The Hidden Hints in UX Job Posts
Hi Reader,
Job descriptions are the first obstacle you come across when looking for a new role. For UX professionals they come with an additional level of challenges. As many companies cast a wide net when looking for candidates, some role descriptions feel like you should be a UX unicorn. A lack of standardized titles varying between Product Designer, UX Designer, and UX/UI Designer doesn’t help in understanding what the company is looking for either.
In today’s email, I’d like to give you a few tips on identifying hints about the company that will help you understand what you are getting into and may help you ask the right questions during the interview process to ensure the company is a good fit for you as well.
When I write about the different types of organizations, their level of UX maturity, and their strategic outlook, I don’t do this to pass judgment. In my mind, there is no such thing as “the one right UX position.” Our UX field is broad, and each company is at a different stage in its lifecycle. The point of reading the hidden hints of UX job posts isn’t to separate the good from the bad but to help us better understand the company and identify where we might find a good fit in terms of expectations, skill utilization, and culture.
Strategy & Stage
Look out for aspirational language about the company’s mission and vision. When they use terms like “We believe every Y should have access to X”, “X should be a universal offering to Y” or “we have a vision of X connecting Y” there is a high chance that the company is still in the early stages and hasn’t yet fully established itself in the market.
This can be an excellent opportunity for you if you are flexible and willing to wear many hats as you join a team that may be moving quickly and must adapt to market signals and changes. On the other hand, fas-moving early-stage companies may not yet have fully-fledged and stable processes for UX and design work or career paths. A change in their strategy may affect how you work and what you work.
More established companies will likely use more definite language when describing their mission because they already have sufficient proof to look back on achievements in the marketplace. Statements like “With us, you will work on X for y.” or “As a trusted destination, we help X achieve Y.” will point you toward an established team that has found a more stable position in the market and may be looking to expand rather than experiment.
In terms of your work in these environments, stability may come with more established roles, systems, and structures giving you more guidance in what your place and role might be at the company. A strategic outlook that is more long-term can also mean that the company may not need to react to trends and signals as frequently.
UX Maturity
Contrary to common belief, the stage of a company doesn’t always reveal insights into its design function’s maturity level. Here are some cues that may.
If you find the company asking for you to come in and “make a difference in the way they drive customer success,” for example, it sounds like they are committed to making progress in regards to UX but also that there may not be very established systems in place yet and that they are looking for your support to help build and grow the UX practice.
Also, be mindful of how they speak about the setup you’d be working in. Will you be joining a product or design function? Will you work embedded in one product team or serve multiple at once? If you are looking for a company with a high level of maturity in UX, how they speak about your collaboration with other disciplines may be more insightful than what tools they use and what skills they expect from the new UX hire. Phrases like “you will guide the team and become a trusted partner to product management, engineering, and stakeholders” imply that the company has gone beyond the delivery stages for their UX designers and sees them at eye level to other disciplines.
Culture
Nowadays, almost no company can get by without including cultural values in job descriptions. Be it on topics of diversity (DEI) or what benefits they offer. But again, some of the statements may have hidden hints.
When companies offer a large number of social activities outside of official work, it can mean that you will spend a lot of time there and maybe a bit of social pressure to participate. If you are an expat who is new in the community and space, that may be a great way to get connected and get your social life started. But this may not be an awesome fit if you are in a different stage of your personal life that doesn’t leave as much room for team-building events.
Try also to have a close look at how seriously the company takes efforts in DEI topics, even if you don’t feel directly impacted. In my experience, companies that pay close attention to valuing people in all their identities tend to be more open when it comes to making changes to the status quo of procedures, making sure all opinions are heard and that everyone is included. An attitude that will likely impact how you will be able to establish and grow your UX practice.
What about you? What do you notice in a job description that lies beyond the obvious? I’d love to hear from you. Let me know by replying to this email.
Also, if you are currently on the job hunt or considering applying for a new role, make sure to join Mathieu Ritter and me for the next edition of Crafting UX Careers Q&A this Friday at 18:00 CEST. Mathieu is one of the great tech recruiters; his tips and insights will help speed up your job hunt.
Thank you for letting me drop into your inbox again!
Have a great day!
Marvin
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Marvin Olukayode Hassan
UX Design Manager & Career Coach
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