Networking for UX/UI Designers

I’ve been talking to a lot of candidates who tell me they’ve been applying to 100+ jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed but aren’t hearing back. The success rate from just applying online is low today. The competition is tough, with hundreds of applicants for each role. The last time I landed a role through LinkedIn applications was in 2017. Over the last 4 years, every opportunity I’ve had came through referrals, recruiters reaching out to me, or connecting directly with someone at the company. If you’re going to apply, look outside of LinkedIn too. I still use LinkedIn but as a tool to research hiring managers or recruiters, not just to send messages. I’ve never relied on InMails. I find other ways to connect instead. Even as a recruiter myself, I’ve received 100+ messages at times and couldn’t possibly respond to them all. That’s why thoughtful, genuine connections matter so much more than mass messaging. If you’re job hunting, here are some strategies that have worked for me and others in my network: -Referrals make all the difference. If you can connect with someone at the company, even just for an introduction, it can go a long way. - Slack communities are a great resource. Channels like Online Geniuses (marketing), RevGenius (sales), HackingHR (HR), The Designership (Design), Tech Ladies, and RemotelyWeWork often have job boards or strong networking opportunities. - Explore platforms specific to your industry. AngelList for startups, BuiltIn for tech and marketing roles, and Reddit/Twitter can help if you’re engaging with the right people. I actually recruited writers on Reddit in my last role. - Tailor your outreach (especially if you're sending Linkedin message). If you’re in a creative field, sharing a portfolio, or even a small project can really make you stand out. To my network: If you’ve had success finding roles recently, what’s worked for you? Feel free to share.

Here’s a secret to help you supercharge your networking. Stop trying to hit home runs with every touch point. Instead, focus on small wins that move the conversation forward. I see so many people making big / vague asks up front: “Can you hop on a 30 minute call?” “Tell me how you accomplished [Big Thing].” These people are super busy and they’re receiving this email from you - a total stranger. The last thing they want is another item on their to do list. Instead, start with a small, simple ask that they can reply to in <30 seconds. Here’s a formula that's been really effective for me: “Hey [Name], your experience in [Industry] is really impressive. I know you're busy, but I just had to ask: If you had to start over and work your way back to [Insert Achievement], would you do A or B? A: [Insert Actionable Thing] B: [Insert Other Actionable Thing]” This formula makes is incredibly easy for them to say "I'd do A" or "I'd do B." Now the door is open! Go do thing A or thing B, get results, and report back. Let this person know you took their advice and then ask for more. This positions you as someone who values their advice and has an action bias -- someone worth investing in. That's going to lead to deeper conversations and stronger relationships!

1:1 coffee chats are the best way to network ☕ Here's how I turned them into interviews at companies like Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Amazon. My 9-step formula for virtual & in person coffee chats: (I did this with acquaintances, old coworkers, and complete strangers at my target companies to get job referrals)  1/ Watch the Clock Before you start the conversation, thank the other person for their time and confirm how much time they have. Don't be the person who goes over the allotted meeting time by assuming. 2/ Nail Your Intro This is your elevator pitch that should include these 3 things: - Brief background on who you are - Why you wanted to meet with them - Your goals 3/ Ask Great Questions Come prepared with questions. Some ideas: - their background/role - challenges they overcame - specifics about their company, culture, product, etc. 4/ Show You're Worth It When you talk about your experience, tie it back to how it relates to the role/team you're interested in at that person's company. Does the role require managing multiple clients? Great! Weave in how you've done something similar. 5/ Ask for Feedback It's ok to ask for feedback and if the other person thinks you're a fit for certain roles or the company. If they think there's a skills gap, ask for their advice on how to bridge it. 6/ Ask for Intros "Is there anyone else at your org or outside the org that would be helpful to talk to?” The best opportunities can come from this ask. The other person might intro you to 1-3 other people in their network. 7/ Offer to Help Them Don't just ask how you can help. Ask them what their goals are for the year. Then use that information to see how you can help. 8/ Winding Down At the end of the call, thank them for their time. Then ask if it's ok to keep them updated so you have a reason to reach out in the future. Don’t forget to send a thank you note after the call. 9/ The Follow Up If they gave you any advice (resume tips, resources to look into), do it and follow up to let them know you did it. This is the best way to keep the conversation going beyond the first call and establish trust. Important: Use this as a guide, not a script. Not all your 1:1 coffee chats will happen this way but having structure is helpful. Don't expect to land a referral on the first meeting either. It may take several interactions before someone is comfortable enough to do that. Give this strategy a try and level up your networking game! --- Reshare ♻ to help someone’s job hunt. And follow me for more posts like this.

