How to Get a UX Design Job: Create a compelling portfolio, submit a stand-out application, and ace the interview to land your user experience dream job
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Your users will save you if you let them. If you’re following a user-centered design process and involving your users every step of the way, they will gladly point out what works and doesn’t work, and give you input on how to fix whatever’s broken. All you have to do is listen.
I love this quote from Joel Marsh, author of UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons:
“In UX, we can test things. We can design more than one solution to the same problem and see which one is better. And we can ask users which solution they prefer.
This means UX is a special kind of design: it can be wrong. And we can prove that it’s wrong.”
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Conclusion
At the end of each of my UI/UX Design Certificate Programs, when it comes time to present certificates, I’ve developed a silly ritual. I face each student in turn, grasp their certificate in both hands, bow my head to them, and say, “Namaste, Unicorn” as I hand them their certificate.
What I’m really trying to say to them (and to you) is this:
The UX designer in me honors the UX designer in you.
I hope this book has helped you in some way on your UX career journey.
Feel free to email me at lisamurnan@gmail.com with your questions or stories. I would love to hear how this book has come in handy, and/or anywhere I’ve gotten things wrong or left important things out. You guys are my ultimate usability test.
Also, if you enjoyed the book, it would mean so much to me if you left a review on Amazon.
I’ve put a bunch of things on my website to help you out, including templates for resumes, cover letters, and portfolios, worksheets, and a continually-updated list of UX books, articles, tools, etc. You can find it all at lisamurnan.com/resources
Best of luck, my friends!
Acknowledgments
It’s funny how much writing a book is like working on a UX project. This one started out with a problem to be solved (my students kept asking me how to get a job in the industry and there was no book or comprehensive resource to point them to), moved quickly into the research phase, the outline, writing (draft after draft after draft, informed by reader feedback), cover/layout design brainstorming and iterations, formatting, launching, marketing, and who knows, maybe updates/future editions.
Thank you:
Jenn Paul Glaser, former student turned project partner, who designed the gorgeous cover and consulted with me on all things design. She and I spent a lot of time collaborating in Boulder coffee shops (a shout out to Ozo’s and Flatiron Coffee!), and I loved every minute of it. Writing a book can be a weird, solitary experience, but once Jenn was on board I never felt alone. I may have to write another one so I have an excuse to work with her again.
Everyone who read early drafts of this book and sent me comments, corrections, and personal stories: Karen Aller, Mike Benson, Russell Friesen, Lauren Gombas, Kathy LeMunyon, Jenni Lillie, Mandy Linton, Julie Mittel, and Courtney Raelynn. I was so touched that they all volunteered their time and expertise to help me out. The book is much better because of their feedback. (Your bottles of wine are on the way!)
My dad, Pete, who read the manuscript the same day I sent it out to my posse and was the very first person to send me feedback. I incorporated all of it except the part where he suggested that I cut back on the profanity. (Sorry, Dad, there’s really no good substitute for the word “asshole.”)
My entire family, for not getting mad when I ignored Christmas 2017 to focus on this book. I still owe some nephews gift cards.
Everyone who ever hired me for a UX job (and everyone who didn’t) – it was all fodder for this book.
Bruce, Zach, and Donna from Boulder Digital Arts, for taking a chance on me as your UI/UX design instructor and for all the support you guys have provided (to me and the students).
Meredith Rafter, who consulted with me on how to be a better career coach for my BDA students and ultimately inspired me to write this book.
Tara Gentile, who also inspired this book without even knowing it through her CreativeLive class, “How to Write and Publish an eBook.” Her assignment – write a 10,000-word ebook about something you already know. I got caught up in the subject and wrote an extra 20,000 words.
And finally, my students, for asking all those hard questions.
Resources
You can also find the most current list of all these links, plus resume/portfolio/cover letter templates, on my website at http://lisamurnan.com/resources/.
Books to Teach and Inspire You
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley
Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems by Steve Krug
A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making (2nd edition) by Russ Unger
UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons by Joel Marsh
Discussing Design: Improving Communication and Collaboration through Critique by Adam Connor
Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience by Tom Greever
UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People Want by Jaime Levy
Badass: Making Users Awesome by Kathy Sierra
Experience Required: How to become a UX leader regardless of your role by Robert Hoekman Jr
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Susan Weinschenk
Mapping Experiences: A Complete Guide to Creating Value through Journeys, Blueprints, and Diagrams by James Kalbach
The User’s Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love by Donna Lichaw, Eva-Lotta Lamm
Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks by Luke Wroblewski
Designing Web Interfaces: Principles and Patterns for Rich Interactions by Bill Scott and Theresa Neil
About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, and Christopher Noessel
The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond (2nd Edition) by Jesse James Garrett
Evil by Design: Interaction Design to Lead Us into Temptation by Chris Nodder
Mobile Design Pattern Gallery by Theresa Neil
Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps by Josh Clark
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
Letting Go of the Words, Second Edition: Writing Web Content that Works by Janice (Ginny) Redish
Articles Referenced
Amy Elisa Jackson, “15 More Companies That No Longer Require a Degree-Apply Now,” Glassdoor.com, Jan 5, 2018, https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/no-degree-required/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15_jobs_no_degree&utm_campaign=jan18_us.
