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
"Synthetic users might be okay for finding average behaviors, but they won’t replace unique insights from real users."
Kate Towsey Basel Fakhoury Oren Friedman Graham GardnerParticipant Recruitment and Management Tools
March 12, 2026
"Toy design is not about the toy itself but a tool that unlocks unlimited possibilities before a child."
Alëna IouguinaDesigning Systems at Scale
November 7, 2018
"It’s about helping your colleagues be more productive and make better decisions to help customers."
Sofia QuinteroBeyond Tools: The Messy Business of Implementing Research Repositories
March 10, 2022
"Feedback is data, not personal — once you view it that way, it feels less like criticism and more like improvement information."
Bria Alexander Laura Gatewood Corey Long Daniel Orbach Laine Prokay Deanna SmithThe Big Question about Resilience: A panel discussion
September 23, 2024
"How does design really impact the business? It’s crucial that we have those answers."
Jon FukudaTheme 3 Intro
September 25, 2024
"People are the plot twist in this journey — despite promising AI, only human connection reveals new problems and solutions."
Jennifer KongJourneying toward AI-assisted documentation in healthcare
June 5, 2024
"Synthetic data created by AI—like fake personas and journeys—is super derivative and often not insightful."
Shipra KayanMake your research synthesis speedy and more collaborative using a canvas
January 24, 2025
"All lists are prioritized lists — what's most important should be at the top."
Harry Max Jim MeyerPrioritization for Leaders (2nd of 3 seminars)
June 27, 2024
"When you’re passionate about a topic, you hear the song loudly in your head; the listener just hears clapping."
Janaki KumarInnovate with Purpose
June 14, 2018