People ask me all the time how to network. Here’s a short, tactical guide on how to actually do it - grounded in real data, real results, and 3,500+ jobs found through relationships. 🎯 The #1 misconception Networking is not: “Let me ask you for a job.” It is: “Let me have a real, human moment with someone in this industry.” ✅ What actually works This is how you build meaningful professional relationships - the kind that lead to real opportunities: 1️⃣ Be around. Events, Discords, social posts, games projects, ticket giveaways, community coaching - just show up. Start by being visible. Over time, become memorable for the right reasons. 2️⃣ Don’t pitch. Connect. Ask questions. Be genuinely curious. You’re planting seeds, not harvesting. This takes months and years. There are not shortcuts to building real relationships. 3️⃣ Look sideways, not up. A junior colleague can often help you more than a C-level exec. Build trust, first, with people at your level or just above it. 4️⃣ Follow up like a human. Send messages that matter: “Just played [X] - loved the level design.” “Your GDC talk really stuck with me - thank you.” “Noticed you moved from QA to design - would love to hear how.” 5️⃣ Give before you get. Share insights, leave helpful comments, support others’ work - anything that builds trust and makes you recognizable. 6️⃣ Say hi when there’s nothing to gain. That’s the best time. No stakes, no pressure - it’s when real relationships start. 7️⃣ Don’t just “shoot your shot.” ❌❌❌❌❌ Never reach out with “Can you get me a job?” That closes doors, fast. Lead with curiosity and conversation, not a transactional, cold ask. 🔥 If I wanted to be provocative… I’d say this: Applying to jobs without connective tissue is very inefficient. Particularly for early career and more senior folks. Instead of asking, “What should I apply to?” - ask, “Where can I build a relationship?” Posting about hundreds of applications is understandable, but it misses the point. Focus on how many real connections you’ve made - then work backward to the right applications. 🧠 Avoid the Dream Company Trap Too many people focus only on the one studio they love - and end up pinging the same five people as everyone else. I always ask: Where do I already have network strength? Where can I go that everybody else isn’t going? We track 3,000+ game studios. 1,000+ of them hire. Go outside the top 50. 🪜 Think in ladders and sidesteps Instead of aiming straight at your target studio, look at who owns that studio. Think conglomerates. Think sister teams. Adjacent verticals. 📊 The data backs it up. Across our community: Cold apps: ~1–2% yield Apps with any warm connection: 10–20x+ better odds 🧭 The shift is simple Spend more time building bridges than sending résumés. Relationships are the infrastructure of hiring. Build that first. The first thing I ask anyone who's stuck is: Are you spending 80%+ of your effort building relationships? If not, do that.

In my recent conversation with Natalie (Corporate Natalie), we talked about the (dreaded? hated? misunderstood?) coffee chats. 📖💡 Unforgettable Presence Insight: There’s a right way and wrong way to approach a coffee chat. (Hint: Don’t ask to “pick someone’s brain.”) Here’s what Corporate Natalie had to share about how to make them work for everyone involved: 👉 When you ask someone more senior for their time, come prepared.  Know their current projects, past work, and have ideas on how you can contribute. A well-thought-out chat can make a lasting impression. 👉 Give to get. Don’t just show up to “pick someone’s brain.”  Offer something in return, even if it’s just a small task you can help with. This shows you value their time and are serious about building a mutually beneficial relationship. 👉 Own the agenda.  Don’t wait for the other person to lead the conversation. Come with a clear agenda and take the initiative to start the discussion. And, my favorite piece of advice when it comes to networking — follow up. The value of a coffee chat doesn’t end when the meeting does. Send a follow-up note to express your appreciation and reiterate any key points or next steps. This helps in building a lasting relationship rather than just a one-off encounter. How we approach these interactions can make all the difference in our presence and how others perceive us. 💬 Your Turn: How do you ensure your coffee chats are impactful?

