If you’re new to the field getting the first job will be hard as employers might feel like they’re taking a bet on you. But you can alleviate their worries by showing proof that you’ve done this work before. My recommendation is to look at internships, side projects, open source projects, or hackathons — to name a few. If real world experience is a barrier, continue filling your portfolio up, showing that you’re serious about your craft.

Years of design experience

Even if you have the “real world” experience… you might not have enough. Everyone wants a senior designer with at least 3+ years of experience. But how do you get experience without experience? The reality is that most design jobs don’t need a senior designer — mid-level or even entry level designers can hit the ground running quickly and deliver impact.

These design requirements are getting out of control

Dig deeper behind the title. What are the responsibilities, what kind of experience are they looking for? Can you deliver on these expectations or rise to the occasion? You can address the experience gap with examples that show how you were able to transfer your skills to solve increasingly complex challenges.

Companies aren’t looking for someone with 5+ years of experience anyway. The “X number of years” is a shorthand for someone who’s done the work, has experienced different environments and is able to do the work without supervision. You can get that experience in 2 years depending on where you work. Or you might stagnate and not reach a level of proficiency even in 10 years — be careful where you work and which environment you choose.

Lack of a specific skill

Sometimes you might get rejected due to a lack of a certain skill or the company’s need at this time e.g. they’re strong in UX but need more visual designers. If so, this is an opportunity to get better at a specific aspect of your craft. However maybe you also don’t care about this skill (e.g. visual design) and if that’s the case you might look at opportunities where the reverse is true.

The list of design responsibilities keeps growing…

Domain experience

Sometimes startups with no designers hesitate to bring on designers who don’t have deep domain expertise. As a result they might discount your non-domain experience heavily. The thinking goes, if this designer hasn’t done the same thing elsewhere, they won’t be a good fit here.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Design is a fluid discipline. Some designers prefer to specialize in one domain but many also expand and grow their skills in different industries.

So what does this mean for you? Have the conversation with your interviewers, show examples of where you transferred your learning successfully. These could be different domains (e.g. consumer to enterprise), different platforms (web to mobile), or even different design disciplines (from graphic to service design).

Salary

Occasionally you might price yourself out of the market. When it comes to salary, recruiters ask about this question upfront, usually during the phone screen.

There are a few ways you can answer this but it helps to do your research upfront from multiple sources such as LinkedIn, Hired, or AngelList to give you realistic estimate of what you’re worth and how much you should be thinking about as far as base compensation is concerned (especially when you’re applying for startups who compensate heavily with equity).

Ultimately salary is a personal question. Sometimes it’s worth to sacrifice higher pay for learning. Ideally you can be in a role that gives you maximum learning and compensation but that’s not always possible.

Factors outside of your control

Not everything is under our control. Sometimes the role might get closed due to budgets or other issues.

In one of my roles, after I gave a 2-month notice, I started looking for a replacement by posting on job boards and going to design events. I found someone who, not only had more experience but also had deep domain expertise. She interviewed for the job and things went well. Unfortunately the role was later cut. It happens. You may be the ideal candidate the company isn’t ready for.

We live in the age of design abundance but the roles are not yet evenly distributed

Alternatively a company might be in a low design maturity state. Your skills might not be valued enough or the role is scoped down tightly. In that case, the rejection may be in your favor as it allows you to pursue better opportunities where design is valued more.

Designers have more power than they realize. Yes, the field is competitive. Yes, there are many designers out there and according to the latest design twitter — everyone is a designer. But many jobs also go unfilled. Certain markets and metro areas have more roles than designers. We live in the age of design abundance but the roles are not yet evenly distributed.

Some rejection is healthy

Sometimes a lack of a rejections can be a red flag too. You might actually be setting your goals or aspirations too low if you’re not getting a good dose of rejections during your interviews. Think of rejection as innoculation against further rejections, helping you get better over time.

I see too many posts out there by young designers applying brute force to any company that might accept them. It’s a losing strategy. Don’t apply everywhere—focus instead on the roles and companies that will be a good fit with your career goals and values.

What’s next?

In the next article we’ll cover what to do when you get an offer. Time to celebrate? Sure! And it’s time for homework—is the opportunity really as it presents itself? I’ll share a few ways to find out.