Crack the code in junior UX designer job postings

Are you looking for a junior UX designer job? Keep reading.

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I analyzed the language in 89 junior UX job postings to see the patterns. There were a total of 50437 words in this analysis. The shortest posting included 107 words and the longest had 1425 words. With the number of words ranging from a hundred or so to thousands, it is important to find the recurring themes in these job ads. What better way to find themes than to conduct a word frequency analysis!

A word frequency analysis means counting the number of words in a given text to see the number of times each word was repeated. Word frequency gives us very important insights about the purpose of the message (AKA job posting) and the intention of the communicator (AKA hiring company). By looking at the most frequently used words in the junior UX job postings, you can have a better idea about what the hiring managers want and care about the most. By using the word frequency analysis, you can also evaluate yourself to see how fit you are for the position before you apply. And as a bonus, you can also use the word frequency analysis to improve yourself; if you see that Figma is listed as a required tool for the company you’re interested in and you don’t know how to use Figma, you can learn Figma before you apply for the position.

Without further ado, I give you the results of the word frequency analysis from 89 junior UX job postings:

Word Frequency List for Junior UX Design Jobs

The table with the words and their frequencies might not mean much to you at this point. So let’s interpret what they actually mean!

1. We/Our: As you can see at the top of the table, we/our were the most frequently used words in the junior UX job postings, with 1316 mentions! In a previous analysis I ran while writing the Cracking the language in UX internship postings when the postings included “we/our” it was to describe who they are as a company and what they- as a company- expect from their prospective intern. In the analysis for junior UX designer job postings, the words we/our were used with very similar intentions: the companies tell you who they are while also revealing what they are looking for in an ideal candidate. (For more information about the use of we/our, read the full article.)
2. Experience: The word experience was mentioned 675 times in the job postings. As an entry-level UX designer, companies in this analysis expect you to have between 1–6 years of experience to be eligible for the position. If we zoom further in, 12 companies ask for 1–3 years of experience in UX design, 11 companies require 2+ years of experience, 43 companies want at least 3 years of experience, 3 companies prefer 4 years of experience, 18 of them want at least 5 years of experience, and finally 2 companies want 6 years of experience. As you can see from this analysis, even though you are looking for an entry level job, the most popular trend is at least 3 years of experience if you want to land a junior UX design job.
3. Product: The next most frequent word in the table is ‘product” with 664 mentions. It was used with different words. Product development and product management were used 59 times each, product teams was used 39 times, product experiences was used 36 times, product and engineering teams was used 25 times, and product and design stakeholders were mentioned 10 times. As you can see, the product is an important part of a junior UX designer job. Keep that in mind when you are applying for positions.
4. Design: Design is used as an adjective (e.g., visual design: 47 times), as a noun (e.g., design and product decisions: 11 times) and as a verb (design and deliver: 5 times, design and execute: 3 times). Design is such an important process in the UX, it is the road to solving user problems, which is maybe why design solutions was mentioned 27 times. Companies hint you about how to find design solutions in the job ads: through design thinking (27 mentions) and research (469 mentions). You might think: I completed my UX bootcamp, I have design thinking and research skills up the wazoo, go ahead and hire me, please! And they would love to hire you, except, you need EXPERIENCE.
5. You: The word “you” is pretty high on the list, as you can see in the table. If you have read my previous article, “Cracking the language in UX internship postings,” you know what this means. Briefly, when the job postings mention “you,” they list what they are looking for in eligible candidates. They also use “you” to explain the tasks that await you if you get hired. The same patterns that the companies used when hiring a UX intern are true for junior UX designers. In this analysis, when they mentioned “you” 503 times, 93 times of it is with the word “will,” explaining what you need to do once you get hired: you will (help to design: 19 times, be: 17 times, bring: 4 times, collaborate: 4 times, have: 4 times, work: 4 times). For more information about the use of you, read the full article.
6. User: User is the next frequent word with 442 mentions. The most popular combinations with the word user is: User experience; mentioned 146 times, user research; mentioned 63 times, user-centered; mentioned 33 times, user interface; used 28 times, and user testing was mentioned 19 times. Obviously, the companies do care about their users, at least enough to mention them in the job ads.
7. Team: The word team is pretty high in frequency with 397 mentions. It is clear from this analysis that there is a high probability you will be working with a team if you get hired as a junior UX designer. UX team or research team was both mentioned 20 times each, and engineering team was mentioned 16 times.
8. Skills: In terms of skills, even though the word was high in frequency in this analysis (138 mentions), the companies varied in their preferred skills to hire a junior UX designer. In fact, the companies were pretty generic when they listed the skills necessary to apply for the junior UX designer positions. They mentioned such things as ‘collaboration, minimum knowledge and skills, time management, storytelling, moderation, research, problem solving, analysis and synthesis, interpersonal, project management, good communication, etc.” together with the word “skills”. However, one thing that is really obvious from this analysis is that if companies want strong candidates for their advertised position, they better be more specific about the skills required for the position so that they get applicants who are highly eligible for the job.
9. Remote: Even though the word remote is not on the list above, out of curiosity, I wanted to find out how many of these 89 positions were remote. It turns out that 44 of the 89 positions advertised offer the opportunity to work remotely while 12 of them are hybrid positions.
10. Salary: I am always curious about how much companies are paying their junior UX designers. But first of all, I should mention that 11 of these positions are temporary; they are contract jobs with hourly rates ranging from $20 up to $81. For permanent positions, the salary ranges from $65,000 to $140,000. Again, huge gap. The amount of salary offered by the hiring companies varies due to the size of the company and how much they value UX design and research.

Bottomline: it’s great that you completed a boot camp from Springboard, Generalassemb.ly, CareerFoundry or Avocademy. It’s awesome that you have a degree in Human-Computer Interaction. The companies, while appreciating all that, still ask for previous experiences if you want to be eligible for the junior UX designer position at their companies. If this analysis teaches you nothing, at least leave with this: take a look at the word frequency list to see the repeating words. Those words tell a story. It is the story of a junior UX position: expectations.

Good luck with your application!