UX designers are one of few jobs that isn’t boring (provided you enjoy user experience). To create the best user experience possible for your client’s website, you must consider everything from branding and design to usability and functionality.
It is not easy to land a job as a UX designer, even if you have a lot of skills. There are some things you can do as a UX designer to make your mark.
These are the top tips to help you standout and get a job as a UX designer.
1. With crazy UX, create a killer portfolio
Contrary to most industries, which require a simple portfolio site that shows work, testimonials, and contact information; a UX portfolio must be more visually appealing.
A content management system can’t be used with a pre-built theme for a site that showcases user experience expertise. It would require a lot more customization and could lead to high-end web development costs.
Wix is a popular website builder that allows you to customize your site with beautiful effects and animations. Wix has tons of templates for designers you can use, if you don’t want to create a new site.
These are some quick tips to help you build a better portfolio.
- Consider your portfolio as if it were a client’s.
- wow elements can be added to your design instead of basic hover effects.
- Use visual aesthetics for reflecting your skills
It is a good idea to start by learning about how to make a portfolio, and then move on.
2. Multiple job boards are available
You must keep applying to job boards as a UX designer in order to receive good offers. It is not enough to create a portfolio and hope that clients will knock. Many job boards are available that will help you find work.
- Genuine Jobs
- Coroflot
- Krop
- AngelList
- Only UX Jobs
- UX Jobs Board
- Smashing Magazine
Upwork can help you get a response if you don’t receive much.
3. Learn the differences between UX jobs
You need to be able to distinguish between the different types of UX work in order to find the right job for you.
UX designers focus on how users interact with the site, and work on the final product. A UX strategist manages the UX design team.
UX engineers are front-end engineers who focus on technical aspects of the design system. UX designers are more concerned with user research and improving the product’s appearance and feel. You can also be a usability tester, focusing on the design and making it more user-friendly through the input of users.
You can find jobs by knowing what you are best at.
4. Use customer reviews to leverage your profile
Social proof is a great way to get clients (or customers) to your business. These are usually testimonials or recommendations by industry professionals. You can give away freebies to your UX design services and ask site owners for honest feedback.
This is what I did for my portfolio Pulkit Bhardwaj Co to get testimonials. However, you must ensure that your UX service is providing value to clients.
5. Get UX training for free to improve your skills
It is important to keep up your UX design skills. You can take free courses on education platforms such as Udemy and Skillshare if you are looking to refresh your knowledge in user experience design.
You can find tons of free online courses in design that will inspire your creativity and help you to use design tools for greater productivity.
6. Social media presence
It is essential to establish a social presence in order to project yourself as a UX designer. This will help you not only build your personal brand but also increase your reach. An Instagram account is a great way to achieve this.
Use hashtags that are related to UX to showcase your UX knowledge on an Instagram page. Ioana Teleanu, UX designer, shares helpful quotes about page design and productivity.
Follow similar pages and use hashtags to share UX-specific posts. This will increase your reach. You can also share UX courses or Q & A sessions in the same way as the previous example.
7. Start a blog
A blog is a great way to share your knowledge and help other UX designers get amazing jobs. It is easy to start a blog and create content about UX design. Make sure your guides are useful and in-depth for readers.
You can target your audience based upon their interests. You can publish UX design strategies and tips, as well as UX improvement tips.
8. Be the ideal candidate
You can make yourself more compatible with UX jobs that you apply for by focusing on being an ideal choice. You will need to be proficient in interaction design, visual design, and prototyping. While these skills are desirable, they are not required.
You can get more skills by obtaining additional qualifications or degrees. For example, a science degree can help with user testing.
9. Join the UX community
One of the best ways you can get more UX design offers is to join a UX community. You can’t just join the community and hope for it to happen. You have to interact with other members and answer questions.
You can join Slack groups as well as Facebook groups. These are the top Slack groups that UX designers can join:
- Designer Hangout: Designer Hangout brings together 18,000+ UX professionals from all over the world. You can use the professional UX network to help you build your network and navigate your career. You can chat in real time, ask questions of influencers, and mentor others.
- Product Tribes: This invite-only community includes 10,000+ highly skilled designers. It will help you to grow your network.
- The Designership: This is the world’s most popular UX community. Designers can share, learn, and grow together. You can also find UX resources such as icons, fonts and mockups. Illustrations, animation, and animation are all available. They also offer job boards that allow you to find UX work for long-term projects.
- Content + UX: You can only join this UX Slack group by invitation. This group is for people who are interested in improving the user experience with content. They offer workshops to help with writing and design.
10. Learn to embrace dissatisfaction
You will likely experience some setbacks if you’re constantly trying new strategies and pursuing a UX design role. You can improve your designs by creating more mockups and tests.
Conclusion
This was how we got work as UX designers. To stand out, you need to continue learning new design tools and keeping up with the latest design trends. You will find your ideal UX job very soon.
