UXR job hunting advice from our Ask Like a Pro alums

October 14, 2021 Samantha Mabe

Last week four Ask Like A Pro alums shared their varied experiences landing their current UX research positions in our private Alumni mixer. They talked about their individual journeys, presented case studies, shared preparation tactics, and offered lots of tips and tricks they wished they'd known when they began their latest job search.

Amy Santee, UX career coach and strategist, also shared best practices on user research case study formats, selection criteria, visual design, and channels, and offered a generous discount to all Curiosity Tank alums.

The community really benefited from their candor, humility, and humor!

Here is a sneak peek at some of their UXR job-hunting suggestions:

Here is a quick summary:

Target your applications; don’t apply...
Sharing your work is a storytelling exercise. Interviewers aren’t nearly as interested in the detailed data as they are in...
Talk about yourself (briefly!). Be authentic. Show your personality, interests, what you learned, and/or your reflections. Demonstrate your passion for...
It’s important to find the right match.
How you position and brand yourself matters. Make sure your story is cohesive...
Remember, you are not your user! Consider what the hiring committee is looking for...
Hands-on UX research experience trumps all (including the prestige of most degrees). One alum detailed how including his PhD and academic accomplishments actually hindered his job searching process...
Demonstrate your command of product design; confidently speak about the product, business challenges and goals...
Your user research network is KEY. It will open doors for you. Referrals go a long way — so build your network!
Be prepared to speak to methods and why you chose which ones, the tradeoffs, etc.
Do not share confidential information! Blur this out in your case studies.
Include the impact your work had. This could be impact on the product, team, process, culture, end-user, industry, etc. Think big and broad!
Leverage your previous domain experience and current interests.
Simple presentations are MUCH more effective. When in doubt...
Pilot everything. Pilot your pilots! And prepare for different lengths of presentations...
DON’T GIVE UP. Thie job interviewing process is a humbling learning experience in itself. It’s iterative, just like the work we do to help others build better experiences. The Ask Like A Pro Present workshop has great tips, templates, and examples.