Why your Portfolio is Being Ignored—and How to Fix It

For the three months after graduation I diligently fired off my resume and portfolio to every job I was remotely qualified for. I figured this was a numbers game, so I cast my net wide…

… and heard nothing.

 

Nada. Not the slightest glimmer of interest from any of the companies that I applied to. I grew frustrated and insecure. I started to question my talent and choice of career.

Was it my resume? My portfolio? Or was I just not good enough to land even the most junior role in the tiniest of companies?

I hated that feeling of complete bewilderment.

Miraculously, I made it through because someone along the way took a chance on me. But it wasn’t because I made it easy for anyone to recognise the value I brought to the table. I remember myself as a really eager but misguided designer, and I probably made it damn near impossible for myself.

Having now had experience on both sides of the interview table, I’ve learned that getting very specific and clear about three things can easily separate you from the pack.

Before designing your UX portfolio, it’s essential to be clear about these three things:

1. Understand your value. Decide which role you’d be most effective in and what you’d most enjoy.
2. Determine a target company. Figure out which design environment will best allow you to flourish.
3. Know how your skills connect with your target company’s true needs.

Understand your value

Most designers describe themselves as people who “create interactive wireframes, perform user research or write front-end code.” But let’s be fair, anyone who has completed an online course can say that.

Without being able to understand and articulate your unique value, it can look like you’re just collecting skills without any real understanding of how the total package will work to solve a company’s stickiest design problems. Add to that the fact that many aspiring designers continue through the job search with only a vague idea of what the various job titles really mean within the wide world of UX.

There are a few problems with this approach:

1. It’s difficult for the hiring manager to understand what it’s really like to work with you
2. There’s no clear story as to why your package of skills is particularly valuable for the role they’re looking to fill
3. The job you applied might not turn out to be the job you were expecting
4. It creates the perception that you are the type of designer who does not have—or does not know how to communicate—a clear design process

The result is a lot of wasted effort and an incoherent portfolio.

You might be asking, “So Christine, how does one know oneself? Do you suggest I spend a year meditating on a Himalayan mountain?”

Luckily for you, the answer is no. It’s much easier than that, but it involves doing some research – both online and offline. The current landscape in UX is still being defined, and job titles and descriptions aren’t always consistent across the industry. If you’re trying to transition into UX, you also quite likely have transferrable skills from another career that you need to take into account.

A good place to start is by checking out job descriptions online. But don’t stop there. You’d be surprised at how much insight you can get just by using LinkedIn. Run a search of UX roles in the member directory, and take note of how people’s job titles match up (or don’t match up) to their actual responsibilities.

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by Christine Ramirez via UX Mastery