Job hunting as a UX/UI designer

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

While many tech influencers promote User Experience (UX) design as an easy route to break into tech without coding and start earning it big 🤑, the selling point for the majority of UX design courses and boot-camps on the other hand are often geared towards building a portfolio to quickly secure jobs, with the expectation that UX designers are in high demand.

Testimonials from people who land jobs in a short period of time are used as bait to entice more people into transitioning to UX design. No doubt, such testimonies are possible, but the reality is that landing a job as a newbie UX designer is actually not easy 😩. Nothing prepares you mentally for the exhaustive process of applying for numerous design roles, the pressure to deliver excellent work on design assignments, the frustration from unsuccessful interviews, rejections, and recruiters’ ghosting.

The Industry doesn’t make it easy either as most job vacancies demand for senior designers with years of experience. There aren’t many internships or junior design positions available and even the ones promoted by companies demand for applicants with experience 🤦‍♀️.

This has led many designers into lying about their work experiences, claiming work they did not do 🤥. I’m not here to point fingers but to support you in your job search. I can relate to how frustrating it can be because I was once a newbie. You’ve probably heard people tell you time and time again that you should network, post your work, and put yourself out there, but despite your best efforts, nothing seems to be happening. I also felt that way too and from my experience navigating the design space as an introvert, I share you some tips that work for me as a creative 😉.

Stand out with your Portfolio 👩🏽‍💻

To be honest, most case studies out there seem to look the same. More like everyone is using a template from the same course and bootcamp 😒. You have the creative freedom to discover your own style and personal brand as a designer, let it reflect in your work.

Tell your own unique story in your portfolio. If you didn’t follow a specific design process, no need faking it just to stick to a template step by…