Summary
In this talk, I plan to share my experience over the last year (April 2023 - April 2024) trying to get hired in Design Operations after being laid off from a Design Operations Manager role at Meta. I will share my stories - both the good and the bad - and what I learned from those moments. I’ll then shift my focus from the candidate experience to how we as a community can improve the job search experience from the perspectives of hiring teams and recruiters. I have and will continue to source thoughts and feedback from professionals in these roles.
Key Insights
-
•
Layoffs in design and design ops have significantly shrunk teams, with 30-40% facing reductions or hiring freezes in 2023.
-
•
The psychological impact of job loss ranks seventh among the most stressful life experiences and can take around two years to recover from.
-
•
Inadvertent 'fake' job postings comprise about 30% of listings due to internal hires or role freezes, complicating the job search.
-
•
Corey submitted over 700 applications with only 7% resulting in interviews, highlighting extreme market competition.
-
•
Preparing detailed interview guides and application trackers is crucial to manage complex, drawn-out hiring processes lasting months.
-
•
Humility to seek feedback even from candidates who beat you can transform your approach and improve outcomes.
-
•
Job hunting needs to be treated as a full-time job with a strict routine to maintain momentum and morale.
-
•
Employers should design well-defined, transparent hiring processes that include clear role expectations, structured interviews, and honest communication.
-
•
Respectful candidate engagement—such as not multitasking during interviews and timely feedback—greatly improves candidate experience.
-
•
Community support and self-care are vital for maintaining resilience throughout the stressful job hunt journey.
Notable Quotes
"Layoffs take on average two years to recover from the psychological trauma of losing a job."
"I submitted 710 applications throughout the year and only 7% of those resulted in interviews."
"The job market is flooded with overqualified candidates competing for fewer roles, often below their experience level."
"Treat unemployment as a full-time job; be relentless and turn over every stone to improve your chances."
"Being humble enough to ask a competitor for feedback changed everything and led directly to job offers."
"Don’t read canned questions during interviews; make it conversational and human."
"Always communicate next steps, timelines, and delays honestly with candidates; they will appreciate it and stay engaged."
"Respect candidates’ time and attention; don’t multitask during interviews no matter how busy you are."
"There are roles out there, but they come with longer processes—some of mine lasted up to five months."
"Community and self-care kept me going when I felt overworked, stressed, or down during my job search."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"People eat with their eyes before they eat with their mouths — polish makes a big difference."
Dave Hoffer Joanne WeaverUX Job Search AMA #2 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer
May 21, 2025
"Apple solved the problem of making touchscreens accessible by inventing VoiceOver and providing rich APIs for developers."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
September 9, 2022
"I get bored super easily; that’s why I’m super into the AI stuff right now."
Greg PetroffExit Interview #1: Greg Petroff: From Silicon Valley Executive to Sonoma County Possibilitarian
September 24, 2025
"We want to design for actual users, not just the senior VP or CMO who asks for the persona or journey."
Sean DolanA Practical Look at Creating More Usable Enterprise Customer Journeys
October 31, 2019
"My manager says never ask me to take a day off, just tell me — it’s a huge cultural shift."
Allison SandersOperating with Purpose
January 8, 2024
"Machine learning could let dogs order just by barking—unique and hard to copy differentiation."
Ted NewardTheme 4: Enterprise Organizational Journey
June 4, 2019
"Discovery workshops are seen as time-consuming and costly, causing resistance from internal stakeholders."
Michele WongHelping Them Help Us
January 8, 2024
"Screen readers have two modes: browse mode for navigating content and focus mode to interact with form fields or apps."
Sam ProulxEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Screen Readers
June 11, 2021
"The transition from hands-on research to managing is a big mind shift where outcomes become more intangible."
Anna Avrekh Dr. John Pagonis Klara Pelcl Sina SchreiberExpert Panel: Leading in and with Research
March 10, 2022
