Career Switch to UX / Searching for tips and connections

wendyv·Nov 01, 2021

Posted in:Design Advice Job Hunting Tech Career Growth

So I have recently transitioned my career to UX Design and looking for a full-time opportunity. Since I have no background in design other than my bootcamp, employers tend to doubt me a bit especially when I say I have no real experience working with Product Managers and Developers. Any tips on how to approach this question of working with developers and product managers? I have reached 2nd and 3rd interveiws for a few companies but have not received an offer yet.

Also, if you know of any entry UX/UI positions please let me know or if you know of anyone I could connect with. Thank you!!

teresaman·Nov 02, 2021

Congratulations on making a career switch! Couple thoughts here:- it may be helpful for you to have a design mentor during this process. For that I'd recommend my friend's (free) mentor matching service at https://www.get-merit.com/- I'd also recommend sharing your background and company culture that you're looking for on Elpha's talent pool: https://elpha.com/talent-pool so companies that match your values and reach out to you!- lastly, just as housekeeping note, I've tagged several communities for you :)

wendyv·Nov 03, 2021

Thank you so much for the advice!

MelodyYeong·Nov 04, 2021

@teresaman - Thanks I'm going to check out this mentoring service too!

LucyN·Nov 02, 2021

Congrats on your transition! Our company just went through this on the hiring end, where we hired someone straight out of boot camp with no design experience but she had other experience that directly impacted her role. Are there skills/experience you can use from your previous roles that would help in UX? Ie, psychology can help with UX research, or if you've done a lot of presenting and a role is looking for designers to communicate to stakeholders, etc. That was our experience - even though she didn't have the UX experience, her 'soft' skills were super beneficial for what we needed to fill the role and she has done great.

wendyv·Nov 03, 2021

Yes, I am actually a Sociology major and I try to bring this up during my interviews but I am not sure if some employers are aware of how connected that is to UX (lol). I will practice bringing up my soft skills more during interviews since I have many. Thanks for that! :)

LucyN·Nov 03, 2021

I'd also consider weaving it into your resume if you haven't already, hopefully help you get more interviews! Good luck!