3 elements to prepare to get your first product design job
Access, network, and portfolio.
Q: Budi, I aspire to be a product designer. How to get the product design job?
There are lots of paths to land your first product design job. In this newsletter, I’ve invited some product designers to share their journey on how they landed their first job. Here’s my working theory:
- Access: You need access to a real-life project
- Network: People who can vouch for you
- Portfolio: You need to tell a story about your experience
If you can have 2 out of these 3 elements, there’s a chance for you to land that first job. There is a small dose of luck play in the force as well.
Two groups of people
When I write this, I realize I’m speaking to two groups of people.
The first group is anyone who has a related background or works in design. Maybe you joined a design BootCamp that allows you to work on a real project. Or maybe you work as a graphic designer and want a transition to a product design role.
The second group is the people who don’t have anything to do with the design. Perhaps you have a full-time job that’s not related to design at all and want to do a career transition.
Obviously, the first group has an upper hand because they have access to a real-life project to start with. If you fall under the second group, you need to find this access first.
Access
Before you can put anything into your portfolio, you need access to a real-life project. Let’s explore a few common ways to get a real-life project:
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An internship is the most common path. Through an internship, you experience what it’s like to be a product designer with real scenarios and constraints. As Mila Alief Alya, Product Designer at GovTech Edu, pointed out, “Through the internship, I was able to cultivate my knowledge, develop my skills and enrich my portfolio.” She added, “When I graduated, I realized I have enough experience to confidently kick start a full-time job as a product designer.” (Note: you can read everyone’s full quotes in the newsletter’s Appendix)
Eugene Brigita Lauw, Product Designer Intern, at Gojek expressed how the internship helped her realize that she loves designing for people. “During my time in the university, my senior referred me to a UI/UX intern role at Hangry. The internship changed my whole perspective about life after. Getting introduced to how product designers work in real life makes me realize that I love designing for people.”
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Internal move. My friend Russell is a Senior Designer at Shopify shared his story, “I originally interviewed for a design position at Shopify, but my skills weren’t where they needed to be. But they were gracious enough to hire me for a design tech support position.” Along the way, he got opportunities to grow his design skill and finally joined the internal team.
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Design competition. I guess this approach is a bit slow and old-school. But this was my approach to get access to real-life projects. I joined a design competition through websites like 99designs or DesignCrowd. As a result, I have a few works to showcase in my portfolio. You can take a look at my old portfolio here.
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Passion projects could be interesting access to a real-life project. Typically, you look around you and find an opportunity to solve any problem. Sometimes, you can offer your friend some help. Elva, Product Designer at GovTech Edu
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Co-found a company is probably the least common approach. This is how Randy the Head of Design Strategy at Kraken started his design career, “I got into what we now call product design back in 2006. I co-founded an e-commerce marketplace company,” Randy told me, “and was the only designer. That’s how my path began.” Pretty cool.
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Fellowship is another access to consider. Ivy Mukherjee, Design Manager at Bumble, shared her story. Back then, she quickly realize that graphic design was not for her. She then applied for a fellowship opportunity at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. “I applied, received a full scholarship, and went there for 3.5 months. This is where I first learned about UI, UX, and the start-up ecosystem.”
Network
A real-life project gives you experience, but most importantly, you gain a network. You get to know people in the field, and they can help you land that first product design job.
Joana Patrasc, a Senior Designer at Lever, studied graphic design at university. When she graduated, her supervisor asked her if she was interested in coming on as a UX designer. Then she “learned UX and product design on the job from watching videos, reading articles, and learning from coworkers.”
Tasha Dara, Product Designer at GovTech Edu offers another example of how the network can really help you open the path. “My internship was significant to my self-development.” She added, “It was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made because it led me to an unexpected referral to Traveloka, which made me pivot into a product designer.”
Portfolio
If you get temporary access to a real-life project such as an internship or fellowship. It’s important to summarize it into a story to help you land a more permanent job. This is where the portfolio comes in.
Not everyone has the access to a real-life project. But if you can access any courses, you can start preparing your portfolio. A conceptual project could be less appealing than a real-life project, but it’s better than nothing.
AnnChiahui Tai, Senior Product Designer, at Automattic, had a full-time job that was unrelated to design back then. She took an online course out of interest. After connecting with designers, her desire got so strong. “I quit my job to learn and prepare my portfolio.” She added, ”With my portfolio ready, I began applying for jobs in the desired area. I was proactive in sending out emails expressing my interest without seeing any openings. One startup responded positively. I’m forever grateful they took a chance on me, which started my design journey.”
Ivana, Product Design Lead at Sixty Two, was interested in UI/UX and then started doing more UI/UX-related freelance work to build her portfolio. “Until I finally landed a job at my first tech startup and the rest is history.”
You can consider Behance or Dribbble as a way to showcase your work. If you want to build a portfolio that represents your personality, consider Squarespace, Webflow, or Dunked. I have a few tips on portfolio on my blog:
- Be intentional in how you structure the portfolio
- Ensure it’s easy to access and consider these 8 principles
- How to overcome some constraints to create a portfolio
Look for access, build a portfolio, network with people.
Good luck.
I want to express my thank you to everyone who generously shares their stories in this newsletter. See you next week!
Budi Tanrim is a Senior Principal Product Designer who writes and shares ideas for product builder and designer in newsletter.buditanrim.co.
This article is originally published in newsletter.buditanrim.co
