UX Career Advice

UX CAREER ADVICELanding your dream job

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UX Design professionals are some of the most highly sought after

talent in today’s creative market.

Advice for UX Pros by UX Pros: Landing Your Next Gig | View Online

Find out what some of today’sTop ux professionals have to say

about how to land your dream job!


Borrys Hasian@borryshasianHead of UX & Design at Rakuten Viki and UX/UI Mentor at Google Launchpad week and Bootcamp

Keep challenging the default, don’t just accept things as they are. Interact and talk more with the users … Don’t just copy, be better.

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Jesmond Allen@JesmondCo-Author of Smashing UX Design and UX Director at CXPartners

We look for people who have gone out of their way to include customer insights and validation into their design thinking.

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Eric Reiss@elreissAuthor of Usable Usability

When I interview potential designers, I want to see evidence of the three qualities that characterize every top UX professional –curiosity, empathy, and passion.

Millennials in particular have a problem cracking the UX marketbecause 1) it is generally misunderstood by the business community and 2) uninformed businesses somehow think the more experience you have, the better.

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Laura Klein@laurakleinAuthor of UX for Lean Startups

Treat your job search like a research project and ask them for an informational interview. Find people in the jobs you want and ask how they got there.

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Tom Greever@TomGreeverAuthor of Articulating Design Decisions and UX Director at Bitovi

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and sound human. Too many portfolios, resumes or introductory letters look and sound the same. Boring. We don’t hire people based exclusively on skill; we look for people who will be a good fit or provide balance on our team.


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Tamara KowalHas worked w/ The Rachel Ray Show, Sesame Street, B&G Foods, The Gumby Gang and many more

You and your client, are not, in many cases, the end userS.End user testing will, most of the time, uncover interactions you didn't anticipate and you then have the ability to refine your design to account for them.

UX design is one of the easiest things to get wrong and truly spectacular when you get it right.


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James Kauffman @surfacewaveHas worked w/ JPMorgan Chase, Black Box, Yaltech Consulting, and many more

Don’t stop learning. The Future is in touch interfaces… so, learn as much about that technology as possible. The technology world is changing faster than ever, and hiring managers will be looking for UX designers who keep up with the changes.


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James Patterson Founder and Head of Product Strategy at Waverly Tech

Over the past five (5) years the User Experience discipline has been evolving in the entirely wrong direction… spend a bit of time understanding client’s business objectives and how they relate to direct and indirect competition and monetization strategies. Understand it. Own it.

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Peter Wisber@PeterWisberHas worked w/ Toys R Us, Vanguard, Uniqlo

Showing your thought process from beginning to end is most Important when presenting finished UX work.

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Rex HarstonAuthor of The UX Book

learn the “standard” methods and then modify and adapt them to your specific design situations, making them your own methods for each new situation.


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Alissa Briggs@alissadesignsDirector of UX at Brigade and frequent SXSW Interactive speaker

A. Know who you are - What super powers do you bring to a team that no one else can match?

B. Apply the design process to your poRtfolio - Then keep it up to date as you progress in your career!

C. Reach out to your network - You’ll learn all sorts of interesting things, and they may be able to point you toward interesting and relevant opportunities.

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Bill Albert@UXMetricsDirector of the User Experience Center at Bentley University

Explore new design tools and research methods, network in your local UX communities, share your insights and experiences at conferences and continue to learn and expand your skillset.

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Dr. Harry Brignull@harrybrHas worked w/ The Guardian, Sainsbury’s, Cadbury, Vodafone, O2 and many others

Your UX portfolio is key in winning new work… A UX designer's skills lie in all the hard work that lies behind the finished interface.

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Andy Budd@AndyBuddFounder of Clearleft, Author of CSS Mastery and UX public speaker

First: Build your profile through talks, and article; or at the very least be able to demonstrate to potential employers that you’re actively engaged in the conversation. Second: Develop a really stroNG portfolio that demonstrates that you can do all the things your CV claims you can do, ideally at different levels of fidelity and using different techniques. If you do both those things, you’ll be unstoppable!

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Bryn Ray@brynrayuxHas worked w/ Radisson, Kaduble Process, Zoku, TicketSoc, TSH, eTeacher and QBIC Hotels

Whenever you speak to a potential new client, make the conversation about their ambitions or ideas and respond with potential techniques or processes that could be helpful in relation to their goals.

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Ashish PatilHas worked w/ Razorfish, Wakamigoand Grungy Gentleman

YOUR true value lies iN taking behavior and molding it into a product at a very deep level.


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Greg WilliamsHas worked w/ Nike, IBM, Metlife, Lunesta, AOL and Nutrisystem

Market yourself smart. Take courses, create concepts and read books. Try things you never did before, that you’ve always wanted to trY... Push yourself.

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Vince Baskerville@WhoIsVinceDirector of User and Product Experience at Call Rail and UX Instructor at General Assembly

I would stress there are three core qualities needed: 1) a genuine passion for solving users problems2) a perpetually strong inner drive to get things done, and 3) the ability to articulate and stitch narratives together that proves point 1 & 2 are true.

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Karl Smith @UserExperienceUCEO at Paradigm Interactions, Inc.

Don't try and convert people to UX, help them see the benefits and you will never lack work.

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Josh Brewer@jbrewerFounder of Made by HabitatHas worked w/ Twitter, Socialcast and many more

being a “UX Designer” today means you will be wearing many hats. Do you love what you do? If not, you may find yourself looking for another gig sooner than you think.

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TO VIEW ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS FROM THESE EXPERTS, VISIT:http://www.onwardsearch.com/career-center/ux-career-advice/

OR TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEXT UX CAREER, VISIT:http://www.onwardsearch.com/jobs/user-experience-jobs/