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UX Job Search AMA #2 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer
Summary
Whether seeking advice on crafting your ideal resume, how to nail your interviews, or understanding what employers are looking for in candidates today, bring your questions. Dave and Joanne are longtime design career coaches and know how to help. You’ll gain valuable insights from us, and we’re sure, each other!
Key Insights
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Hiring in New York’s UX and product design market is showing hopeful signs with increased mid and senior-level roles, especially in enterprise SaaS and regulated sectors.
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Design job titles like 'product designer' and 'experience designer' evolve to reflect small role shifts but are mostly about organizational clarity and hiring ease.
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Employers prefer candidates with related domain experience to reduce onboarding friction, but cross-industry skills can enhance team diversity and innovation.
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Successful designers now need an end-to-end skillset combining UX, interaction, and polished visual design, often pulling from established design systems for pixel-perfect results.
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AI hype led to rushed implementations without user-centered design; the next phase will require senior designers to thoughtfully integrate AI into products.
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Resume and portfolio authenticity matter greatly; AI can help draft materials, but they must genuinely reflect the candidate’s experience to pass interviews.
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Senior design leaders must maintain portfolios that showcase not only UI work but also team management, strategic impact, and polished visual outputs.
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Networking creatively and in person, even with small gestures like bringing donuts, is highly effective to bypass ATS systems and build meaningful industry connections.
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Introverted professionals can succeed at networking by preparing strategically, targeting key people, and focusing on quality over quantity of connections.
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Strategic design roles focused on early-stage product discovery and insight synthesis often carry titles like design strategist, UX strategist, or product research and insights.
Notable Quotes
"I’m getting hopeful. For what it’s worth."
"Titles will change as roles and skills change; what matters is what you need to do, not just what you call it."
"People eat with their eyes before they eat with their mouths — polish makes a big difference."
"Donuts are delicious, right? Nobody doesn’t like donuts."
"Your resume, your portfolio, your body of work should reflect you as a human being."
"If you get the interview, say, I don’t have experience in that field, but here’s how I solved similar complex problems."
"Networking isn’t just asking for favors — it’s about building relationships and doing something for others first."
"The introvert’s edge is that they research, plan, and have a strategy for meaningful conversations."
"The portfolio should not be a forensic exercise pulled together last minute; it’s a journaling effort capturing weekly work."
"A design strategist role focuses on synthesizing insights and collaborating to produce design specifications rather than doing final screens."
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