Alison Green, “How to list accomplishments on your resume when your job doesn’t have easy measures,” Ask a Manager blog, June 24, 2013, http://www.askamanager.org/2013/06/how-to-list-accomplishments-on-your-resume-when-your-job-doesnt-have-easy-measures.html.
Simon Pan, “Great Design Portfolios Are Great Stories,” Medium.com, Feb 24, 2015, https://medium.com/interactive-mind/great-design-portfolios-are-great-stories-7bb2617cd7ab.
Modicum, “The Rise of the UX Gold Rush,” Forbes, July 15, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/propointgraphics/2017/07/15/the-rise-of-the-ux-goldrush/#2bf2d2958292.
Kathryn Minshew, “A Simple Formula fo
r Answering “Tell Me About Yourself,” TheMuse.com, https://www.themuse.com/advice/a-simple-formula-for-answering-tell-me-about-yourself.
Justin Baker, “2018’s UX Designer Salary Forecast,” Medium.com, Nov 26, 2017, https://medium.muz.li/2018s-ux-designer-salary-forecast-32ccc1dfcd5f.
Adam Bryant, “In Head-Hunting, Big Data May Not Be Such a Big Deal,” New York Times, June 19, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/business/in-head-hunting-big-data-may-not-be-such-a-big-deal.html?pagewanted=all.
Weston Karnes, “Learnings from Product Design Interviews,” Medium.com, Oct 3, 2017, https://medium.com/@westonkarnes/learnings-from-product-design-interviews-7a494d531960.
Jakob Nielsen, “Corporate UX Maturity: Stages 1-4,” nngroup.com, Apr 24, 2006, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-maturity-stages-1-4/.
Jakob Nielsen, “Corporate UX Maturity: Stages 5-8,” nngroup.com, May 1, 2006, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-maturity-stages-5-8/.
Jakob Nielsen, “Salary Trends for UX Professionals,” nngroup.com, Jan 2, 2015, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/salary-trends-usability-professionals/.
UXPin, “Enterprise UX Industry Report 2017-2018,” UXPin.com, https://www.uxpin.com/enterprise-ux-design-2017-2018-industry-report.
Portfolio sites
Simon Pan, Uber case study, http://simonpan.com/work/uber/.
Michael Evensen, SoundCloud case study, http://michaelevensen.com/.
Websites
Glassdoor – http://glassdoor.com
LinkedIn – http://linkedin.com
Indeed- http://indeed.com
Monster – http://monster.com
UX Mastery – http://uxmastery.com
Medium – http://medium.com
Nielsen Norman Group – http://nngroup.com
Meetup – http://meetup.com
UserTesting – http://usertesting.com
Ask a Manager – http://askamanager.com
Classes
General Assembly, User Experience courses, http://generalassemb.ly/education/user-experience-design.
Springboard, online UX Design course, http://www.springboard.com/workshops/ux-design. User Experience Program, http://www.springboard.com/learning-paths/user-experience-design/.
Center Centre, UX Program, http://centercentre.com/program.
Lynda.com – too many great UX classes to count! One of my favorite instructors is Chris Nodder (maybe it’s the accent). User Experience section, http://lynda.com/User-Experience-training-tutorials/97-0.html.
UIE’s All You Can Learn, http://aycl.uie.com.
Udemy, http://udemy.com. Anything by David Travis is good, start with his course “User Experience (UX): The Ultimate Guide to Usability and UX,” http://www.udemy.com/ultimate-guide-to-ux/.
Boulder Digital Arts, UI/UX Design Certificate Program (taught in person by yours truly), http://www.boulderdigitalarts.com/training/details.php?offering=395.
Tools
Axure, http://axure.com.
UXPin, http://uxpin.com.
Sketch, http://sketchapp.com.
Balsamiq, http://balsamiq.com.
Adobe Creative Cloud, http://adobe.com/creativecloud/desktop-app.html.
InVision, http://invisionapp.com.
Envato Market’s themeforest (great WordPress themes), http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress.
Google Analytics, http://www.google.com/analytics/.
Bluehost web hosting, http://bluehost.com.
Skype, http://skype.com.
Slack, http://slack.com.
Google Hangouts, http://hangouts.google.com/.
Google fonts, http://fonts.google.com/.
Appear.in, video collaboration, http://appear.in/.
Pixabay, free stock photos and images, http://pixabay.com.
Jobscan, http://jobscan.co