I graduated from DesignLab in January and am on week 7 of actively looking for a design role. I’m currently in their career services program which is helping me stay active in the job search but can also be overwhelming due to the weekly projects that are required. I constantly question if I should focus on the career service coursework or applying to jobs or networking. I want to do everything and am still in the process of understanding how to best stay productive and excited about what needs to get done daily.
Of course I want to stay open to any job that may come my way within the UX industry. But I do have my eyes set on being a UX researcher or product designer at an agency that focuses on the food and beverage industry. I understand as a UX researcher this would require working in a larger tech company like Facebook or TikTok while I also crave working with a small team at an agency doing work for small independent companies that are growing because I love entrepreneurship, supporting business owners and their hustle.
I’ve chosen the following topics to focus on during this time to bring structure into my life during the job hunt. I know that if I’m taking steps within any of the following categories, I can keep my spirits high and keep my head up while looking for a UX/UI position.
Networking
It seems the main way to find a job is through the connections that one makes and being referred to an open position. My favorite way to connect with people is by setting up a google meeting to chat for about 30 minutes. My intentions are hearing about the journey that they are on, where or what they’re currently working on, and having a natural conversation about common interests and asking eachother questions about the curiosities of eachother’s journey. I prefer online chats versus just emailing a set of questions because at least there is the face to face connection that can be felt. The platforms I use are LinkedIn and the DesignLab and DesignBuddies Slack channels to meet fellow designers.
Applying to Jobs
This is how I organize my job search currently:
- Keep a note on my Mac with links to my UX/UI design portfolio, LinkedIn, and Behance — while applying it’s important to keep this handy and in easy reach
- Huntr Board — I update this board with all the jobs I’ve applied to and helps me save jobs that I find without having to keep a million tabs open on my browser
- So far I have mainly used LinkedIn, Creative Circle, in combination with networking to find jobs to be considered for.
Continuing My Education
I am dividing this section into two because there is the act of practicing and absorbing knowledge.
Practicing
I find it important to keep practicing the techniques I’ve learned through DesignLab and not get rusty for when that day comes and I get hired for a position. I’ll easily be able to transition into the working lifestyle and not question my capability of taking on a project from day 1. I am using Catchafire to connect with non profits so I can learn about what it’s like to work with clients as well as continue to understand how I work as a designer. This is so important to continue understanding myself so when I get interviewed I can best explain my design processes and present my design decisions to an audience. Along with the freelance projects I am working on the daily UI challenge that helps me practice designing for different companies that I aspire to work for and continue to research design trends that are popular as well as aesthetics that are here to stay.
Absorbing
One of my goals is to read at least one article a day to stay updated about design trends, the tech industry, project management, and UX research methods. These are just some of the topics I see myself gravitating towards when reading online. A book that I have by my bedside is The Design of Everyday Things that I was reccommended while initially researching which bootcamp to attend. It’s a great book to understand if your interest in design is enough to actually attend a bootcamp and you have the drive to further your education in design.
Art
When I initially graduated from my bootcamp I had a hard time balancing my passion of making different types of art while also balancing this job hunt. Only recently did I decide to do job hunting during the day and allow myself to create at night. This is a new routine I am putting into practice and also find myself loving because as a person who always likes to be productive I feel accomlished that I have the discipline to sit down and understand the industry/ apply to jobs and then reward myself with something I’m passionate about. This also works out since I am a night person so all my creative juices get activated at night anyway.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my journey. I want to call it my UX journey, but this is really just the journey of life and currently I am focused on finding a job in UX/UI so I will be continuing to document where I am at and how I continue to learn about myself as a designer.
P.S. Here’s a link to my current portfolio if you’d like to see what one looks like from a bootcamp!