Here's how you can leverage LinkedIn to find companies & product or design opportunities that are most relevant to you through referrals of people you're connect to on LinkedIn. Getting a referral for a position is going to increase your chances of getting an interview exponentially. Especially in the market that we're in now where there is a flood of applications for every new position. LinkedIn doesn't make it super clear how to find companies where you have connections. So in some recent conversations with others I gave this advice on how to get to a short list of higher potential jobs where there were people they knew who worked at companies with openings in hopes they could refer them. 1. Put cursor in search bar and hit enter. (This will do a blank search) 2. Select "Companies" 3. Filter by your location 4. Filter by "Software Development" 5. Through "All Filters" select "Job Listings on LinkedIn" and "1st Connections" 6. Select a company 7. Select jobs (They surface the most relevant jobs to you first) 8. Select "[#] connections work here" 9. Select "Message" and it will auto write a message to your connection asking for a referral. (Send or edit to your desire) If you have a particular size company, that will also narrow down the results to the size of company you'd prefer where to work. This will narrow down a short list of companies you can look into so see if there are jobs at companies in your city with people you know that work there. One benefit to doing this way is you can remove the "Job Listings on LinkedIn" filter and there may still be companies that have openings that are just not on LinkedIn since not every company posts there job openings on LinkedIn. So it will still give you a list of companies with people in your network that you can reach out to. This seemed very helpful to the people that I shared it with so I thought I'd share it here for others. Adding a screen recording of how it works for me. Do you have any tips and tricks you use for job hunting?

“Let me know if you hear of any jobs you think would be good for me…” 𝙉𝙤. This is the absolute wrong way to approach networking and trying to find out about job openings. I’ll tell you why it’s wrong first and then suggest some much more effective alternatives. It is an UNREASONABLE ask. It is no one’s job to keep an eye out for opportunities for you. It also puts the power in someone else’s hands - what are you going to do while you’re waiting? And, unless the individual is close to you and has a vested interest in the outcome of your job search, it’s ineffective. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙? Here are a few suggestions: 💼 Tell people you are networking with what companies you are interested in, and ask if they have any connections there 🏢 Ask people what companies in your industries are growing and/or great places to work 💻 Monitor the career pages of the companies your connections work at and when you see roles that interest you, get back in touch to see if they have any insights about the job, or know the hiring manager 📨 Stay top of mind with regular (every 4-6 weeks) email check-ins, sharing posts of mutual interest, updating them on your progress and follow-up on any suggestions they made These 4 strategies are far more likely to yield the results you are looking for. Try them out! Not sure how to navigate your job search, networking, or where to begin? Get my free 10 Habits of Successful Job Candidates here! https://lnkd.in/e66-iSpX #OpenToWork #JobSearchTips #CareerCoaching #LinkedInTips #ProfessionalNetworking #CareerDevelopment #JobHunting

If you struggle to keep conversations going during networking, this tip will increase your response rate. Talk about people’s passions. Why? After getting more than 17,000 followers and networking with hundreds of job searchers, I can confidently say that: People love talking about what excites them. It’s an easy way to build rapport. Here’s how I’ve helped 50+ data professionals leverage this strategy to increase response rates and build meaningful relationships: 1️⃣ Do some research. Look at their LinkedIn or portfolio. Find something impressive. 2️⃣ Start with flattery and curiosity. Example: “Hey [Name], I noticed you [accomplishment/project]. That’s incredible! What’s the part you enjoy most about it?” 3️⃣ Follow their passion. Ask questions to show genuine interest. Let the conversation flow naturally. 4️⃣ Find common ground. When they mention something you relate to, dig deeper. Build the connection. 5️⃣ Tie it back to your goal. Shift the conversation to their role or company. Example: “Oh, does your team work on X?” “How does your company approach Y?” For instance, let’s say their passion is travel. You: “That’s awesome! Where’s the most interesting place you’ve been?” Them: “I loved Thailand!” You: “That’s on my list! Did you manage to work remotely while there?” From there, the conversation naturally moves toward their job. Pro Tip: Not everyone will engage, and that’s okay. You don't have to be "perfect" to start networking. Yes, you will still get rejected, that’s part of the game. But you'll get better after multiple iterations. Focus on connecting with the right people. Try this next time you’re stuck in a conversation and let me know how it went.

