So You Want to Work at a Design Firm?

Whether you’re new to the design field, or an in-house design professional, here’s how to land a role at a user experience (UX) design firm:

The secret to success

The single most important skill to convey to a potential employer is your ability to communicate, with both the most serious clients, and the toys-on-the-table clients. You may be the best designer in the world at wireframes, but if you can’t communicate the story of how your design connects with the people it serves, you’re not a good designer.

You are not a unicorn, and it’s ok

Some companies may want you to put on that costume and be a superstar at all aspects of design, but if you do, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Know and hone your strengths, and be aware of and able to do enough of the rest. Know when to get help. Find a firm that understands this.

...but be prepared to flex

Design firms work with all sorts of clients, from the biggest companies in the world, to one-person start-ups with an idea, and everything in-between. Those companies span all sorts of industries, many of which you’ve probably never heard of. In other words, you need to be flexible. You need to have strong working knowledge for how to apply the user-centered design process to different problems and environments, as the big companies will expect it, and the startups will be craving the expertise.

At the same time, you very likely won’t ever be able to apply the full design process. You’re working with businesses. They have hopes, dreams, investors, customers, budget limitations and corporate politics. Real-life design is working within constraints, and that’s a big part of the fun. The best designers thrive under the challenge of complex context, knowing when to turn to certain methods and activities to get the answers they need.

What’s your story?

Because the field of UX design is relatively new, UX professionals come from all sorts of backgrounds. At EchoUser, we’ve welcomed people from different walks of life, ranging from someone who used to work in hotel hospitality, a mechanical engineer, and a journalist. We’ve met brilliant designers across the realms of engineering, psychology, graphic design, industrial design, international relations, law, health informatics, no formal education, and more.

Design is interdisciplinary by definition, at the intersection of business, technical, and human needs, so no matter what crazy path you took to the design field, embrace the unique perspective you can bring to the table, and be able to tell the story of who you are.

Oh yeah, a portfolio

Every designer needs a portfolio. It might take a while to put one together, but don’t kill yourself trying to code it from scratch. There are plenty of good portfolio sites and website building tools out there that you can use to showcase your work. Also, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good and end up with the perpetually unfinished portfolio. That will just tell employers that you can’t finish a project.

A good portfolio will show your best, most compelling work, but also a progression of early career/school projects to today. It should show variety and curiosity. Show sketches, and how you can think through a concept to a final design. Last, as we already mentioned, if you can’t tell a good story about your designs, you’re not a good designer. Your portfolio is the story of you. Tell a good one.