So you’ve been applying for "UX Designer" and "UX Researcher" jobs but you are not getting any call backs. What do you do?
First of all you need to understand that UX is a pretty competitive field right now and you have a lot of junior level UXers entering the job market and competing for the same jobs; sometimes hundreds of applications are submitted for a single opening.
Here are 3 tips to give yourself an edge over the competition.
1. Identify Your Ideal UX Role
You need to identify the type of UX work that excites you and the work that you naturally excel at.
For example, when I first started out over seventeen years ago, I was doing a lot of website design and coding.
While I enjoyed aspects of design and coding, I didn’t want to spend most of my time in that role.
So I took a good hard look at the projects I worked on and I wrote down the tasks that I enjoyed the most.
It turned out that I most enjoyed the research, strategic planning, execution and leadership of projects. So I adopted the title of UX/Digital Strategist.
In the world of UX there are many titles, roles and specializations to consider such as:
Researcher, Interaction Designer, Visual Designer, Information Architect, Front-End Developer, Content Strategist, Product Manager, etc.
If you are struggling to decide between one or two roles then use both, it’s perfectly fine to say you are a “UX Researcher and Information Architect”.
Having an ideal role or specialization will help you stand out from a crowded UX market. It will also allow you to focus your resume and portfolio around your strengths.
2. Customize Your Resume
The sole purpose of your resume is to get prospective employers to contact you! Remember this important fact and design your resume for busy recruiters and hiring managers.
Make sure to customize your resume to fit every job application. Add the appropriate keywords for experience, software tools, skills, methods, etc.
Only add what you truly have experience in. Don’t exaggerate, the truth will eventually come out.
• Make your resume easy to scan (simple layout)
• Put the most important information at the top
• Put a link to your contact information, website/online portfolio at the top
• Make sure your resume is no longer than two pages
Here is what I do on my own resume; I have a “Selected Accomplishments” section at the very top and in that section, I highlight my biggest UX wins. I include four to six accomplishments listed as bullets; here is an example:
“I led the research, design, prototyping and user testing of an e-commerce mobile app that improved usability and increased product sales by 10%”
3. Get People to Refer You
The truth is most people (about 80%) find jobs through people they already know.
When looking for a new opportunity, let your personal network know so they will think of you as new opportunities open up within their organization.
If your personal network is small then you should join professional UX organizations, social media groups and attend local meet ups.
Also, be active in online conversations, attend UX related events, conferences and volunteer when you can.
Before submitting a job application, check your personal network first and if you have a connection to a company employee, ask if they are comfortable referring you.
Don’t underestimate the power of a referral, I’ve seen candidates jump to the top of a long list of job applicants simply because they were referred by a company employee.