• The design market is pretty saturated. Don’t be disheartened by the rejections; it’s often a numbers game.
• Do not just apply to Junior roles - they’re becoming more scarce, plus, the job description is often more flexible than you think.
• Don’t let the experience in the job ad that you don’t have or that doesn’t quite match hold you back - if you’re ‘mostly’ a match, go for it; you can’t get a role you don’t apply for. And, if you were hired, then chances are you DO know enough to figure it out.
• Apply for jobs on both LinkedIn and via the company site, where possible - some companies do not post their job ads on LinkedIn because there are a lot of ‘spam-applies’, so look in other places outside of LinkedIn too. Bonus points if you find an actual person in the company to email personally about the role.
• UX Designer is often interchanged with other role titles and I have noticed that hiring teams do not always know exactly who they are looking for (mostly if they are not designers themselves). Explore:
  • UX Designer, Product Designer, Service Designer, Interaction Designer, (sometimes) Web Designer, Human Centred Designer.
  • ‘Junior’ UX Designers/Product Designer roles are few and far between and you will mostly need to look for roles without the ‘junior’ wording.
  • Look to the UK for remote positions, and beyond: There are remote-USA companies looking for UX Designers. While you’d likely be a contractor (no benefits, self-filing taxes), these can still be great opportunities that help build valuable experience.