Answering the 7 Most Voted UX Job Search Questions From Our AMA Live Event

Authored by Nina Weber and Javier Andrés Bargas-Avila

Recently, we hosted a live event focused on helping UX professionals navigate their job search journey. The turn out was incredible, with 250+ joining and asking insightful questions about various aspects of the UX job search process.

In this article, we’ll address the top 7 most voted questions from the event:

Q1. What factors affect the shortlisting of candidates for a particular role?

Screening CVs, for a recruiter, is like scrolling through the Instagram feed. If a CV doesn’t communicate clearly within 5-10 seconds why this candidate is a potential match for the given role, they move on to the next one. That means that it’s of utmost importance to ensure that your CV helps the recruiter in that matching process.

Factors that influence the shortlisting include:

• Your job title: For instance, if you apply for a UX Designer role, then you are a UX Designer, not a UX Designer & Researcher, and not a Product Designer or something else.

• Relevance of your (most recent) roles: Ensure to call out experience of your most recent roles that matches the job description.

• Experience: If the job description lists as a must have criterium 5+ years of experience and you have that, call it out clearly.

• Skills matching the job requirements: Ensure that you call out the skills you have that match the ones they are looking for.

• Referrals: A strong referral from a person at the hiring company that worked with you is still an important factor that weighs heavy.

In some cases, work permits and visa sponsorship may also play a role in the process. If you are applying for a role that requires sponsorship and the company is not willing to sponsor, you might get an auto-reject.

Q2. How can I stand out with my portfolio and resume in a wildly competitive market?

• Know your profile: The best way to stand out is to focus on roles that align with your profile and tailor your CV to the specific requirements of each job opening. 

• Understand the essence of the role and highlight how you meet 50%-80% of the criteria. That means that you will submit a slightly different CV for each job posting - investing time in that tailoring should pay out.

• Know your audience: Remember that your readers at this stage are recruitment specialists, not UX professionals, and not AI models. Make it easy for these recruiters to identify your relevance to the role. 

•Optimize your CV by adapting it to the job description, using matching language for your experience, skills, and job title. Look at it that way: You are a UX professional and you know how to focus on your users! Your users are recruiters, your product is your CV. How will a recruiter approach the screening process, what will they need to put you on the pile of potential candidates?

Q3. Cover Letters: Yes or No?

Only submit a cover letter if explicitly asked for. Generally speaking, it’s better to focus your energy on tailoring your CV to the job description or - meaningfully - engaging with the recruiter or hiring manager through LinkedIn. If submitting a cover letter is optional, then leave it out. If there is context you want to transmit to the hiring manager, make sure your CV includes it.

Meaningful LinkedIn engagement does not mean leaving a “I’m interested” comment under a job ad a recruiter or hiring manager shares. Instead, send a direct message with a short blurb showcasing how you're a good fit for the role and addressing any gaps in your CV.

Q4. ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems): How can we identify if a company is using ATS? Would it be beneficial to create two separate resumes?

There are a lot of myths around ATS, but it’s less of a black box than you might think. Pretty much all companies use an ATS to handle the recruitment process. An ATS is simply put a database that enables companies to track your submitted materials, your interview results etc. 

There is a wide spread myth that CVs are screened by ATS algorithms, and that your CV needs to be written in a way that this screening works. If your CV can’t be screened you will get an auto-reject or no answer. But in reality, CVs are still reviewed by humans. In some cases ATS tries to extract information from your CV and fill it into fields. In these cases the submission system will serve you these fields for you to edit before submitting.

That means you should optimize your CV for recruiters and hiring managers. Your CV should be nice looking (good layout) and contain all the relevant information needed for that process. There's no benefit in submitting multiple resumes.

Q5. Are there specific types of projects or case studies that would make a candidate more competitive?

Recruiters assess your ability to handle the entire UX process through your portfolio. 

A good UX design portfolio highlights the entire UX process and shows that you can handle it, you can collaborate with key xfn stakeholders, navigate ambiguity and keep the focus on users. Each project should highlight the entire process, from problem understanding, research, design explorations, selection process of one or a few solutions, testing, moving from mock to prototype and pixel level perfect design, and ideally evaluation and impact/success. 

Focus on showcasing real-life problems and collaboration, rather than investing too much in hypothetical case studies. Consider volunteer opportunities with NGOs or SMBs to demonstrate your skills in handling real-world challenges.

Q6. Portfolio review: What if the case studies listed don't apply so much to the field of the applied job position?

Your projects will rarely apply to the job position. Tech is large and applications are diverse. Instead, identify the essence of the role and why you're a good fit. Use your portfolio to demonstrate your process and how your skills are transferable to the applied position.

Q7. How relevant are certifications (e.g., NNg) for juniors but also for seniors or people with more experience?

The relevance of certifications depends on the role requirements. For junior positions, certifications can help demonstrate knowledge and close gaps in experience, especially if your educational background is not in UX/HCI. However, for more senior roles, experience is typically valued more than certifications. If pursuing a certification, ensure it aligns with the knowledge and skill gaps you have identified - don’t do it only to have the certification.

Conclusion:

Navigating the UX job search process can be challenging, but by understanding the factors that influence shortlisting, tailoring your CV and portfolio to each role, and preparing for interviews, you can increase your chances of success. Remember to protect your brand, focus on relevant applications, and showcase your skills and process through real-world examples. We hope these insights from our live event help you in your UX job search journey.