Written by Seetha Talluru
Welcome to another excellent recap in the IterateUX event blogging series! The event we’re summarizing in this article gave great tips for landing your first job as a junior UX Designer.
Nowadays, it’s understandable that getting a UX Designer job can be challenging, but don’t worry! Our excellent speaker, Florian Boelter, shared some essential tips to help you overcome the obstacles to landing a UX Design job. He also explained the factors behind the difficulties in getting a UX Design career. So, let’s introduce Florian and explore his top 3 insights for folks starting their journey to land a UX Designer job.
Intro
Florian Boelter is a senior product designer at Juro, a legal tech startup. He also founded Open Doors, aiming to help new UX Designers get their first jobs.
Florian also helps newbie UX Designers by:
- Reviewing their portfolios and resumes
- Providing them with career advice
He walked us through the current UX Design job market status in Europe and the USA and mentioned the recent layoffs. According to statistics, there has been a moderate increase in UX Design jobs in Europe and the USA—slightly better than in 2022. More roles are being created across the board that are not only served to juniors.
Key 1: Reason why Junior UX Designers are unable to land a UX Design role
Despite many UX Designer jobs, newbies find getting junior UX Designer roles hard. This is because there are many other candidates, especially from job layoffs and boot camps. Fewer junior designer positions are available. Recruiters and hiring managers are telling new designers to apply for mid-level roles instead, which require 2 to 3 years of experience. However, that means there’s a big competition for these mid-level jobs.
Many Senior UX Designers have been laid off. They are now applying for mid-level positions instead and hiring managers like seniors because they have lots of valuable experience, especially if they’ve worked at prestigious companies. Some companies only hire for high-level design roles like head of design or design manager, making it challenging for junior UX Designers to compete for mid-level jobs.
Key 2: Shotgun Method for Job Applying
Florian provided a unique approach to managing competition when landing a junior UX Designer role. He explained the concept through a shotgun analogy.
Someone with more experience using a shotgun can aim better and hit a target. Senior UX Designers can take multiple “shots” by pushing out many applications and proving their credentials through their experience from past roles. That’s why senior UX Designers have an advantage in getting mid-level roles. They know how to aim better and have more experience, making them more likely to hit the target. This is how they land various interviews.
On the other hand, junior UX Designers are beginners trying to hit a faraway target with a shotgun. They’re trying to determine if they’re aiming right or doing things correctly and tend to miss the target often.
Key 3: Strategy for Junior UX Designers Job Hunting
A junior UX designer must apply for jobs that match their skills and strengths. Instead of applying to many jobs, focus on the ones that fit well.
When job hunting, the challenge is figuring out how to stand out. Each hiring manager is looking for something different in a UX Designer. They would only expect someone who meets some of the requirements in the job description. Aim to match about 70% to 80% of what they’re looking for and apply to those roles. That’s the way to go!
The key items to think about are the following:
- What do you do well?
- What do peers say your strengths are?
- What parts of the process did you learn about?
When looking for a job, try not to focus too narrowly on just one area. For example, if you’re good at accessibility in UX Design, don’t only look for jobs as an Accessibility UX Designer.
Think about whether you’re more of a specialist or a “t-shaped” designer. A specialist focuses on one specific part of UX Design, like being a UX Researcher who does user interviews and usability tests. They might not do things like making wireframes and prototypes. But if you’re a “t-shaped” designer, you have skills in many different areas within the field. An important skill for a “t-shaped” designer is seeing the big picture and talking to others, like engineers and marketers.
Wrap-Up
Florian provided a thorough overview of tips for newbie UX Designers to land a junior UX Designer role. He offered a unique example of the shotgun approach to how senior UX Designers land multiple interviews. The key thing to remember is that you must show how you are unique compared to your competition to land a UX Design job. I hope you enjoyed the IterateUX event Junior Designer Playbook for Landing Interviews.
For more information on this event, please watch the event recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbXmWItMxzs&t=2132s
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Feel free to reach out to Florian on questions regarding this event:
