In mid-July, I watched a recruiter give a presentation to the UX class I was taking, about what he looks for when hiring for UX jobs. I thought his presentation was very good, and would like to share his insights with others out there who may be looking for UX work and want to make a good impression. Here is a summary of his advice to us:
Recruiters look for:
1. An online portfolio — always keep it up to date, and get rid of work that is too old (older than 3 years = too old)
2. Presentation of portfolio — make sure it looks good, and is easy to navigate. This is pretty important if you are looking for a job as a UX designer
3. Process — show your process, not just the finished product. Wireframes (“a must”); annotated wireframes showing the ‘why’; user research, use case scenarios, journeys, sketches, site maps, paper prototypes, interactive prototype
4. Resume — highlight General Assembly class. Don’t lie about your experience or responsibilities. Don’t embellish your role in projects.
5. Tools — Axure RP, Balsamiq, inVision, OmniGraffle, Visio, Illustrator and Sketch
6. Product Design Experience — desirable — native apps, web, mobile apps. Highlight native mobile app experience (tablet)
7. Web portfolio can have UX and art direction examples, but navigation should be easy and clear
The Interview
1. Interpersonal skills
2. Communication skills — listen closely to the question and answer succinctly.
3. Confidence and humility- traits he looks for in a person
4. Motivation — why do you want this job? Don’t say “for the salary”
5. Critical thinking — why did you make those decisions at your past jobs/projects? Be prepared to defend design choices, and admit when you don’t have the right answer.
6. Follow-up — send a thank you note within 24 hours (email is fine). Tell them you want the job. Be specific… reference something specific from conversation. Be personal, don’t send the same thank-you note to all the people in the same company (bad etiquette). Be excited about the job, and tell them why you are excited about the job, because you’ve done the research and you’ve thought about cultural fit. Be presumptive in your thank you note — “I look forward to meeting with you again.” Send email thanks right away, but also paper note.
7. Don’t ask about work/life balance in first interview, it’s a red flag that says that you are maybe not going to put in the time at work. Ask instead “what do people love about working here?”
8. You should think “My goal is for them to make me an offer, and then I decide if I want to take it.”
9. Don’t talk about salary, until you have been offered the position. If the hiring manager asks you what your salary expectations are at the first interview, be vague and delay having that conversation until further in the interview process (2nd, or 3rd interview at the earliest). You can say something like “I’d like to focus on the job opportunity and what I can offer”, and “I’m not really focusing on the compensation at this point, but if you decide to offer me the position, I am confident that you would make me a fair offer.”