Vol. 004 - How much personalization do you need in your design job application?

Hi designers,

Welcome to Vol. 004 of the UX Jetpack Newsletter, where I share job searching tips weekly. This week we are talking about:

1. How much personalization do you need in your design job application?
2. 10 FREE e-books every designer should read
3. The most common mistake people make when using mockup
4. 🗺️ UX/UI Product Design Roadmap

If you enjoy those tips, please consider sharing them with your friends. They can sign up at https://uxjetpack.com/newsletter

How much personalization do you need in your design job application?

A common tip people give to designers is to add personalization to your application. But how much personalization is enough? Do hiring managers/recruiters actually care about personalization? Here’s my take.

❌  Don’t write a new cover letter for every job application.

✅  Only modify the part about why you want to work for the company in your cover letter.

Chances are not every hiring manager gonna read your cover letter. So instead of trying to write a new one every single time, having one cover letter ready, and only modifying the part where you talk about why you want to work for the company is more efficient. Spend more time researching the company, rather than trying to write new cover letters.

❌  Don’t make a new resume for every job application.

✅  Only modify your introduction section to include relevant experience/skill/interest about the job/industry.

In my experience, I rarely applied to jobs that are so different from each other that I need to include different experiences or projects in my resume. One resume is usually enough. If you are applying for design jobs in a different industry, then it’s a good idea to modify your introduction to include any relevant information about the job or the industry, like your past experience or your passion for the problem space.

❌  Don’t create multiple portfolios for each type of job you are applying for.

✅  First, I’d advise you to think about why you want to apply for different types of jobs. Job searching is a full-time job; you want to focus your effort. If you have many different types of projects, then I think picking out the strong ones is a better way to showcase your strengths. A strong case study means you have a lot to say about why you made the design decisions and how you communicate with teammates or stakeholders. That’s what hiring managers care about.

💡 Bonus tip

If you apply for jobs at new startups, consider using some trendy new tools for your resume or portfolio, like Framer for your portfolio, Bento for your resume or portfolio, or read.cv for your resume. They might prefer someone who likes to try new things, versus old enterprise companies who probably won’t care.

10 FREE e-books every designer should read

Thank you to all the incredible authors who have made these resources available to us.

✨ Give A Damn About Accessibility by Sheri Byrne-Haber
https://www.accessibility.uxdesign.cc/

✨ Business Thinking for Designers by Ryan Rumsey
https://www.designbetter.co/business-thinking-for-designers

✨ The Practical Interaction Design Bundle by UXPin
https://www.uxpin.com/studio/ebooks/free-practical-interaction-design-ebook-bundle/

✨ Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick https://practicaltypography.com/

✨ Stop Stealing Sheep - Find Out How Type Works by Erik Spiekermann
https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/fonts.google.com/en//knowledge/stop_stealing_sheep.pdf

✨ Product Mindset by Product School
https://productschool.com/resources/ebooks/product-mindset

✨ Shape of Design by Frank Chimero
https://shapeofdesignbook.com/download/

✨ The What How and Why of Design Systems by Andrea Hock
https://download.adobe.com/pub/adobe/xd/design-systems/the-what-how-and-why-of-design-systems.pdf

✨ Design’s Iron Fist by Jarrod Drysdale https://studiofellow.com/newsletter

✨ The Ultimate UI Design Roadmap by Michał Filipiuk
https://michaelfilipiuk.gumroad.com/l/ui-roadmap

The most common mistake people make when using mockup

Please designers, next time you use a mockup to showcase your design on your portfolio, don’t make this mistake again. Small details really leave an unprofessional impression on hiring managers.

🗺️ UX/UI Product Design Roadmap

If you're unsure about which part of the product design process you need to improve on, this is a fantastic reference. Everything is laid out in a structured way.

Once again, this is only a reference. You don't need to excel in every aspect to be a great designer.

Made by Anastasia Prokhorova and Vladislav Prokhorov

Check it out: product-design-roadmap.com