Rosenverse
UX Job Search AMA #3 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

UX Job Search AMA #3 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Share the love for this talk
UX Job Search AMA #3 with Joanne Weaver and Dave Hoffer
Speakers: Dave Hoffer and Joanne Weaver
Link:

Summary

We’re thrilled to bring back to the Rosenverse an AMA dedicated to finding and getting UX jobs! Co-led by Dave Hoffer, a design leader / hiring manager (from PwC, McKinsey, frog design) and Joanne Weaver, a recruiting agency owner (clients include: Mailchimp, Etsy, Justworks, Grubhub, NY Life), we’ll hold an insightful one-hour AMA to address all your job search questions. Join us! 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

  • UX job market remains busy but cautious; referrals and relationships drive many new openings.

  • Industries like financial services, healthcare, and B2B enterprise software show consistent UX hiring resilience.

  • Product designers combining strong UX research and polished UI skills are far more in demand than siloed specialists.

  • AI is an emerging but fluid requirement; most companies seek candidates experimented with AI rather than experts.

  • Visual polish in portfolios matters deeply; candidates should use tools or friends' help to achieve this.

  • Contract roles face fluctuations but may grow as teams shrink and budgets shift towards gig models.

  • Clarifying and positioning job titles, like 'product designer' vs 'UX designer,' affects hireability.

  • Handling NDA constraints in portfolios calls for creative strategies like virtual walkthroughs or redacted samples.

  • The evolving AI landscape will require integrating human-centered design and systems thinking skills.

  • Market demand is highly specific, making it vital for candidates to analyze interview feedback and adjust their stories or skills.

Notable Quotes

"We are really busy right now, but it’s mostly clients who already know us coming with new roles."

"Having a polished, visually rich portfolio is no longer optional given all the available tools."

"Product design roles today usually expect a mix of interaction design and visual design skills."

"AI isn’t about being an expert for most roles yet, but being AI conversant and experimental is crucial."

"People eat with their eyes before they eat with their mouths — your portfolio must look appealing."

"The job market is cyclical — tough times pass and opportunities come back around."

"There’s more contracting work coming because teams are smaller and have to bring in external hands."

"Don’t let the title ‘product designer’ intimidate you if you do UI and UX; it’s broader than big platforms."

"Synthetic personas created with AI are a horrible substitute for real user research."

"F them if they don’t see your skills or fit; the market is huge with varying needs and companies."

Ask the Rosenbot
Jon Fukuda
Storytelling for DesignOps
2023 • DesignOps Community
Louis Rosenfeld
Coffee with Lou: Should You Write a (UX) Book?
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Uday Gajendar
The Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Jay Bustamante
Navigating the Ethical Frontier: DesignOps Strategies for Responsible AI Innovation
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
The Rosenbot and the Rosenverse: An AMA with Lou Rosenfeld
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Prayag Narula
HCI 2.0: Humanity Deserves the Attention that UX Research has to Offer
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
David Conrad
The Feeling of Data
2023 • Enterprise Community
Michelle Chin
The DesignOps Starter Kit
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Mary-Lynne Williams
Exit Interview #4: From Product Design Leadership to Sound Healing
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Bruce Gillespie
Learning from journalism: Balancing impactful communication with compassionate storytelling
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Ross Smith
Breaking Barriers with Empathy
2017 • Enterprise Experience 2017
Gold
Megan Kierstead
You Are a Badass at UX: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Ivana Ng
Level Up Your Program with ProductOps
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Jeff Gothelf
Who does what by how much?
2025 • Advancing Service Design 2025
Gold
Teresa Swingler
Look, Up in the Sky! UX/UI for Aerospace
2022 • Enterprise Community
Josh Clark
Sentient Design: Crafting Intelligent Interfaces with AI
2026 • Designing with AI 2026
Gold

More Videos

Jennifer Bolduc

"Having honest conversations about where you want to grow can turn around a relationship or project."

Jennifer Bolduc Diane Gregorio Emily Day

What's involved with getting people back to work?: A panel discussion

July 1, 2021

Alla Weinberg

"Managers with more burnout score 34 points lower on feeling safe to speak up than those with none."

Alla Weinberg

People Are Sick of Change: Psychological Safety is the Cure

July 20, 2023

Louis Rosenfeld

"You have to build relationships with legal and political leadership to figure out what you can actually change."

Louis Rosenfeld Lashanda Hodge Senongo Akpem Chris Hodowanec

Becoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector

November 17, 2022

Kayla Farrell

"I’m excited about scaling our research work with better ops support and building tools to share knowledge more efficiently."

Kayla Farrell Chelsey Glasson Sean Fitzell Jared LeClerc

What It's Like To Be a User Researcher at Compass

March 12, 2021

George Zhang

"We developed this research framework during our time at Uber together with an extended leadership team as the team grew from 30 to 100."

George Zhang Molly Stevens

UX Research Excellence Framework

March 11, 2021

Gabriela Barneva

"Doing accessibility from the start saves cost by avoiding expensive retrofits and rework later on."

Gabriela Barneva

Operationalizing Inclusive Design in Design Ops

September 11, 2025

Rebecca Buck

"Researchers are translators, storytellers, facilitators, and bridge builders. I love that bridge-building dimension."

Rebecca Buck

Mission: Keep Talent in Research Roles!

March 10, 2021

Lada Gorlenko

"Sherbiney built a well-functioning agile train in one of the oldest organizations."

Lada Gorlenko

Theme 1: Intro

January 8, 2024

Alexis Lucio

"No design system will ever be fully accessible because new features and permutations are always being introduced."

Alexis Lucio

Scaling Accessibility Through Design Systems

June 9, 2022