume but something about the way you carry yourself, or the way you answer typical questions, stops you in your tracks.
To fix this:
Consider preparing for recruiter phone-calls by mock-interviewing ahead of time. If you feel like recruiters keep asking you for work you don’t have, you might need to create new work, get new projects, get a way to answer the questions.
Prepare for questions including "Tell me about yourself", "Do you have experience with..." (look at common keywords from job descriptions on LinkedIn), "Can you share with me an end-to-end project you’ve done? (Not a question you’ll get often, but you should be ready)." View full list of common recruiter questions.
I'm getting interviews, but getting stuck in that first conversation with the hiring manager. Help!
Well the good thing is, you've got the goods to make it past the gatekeepers, but something is stopping you in that first round. But just like the Klitschko brothers, I know you're also a fight and have what it takes to go 12 rounds.
At this stage, you might just not be the right fit for the team, which isn’t necessarily something you can fix. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s more of a spark that needs to occur between both parties (similar to dating).
Remember, you’re interviewing them just alike. But if you keep getting stopped at this point, you might need to tighten up your interview skills, and perhaps your portfolio and storytelling of your experience.
To fix this:
Consider thorough preparation for the interview by studying the company, the industry, and predicting interview questions you might be asked.
You might also need to practice storytelling, and preparing effective, succinct, eloquent responses. Consider writing your answers down and following an answer methodology, perhaps the Hourglass of Value (context, situation, task/problem, action/process, result/solution, impact)
I have great conversations with the manager and the team, but get stuck in the whiteboard or the design challenge.
It seems the manager deemed you a potentially great fit for the team, but something about the way you respond to case study questions, your processes, your approach is just not resonating.
Again, this isn’t always something that you can work on since it can just be a character fit but if you see yourself getting stopped at this point often, more work can be done.
To fix this:
Consider taking more time to prepare your case study presentations, and write out your entire portfolio review answers. Focus on the business goals, user goals, results, process, key insights, rather than just the play-by-play of what you did.
Thanks for reading and I hope these tips help. Read the rest of advice and get our Career Checklist .