An open letter to UX bootcamp graduates

Dear UX bootcamp graduates;

Well done! You should be very proud of yourselves for going through such an extensive learning experience.

The product world is brand new to you and everything you’ve learnt is just about to get put to use in the real world.

Over the past four years teaching and mentoring, floods of designer freshman have come out of my bootcamps. I have nothing but genuine respect for them of you, especially those who made a complete 180-degrees career pivot. That takes guts.

The product world is exciting, forever evolving. It can feel like a black hole of mystery sometimes.

Where do you go from here? The future could be daunting. As you prepare yourself for a wild ride into the job market, so I’ve pulled together a self-starter guide to help you navigate into this designer land.

Do some self reflection

Before you rush off to LinkedIn and apply for every job you see, just hold your horses. Sit down, close your eyes, and just really think about how you feel about the whole journey.

Answer these questions to yourself to get a better feel of what type of role/environment suits you:

• Are more drawn to a certain part of the design process? Was it strategy? Research? Hands on craft?
• Reflect on how and when you do your best work. Is it through collaboration? Facilitation? Deep-flow crafting?
• Never underestimate the power of your past. Even if you haven’t worked in a creative field before, your transferrable skills will be the cherry on the top of your newly-acquired design skills. Together these elements mark the uniqueness of you as a designer.
• What product-world problems are you passionate about? Is there any company out there doing work you admire? This can also help narrow down the type of company that suits your career path.

Write these all down on paper. Make this frequent visit. Self reflection is an important activity for any designer at any level.

Understand the battlefield

Now you’ve done the self reflection, it’s time to add some extra flavour to make you and your work stand out.

There are tonnes of fresh UX bootcamp graduates flowing into the market from all directions all the time. What makes you special? 🤔

Add extra feathers on your cap:

• Soft skills: Communication, communication, communication. I can’t stress how important this is. Practise telling your story, both written and verbal.
• UI skills: First impressions matter. The portfolios that stand out from the mass are the ones that are well crafted with an understanding of UI and design patterns. UX designers need to work with UI designers, so showcase your understanding of UI and patterns, that you are more than a problem solver but also a content designer and crafter.
• Work with engineers: Go to hackathons, seek opportunities to work with engineers to see and learn how they work. Designers and engineers almost always work together in any product team. Learn how to make design compromises for feasibility, and how to package up for hand-off.

Don’t stop at the bootcamp case studies

Maybe just take a little break first. After bootcamp, your first self-initiated project is the first opportunity to drive on your own! Time to refresh all the tools you’ve learn. This time, you don’t have to go through every single step during the double diamond process, be strategic, show us how you make each decisions along the way.

Why? Because designers who create their own projects are clearly passionate about what they do. Passion is the ingredient that lifts you above the crowd.

• Tackle bite-sized projects.
• Start to utilise research tools. Give these a go: Maze, Dovetail, SUS score.
• Hone your craft skills — practise Figma auto layouts, shortcuts, file organisations, documentation for engineers. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there you can get real busy with.

Jazz up your LinkedIn

Get yourself out there starting from yesterday.

For those who weren’t so much a LinkedIn nerd and have been spending your life scrolling TikTok, time to shift the gear and get your focus on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the place where most professional opportunities live.

Steps you can take to get yourself out there:

1. Make sure your Linkedin profile is jazzed up. Max out new skillsets. Get recommendations from previous colleagues. Check for spelling errors.
2. Follow companies you’d like to work with. Follow their employees and recruiters to get a vibe on the culture. Network slowly. Avoid bluntly ask for jobs.
3. Be visible, post on Linkedin, share insights, write articles. It can feel a little daunting at first, and that’s completely normal. Just remember, the key is to share your thoughts, share your work and get your name out there. Just push that publish button.

What does a good portfolio look like

This is the most important part.

Make sure your portfolio is sleek. Keep it simple. Weave your personality into it. Use easy-to-build platforms like Squarespace, Wix, etc. if you are not an engineer. Don’t neglect the “About Me” page. Design your portfolio like a product: conceptualise, draft, write and edit before building it.

Fact: 90% of graduates case studies I’ve seen are not even going to make it on to a shortlist. I’ll write another post about how to craft a decent case study down the road. For now, here are the top-line ingredients:

• Make sure you define the problem clearly along with definition of success / hypothesis for each case study: i.e. increase click rate by 5%…etc. A problem well defined is a problem half solved. Use success metrics as the north star to guide your testing.
• Feature finished mock-ups on top. Get viewers a wow factor to stay and read more. Key elements: Clean mock-ups, Define goals and success measures. Describe the impact you’ve made.
• Each case study should be scanable. Most people speed read. Avoid long paragraphs, utilise bulletpoints, highlight data points, mix visual with insights. Ask yourself, if someone is scrolling through quickly, is the story captivating? Is it digestible?
• Back up you validation with both Qual and Quan data. i.e. 80% of users tested completed the task successfully, and add some quotes.
• You don’t have to show every single step. You also don’t have to follow the double diamond method. Craft the story to highlight which insights drive your decision making. Keep referring back to the big goal, share the pitfalls and how you navigate and reflect.

Seek opportunities everywhere

Before a job offer is in place, put yourself out there for internships and volunteer work. And LinkedIn is not the only destination to make that happen.

Internships

• Contact companies you’d like to be a part of and ask for intern opportunities. Do your research, get familiar with their work and write them a sincere cover letter to pitch.
• https://interns.design is a site where you can find current intern opportunities. Be aware, though, that most of these are US based.
• Think grassroots and get creative. If a restaurant in your neighbourhood has a terrible website, offer to do redesign for theme. Perhaps have a mentor to work alongside you so you can check in when needed.

Volunteering

Approach charities you want to get behind and make contact with their employees on LinkedIn.

Offer help to start-ups

I didn’t want to suggest this one at first, because start-ups are usually strapped for cash and support. But, the good thing about start-ups is that you get to work with stakeholders directly. I highly recommend you approach start-ups with existing designers or PM in place.

Where to find them? Approach Facebook groups, meet-ups, etc.

Whatever you do, if you are doing it for free, make sure it’s worth your time. And know exactly what you want to get out of the volunteering from the get-go.

Be around like-minded people

Similar to LinkedIn networking, try in person, too. Nothing beats real face-to-face conversation with good vibes flowing in the air.

Research if there’s a meet-up opportunity near you.

In Australia, we have loads of networking opportunities:

• Sydney designer meet up
• UX Australia
• Girls in Tech Australia
• Get mentored by experienced design leaders via platforms like Adplist.org etc. I wish this magic platform was available to us dinosaurs back in the day. You are very lucky 😉

And that’s a wrap

Pheww… I was trying to keep this article short and it still ended up being a mega-list. I hope it helps you in some way.

It’s tough out there. It’s totally normal to hit roadblocks and rejection. It’s part of the journey to success, we’ve all been there. Remember, rejection only makes you stronger. Never stop learning and refining. If the passion is there, the opportunity will follow.

I wish you all best, and I look forward to seeing your work out there.👏🏼

👋 Find me on jacalin.com , or via other channels