Tiny details in your portfolio—and what they tell me At UX studio, I’ve hired many designers and reviewed thousands of portfolios over the years. Today, even the smallest details can tell me a lot about who you are as a designer and how you approach your work. Let me show you what I mean: 🚩 You send a portfolio with too many, irrelevant projects—This tells me that you either didn’t do your research on our company, or worse, you don’t know how to prioritize. I’m not looking for quantity; I’m looking for quality and relevance. 👍 You have a domain—When you send over a portfolio with yourname.com, it tells me you take your work and personal brand seriously. It’s a small detail, but it speaks volumes about your professionalism. 🚩 You send a PDF portfolio—My first impression is that you’re not aware of the trends, or you don’t know how to create a website in 2024. (If that’s the case, get started with UXfolio, you’ll see how easy it actually is.) 👍 You mention other people in your team—It says that you’re a team player. In our field, collaboration is key, and working well with others is non-negotiable. 🚩 Your case study process is too polished—If all your projects follow the same textbook-perfect structure, it tells me that you might not have real-world experience. Real projects are messy, collaborative, and complex. 👍 You show iterations—Showing the evolution of your designs, including initial sketches, wireframes, and prototypes tells me that you took many factors into consideration before ending up with a nice, flashy UI. 🚩 Your writing is ambiguous—Unfinished sentences, typos, and grammar mistakes all tell me that you don’t pay attention to details. Communication is a huge part of what we do, and if it’s hard to understand your work, it’s going to be hard to work with you. 👍 Your portfolio has a unique perspective—It tells me you have creativity and passion and you will not end up with generic, uninspired designs. While the red flags in a portfolio make me cautious, I always give candidates a chance to prove my first impression wrong. However, it’s helpful to know what the tiny parts of your portfolio say about you and your work. Anything to add to this list? Let me know in the comments!

I reviewed 2,000+ product design portfolios last year. Avoid these mistakes that 90% make: 1. 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦 ❌ Showcasing every project you’ve ever worked on. ✅ 3-4 strong case studies with depth are better than 10 shallow or old ones. 2. WEAK VISUAL HIERARCHY ❌ Walls of text, tiny images. ✅ Clear sections, bold headings, and visuals that guide the viewer. 3. CONFUSING NAVIGATION ❌ Hidden menus, unclear labels, or requiring too many clicks to find case studies. ✅ Make it effortless: clear sections, easy-to-find projects, and a simple way to contact you. 4. SLOW OR CLUNKY WEBSITE ❌ Huge images, broken links, animations taking 3+ seconds to load. ✅ Your portfolio is your first impression. Make it fast and seamless. 5. NO PROCESS, JUST FINAL SCREENS ❌ A bunch of polished UI shots with no explanation. ✅ Show your thinking: research, sketches, iterations, and decisions. 6. UNCLEAR ROLES ❌ Instead of saying “We redesigned the onboarding flow.” ✅ Say: “I led UX research and wireframing, a teammate handled UI.” 7. NO METRICS ❌ “Designed a new dashboard.” ✅ “New design increased user engagement by 20% and reduced support tickets by 15%.” 8. NO PROBLEM STATEMENT ❌ “Redesigned the checkout flow.” ✅ “Users abandoned checkout at 65%. I streamlined the flow, reducing drop-off by 30%.” 9. OUTDATED OR IRRELEVANT WORK ❌ Student projects from 5+ years ago. ✅ Keep it fresh. Show work that aligns with the jobs you want. 10. NO PERSONALITY ❌ Generic “I love solving problems” statements. ✅ What makes you you? Show your voice, interests, and approach to design. Which of these mistakes have you seen or made? #uxhiring #design #productdesign #portfolio