The Best Method for Getting Your First UX Job

Here’s a fun bit of trivia about me: I used to rap. I started in high school and I took it pretty seriously in college, to the point where I had two CDs out by the time I was 22. There were some very emo tracks in there, some stuff that I may or may not want to pull out on the podcast someday.

I’ll have to do a little digging around on my old hard drives before that can happen though, so… let’s talk about getting your first UX job.

Where it Starts

If you’ve heard my story, you know that I’m a relative newbie in the UX world. Which makes me so curious: how did you find your way here? Everyone has their own stories. What’s yours?

Some people start in other positions and end up promoted into user experience roles. Some people find UX work through networking or word-of-mouth. Some are recruited. And of course, some people do the classic job search and application process.

I actually made a poll about this on LinkedIn, and I got 46 results. So this isn’t a scientific sample, but the results were still very interesting! Let’s see what how people responded, starting with the least common result:

Recruiters

11 of those who replied were recruited into UX design work.

Recruiting is a whole topic of its own. If you were recruited I’d love to hear more about how that process went for you, because here’s how it looks from the outside looking in. A recruiter brings a bunch of candidates to a company and inflates the salary expectations so that they can make a huge commission off of what you’re paid if you do get hired. So if you’re asking for $50/hour, they tell the company $100/hour and keep the difference every time you get paid.

I don’t make the rules, but that seems like a pretty sweet deal for the recruiting agency! And just so you know, you should always ask for more than you made before. The places you’re applying to can’t check what your salary was before. You owe it to yourself to angle upward. If you don’t, it’s just going to be someone else’s recruiter doing that in your place.

Promotion or Applying for a Different Position in the Same Company

15 people who responded said they were promoted from one position into a UX design role, or applied for a different position than their original one..

This is sort of how it went for me. I was working as a graphic designer with an end-date to my contract. Later, I applied for a UX opening and joined their UX design team. I go into this in episode 1, if you missed it! But I had a dilemma, because I didn’t realize that I would be under the creative group’s banner if I applied while still employed there with the job my recruiter helped me get.

It was very frustrating to know that the recruiter was earning money off the top of all the work I did. Until I was able to get out from under that obligation, it was definitely a bit awkward! Moral of the story: read all the fine print before you sign up with any agency or start any contract.

The third category was “Other.” Honestly, I don’t know what to do with that one! So let’s keep going to number two (which was a really close second to the top result).

Job Boards

33 people responded that they got their first UX job through job boards.

I relate hard to this one. Probably 98% of all the jobs I’ve ever done (there’ve been a lot), I found them on job boards. I’ve applied to hundreds of jobs on online job boards over the years. It’s like playing the lottery! With a little sprinkle of Lucky Charm dust. If you apply enough places and make a wish on an ugly unicorn’s horn, eventually something has to turn up. Or at least that’s what it feels like.

Based on my own experience, I actually thought job boards might have come in as the top result. But instead, that honor goes to…

Referrals

Referrals may be the most popular way people in my audience were able to get UX design jobs. But who refers you probably matters more than how many referrals you have. If I’m new to a company and someone asks me for a referral, I don’t really have the clout to make that meaningful. So it’s a matter of having a person who’s well-established refer you: not just any random person you’ve worked with.

I might be a little biased against this one, because I’ve never gotten a job with a referral! And I think the referral process can be pretty awkward. I’d imagine it’s hard to say no to people, even if you’re being asked to refer someone you haven’t worked with much. There are points in my career or in my limited interactions with some people where I just wouldn’t feel comfortable giving a referral.

Even if a person is nice and seems like a good fit for a role, I have to think about what it says about me if I refer someone who’s basically a stranger. If their work goes sideways, that reflects badly on me, too. No thanks.

So when it comes to referrals, you want quality, not quantity.

A Side Note

So… a little note to all the hustlers out there. I respect the grind but please. Do yourselves a favor. Don’t waste your time sending me messages out of the blue.

When I’ve never met you, never seen your work, and haven’t seen you in action? There’s not much I can do.

But.

A big but (and get your mind out of the gutter).

There are ways I can help you even if we haven’t worked together. I’m not talking about referrals, which can only do you so much good anyway. I’m talking real-world advice and assessment from a person who’s in the same UX design world you want to be in.

I don’t usually do a hard plug for my coaching services, but this seems like a good time to remind you about it! If you need some general help, a portfolio review, or even want to practice for a whiteboard challenge? Let’s set something up.

You Can’t Compare Your Journey

I was curious about how some of you got started in UX, but the fact that your journey doesn’t look exactly like mine is a good thing.

Back when I was a young, insecure graphic design intern, I obsessed over why some people got certain jobs instead of me. Why someone who seemed less qualified was being picked for the work I wanted. Or what I should have done to stand out from the people who got picked.

I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Here’s the deal: I was so busy comparing myself to others that I couldn’t see anything past these individual cases. I’d apply to positions and then beat myself up so badly when someone else would be hired over me.

The truth is that we are all on a journey. It’s just not even possible for everyone’s journey to be the same. Even if you see opportunities that look good, or Instagram highlights that make you wonder, you can’t box yourself in and be like everyone else.

Escape the Spiral

To escape that spiral of negativity, you have to focus on you.

Don’t waste time trying to copy someone else’s exact method or journey. Work on finding a method that moves you forward. Find a strategy that makes sense for you. Hard work is good, but you have to work smart for your situation. Your experience. Your goals.

So learn from others, sure, but don’t try to process-hack them so hard that you’re basically trying to have their life. Learn, but don’t compare.

We don’t compare skate times over dirt roads to car drives on a highway. We don’t even really compare how long it takes to get around a block if you’re biking versus driving a moped! Each of those situations has different vehicles, safety equipment, and obstacles along the way. You get the picture: we’re all on our own path and there’s no point in focusing on someone else’s journey.

A Quick Word About Tests

You thought you were done with tests when you finished high school or college? Welcome to the modern world: apparently cognitive tests and personality tests are part of the hiring process now. They’re all the rage.

My wife and I were talking about this recently, and we noticed that big Fortune 500 companies and corporations don’t really do this. It’s mostly small companies that want you to take cognitive tests, or do personality typing. Yuck.

My take? Don’t jump through a crazy number of hoops for a low-paying job. Don’t waste your time trying to get into companies that require tests and so many interviews. Job-hunting doesn’t pay the pills, finding a job does! So if it’s not benefiting you, don’t do it. Even if everyone else is.

Getting Your First UX Design Job

Okay, let’s recap. It’s time for the do’s and don’ts of finding your first UX design job..

Don’t:

• Don’t ask for referrals from people who don’t know you or your portfolio.

• Get locked into long-term recruitment contracts.

• Waste time jumping through hoops for low-paying jobs.

• Compare your journey to anyone else’s.

Do:

• Check out job boards and apply, apply, apply.

• Look for quality referrals from people who are familiar with your work.

• Look for ways to move up in your existing job, if appropriate.

• Do your research before working with recruiters.

• Ask for more than what you earned before.

• Get qualified help when you need it.

• Focus on what works for you

Whatever stage of the journey you’re on, it’s your unique story. Steer clear of negativity and comparison, and check out my coaching services if you need a little boost.