Quit Lying to Yourself About UX Jobs

People lie to themselves all the time. 

About a lot of things.

But one of the topics I hear being lied about most commonly on a day-to-day basis is jobs.

• “There aren’t any entry-level UX jobs.”
• “I just can’t get a senior UX job.”
• “Product design jobs are impossible to get.”
• “No one wants Director-level jobs.”
• “Well, everyone is looking for skills in this one area.”
• “I’m not good enough.”

Bullshit.

Two quick stories from my time as an Instructor for the UX Design program at General Assembly:

1. Two years ago, I had a student who was a bartender (and gigging in a band for extra cash). Now, he’s making over $100k at a solid company as a UX Designer in Denver, Colorado. How? He was hungry. He was sick of his old life and he did all the things I’m telling you and he didn’t stop until he got a job (it took him 6 months). Was it hard? Yes! He had a lot of failures and rejections along the way. But he didn’t quit. When he wasn’t satisfied, he just kept kicking ass. He had an amazing turnaround and two great gigs all in 3 years…which, in the grand scheme of things, will be no time at all.

2. In one of my first classes as a GA instructor, there was an amazing woman who was just two years into her career as a kindergarten teacher. She was already sick of it and fully committed herself to becoming a designer. Within 3 months after my part-time class, she nabbed an internship. Two months after her internship began, the person who hired her left the company and she was offered the full-time position. Even though she didn’t think she deserved it, she took it. 4 years later, she’s now working as a Senior Designer in an education tech company, loving her job, making great money, and totally killing it.

• Work harder.
• Build up your portfolio.
• Ask yourself, “What would I be doing if I was already where I wanted to be?” Do that.
• Revisit some old colleagues.
• Take people out for coffee.
• Write your 5 Must-Haves.
• Pray or meditate or get some fresh air—whatever it takes to recapture a positive mindset.
• Get creative. Do something weird. Do something interesting. Instead of sending an email, send your resume snail mail. Hand deliver it with a tiny gift from your region. Hand-write your resume. 
• Pay someone to rewrite your resume. (Gasp!)
• Quit doing the same thing as everyone else and expecting amazing results.

Frankly, it’s a miracle that anyone gets hired. It’s a ridiculous process from both sides. Just wait until you have to hire someone—it sucks. So quit whining. Quit lying to yourself. And don’t quit on your job search.

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More questions and concerns? Just hit me up on LinkedIn and start a conversation.