This interview touched a nerve I didn’t think was still there.
Right, the market is more competitive, and recruitment has changed (I'd argue for the worse). The anonymous designer interviewed here says designers caught in this mess—although it applies to everyone really—need not to raise their concerns but suck it up, dry their tears, and just give. Offer yet more expertise, soul and time to greedy companies and the recruiters that represent them.
I admit that a part of me is wary of the cult of contemporary self-making and how it’s become an expected part of life in this economy. But the other knows that applications are a tango. It takes two to close a deal. That's why I appreciated the practical tips shared to guide people in taking the most helpful steps. I trust the interviewee wants to be helpful. And yet, an avalanche of questions came to mind soon after getting to the end of this that the well-meaningness behind it had to take a side step.
Isn’t this job-hunting-is-in-itself-a-job problem as much about candidates as it is about hiring processes? What does it say about businesses who seem increasingly detached from spotting real talent? And where is the conversation about these expectations and the weeks upon weeks of unpaid time candidates are asked to invest into each application?
Until I switched gears recently, I was in the job market too. I was swimming in it for over a year. No matter how much my interview skills improved, no matter the increasingly positive feedback on my CV, the imbalance remained pretty clear. Yet, for some, the question of who needs to adapt seems to fall heavily on candidates rather than being shared.
What I find more interesting is how people who land jobs—through skill, timing and yes, maybe a bit of luck (and often a lot of free time on their hands)—end up presenting their experience as a recipe. "I've figured it out. If you just do what I did, you'll get there too!" But they forget they’re asking you to take the tray out from the burning oven with your bare hands, and rarely do they question why the system is keeping all the gloves to itself.
Is anyone else wondering about this? Are we just accepting these requirements as how things are? Shouldn’t we be having a chat about regulating who has the upper hand in hiring and how recruitment, in general, could work better for everyone?
You raise a ton of great points. As a former recruiter and someone who has looked for jobs, I know how messed up the power balance is when it comes to the hiring process. The idea behind these anonymous interviews isn’t to share “oh look I figured it out, you can do it too” it’s actually to counter the generic posts like that we do see from people who are just generating content without being helpful. These interviews are clearly one person’s perspective and experience but it’s important to hear the actual realities, and learn from them, take from them what we need to apply to our own situations. Especially when there’s so much despair right now. And while yes, the balance should be more equal, that’s not the reality and the only thing we can do, is take control into our own hands, so hearing these stories becomes a good way to know what is working for others. Without any washing of the reality. Hope this makes sense - hard to have conversations like this via comments.
It does make sense and thanks for editing this. This person’s point of view is worth acknowledging. It is, as you say, based on reality and they’re talking plainly about what one best do to get a job as a (insert job role) these days. It’s valuable advice.
I worry though that the directness and lack of nuance, while making the interview easy to share and nod in agreement to, can also perpetuate that myth that “hiring can take whatever shape it wants, and it’s down to individuals to figure out how to work it out”.
Or it might be a case that this touched a nerve because the other conversation, the one I saw missing here, is also missing from mainstream Substack, where bullet point advice (and I say this from experience with my own newsletter) tends to win over content that exposes friction and imbalances.
Hmm I take your point but I'm confused by "directness and lack of nuance" comment - isn't an interview with a real person, who shares exactly their situation is precisely the nuance and the directness needed? Versus a million posts that say "Do these 10 things and get a job" I state very clearly it's an interview with one person - not some 10 bullet point list someone generated with AI or wrote from their experience finding a job 5 years ago and not today? This interview specifically has been read thousands of times across different platforms now and has been helpful to lots of folks who resonated with the situation because they themselves found themselves in the same position. What's missing from the conversation is more of these conversations. You mentioned that we should be talking about regulating who has the upper hand and sure, I agree it's an important conversation but who can change the system if not better people leading companies in better ways? But I don't know how that changes to be honest across the board. So, my responsibility is to share what works and how to get around the system because that's what I've personally done over the last 10 years of my own career - I've written extensively about it. These interviews add another layer.
I am in a totally different line of work and I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon this, and I'm SO glad I did. There's so much here that translates to what I do and I'm so inspired. Thank you, thank you. Bookmarking this to revisit anytime I forget that I'm the only one responsible for my experience.
So happy to have stumbled on another design writer! AND one talking about things very pertinent to today. Thanks for being here — I’m looking forward to reading more of your work :)
I’ve seen a lot of people write UX and product design thought leadership pieces recently in which they say what’s in your interview:
“… a lot of design leaders shouldn’t be in leadership.”
And I must admit at times it’s gone through my head that it sometimes feels that design leaders are blaming designers for not being what they want (the perfect unicorn generalist) or not being effective. When in reality, the problem is often influencing, managing and building relationships with the business at the highest levels where an IC is probably not going to have access to.
But instead of the blame game and just pointing fingers… can we just accept that we have the leaders that we have and now ask: what do we do about it?
What are the best tactics to approach, influence, or connect with the design managers that we have in the market today? Or how could we change their thinking?
This is a really great point actually. And a missed opportunity on my part to probe and ask that question. If this ever comes up in one of these interviews again, I'll make sure to ask the questions.
portfolio A/B testing is brilliant. as someone on the hiring end it’s been wild to see how many applicants haven’t tailored case studies/their portfolio to be relevant for the role - too much reliance on a standard website
How did you do this. It's great. I felt I was sitting beside you but you'd have to punch🥊my leg when I'm eye rolling or going cry me a river! You are talking AI? That's the issue? Not pre-AI?🥊 Your issue might be people giving themselves titles like it's a whimsical dream. Yea. 🥊I couldn't. Oh dear. I think you'd have to go, that's your 3rd strike for loud exhale. But love these posts.
You are great. I just can take 2 mins. Or I set it as don't cry or blame the world. Let's fix it. That...is easy
Could you share more on what you mean by "I do have reservations about submitting assessments/projects when applying in addition to submitting a portfolio and participating in several interview rounds"?
Sure. Companies have been requiring candidates to submit assignments and tests during interview stages. Even the ones that stand out and submit a stellar project do not necessarily get the job offer.
So much gold here. Talk about agency, being deliberate and strategic. This is how we do it, kids.
100% And thanks so much for reading
This interview touched a nerve I didn’t think was still there.
Right, the market is more competitive, and recruitment has changed (I'd argue for the worse). The anonymous designer interviewed here says designers caught in this mess—although it applies to everyone really—need not to raise their concerns but suck it up, dry their tears, and just give. Offer yet more expertise, soul and time to greedy companies and the recruiters that represent them.
I admit that a part of me is wary of the cult of contemporary self-making and how it’s become an expected part of life in this economy. But the other knows that applications are a tango. It takes two to close a deal. That's why I appreciated the practical tips shared to guide people in taking the most helpful steps. I trust the interviewee wants to be helpful. And yet, an avalanche of questions came to mind soon after getting to the end of this that the well-meaningness behind it had to take a side step.
Isn’t this job-hunting-is-in-itself-a-job problem as much about candidates as it is about hiring processes? What does it say about businesses who seem increasingly detached from spotting real talent? And where is the conversation about these expectations and the weeks upon weeks of unpaid time candidates are asked to invest into each application?
Until I switched gears recently, I was in the job market too. I was swimming in it for over a year. No matter how much my interview skills improved, no matter the increasingly positive feedback on my CV, the imbalance remained pretty clear. Yet, for some, the question of who needs to adapt seems to fall heavily on candidates rather than being shared.
What I find more interesting is how people who land jobs—through skill, timing and yes, maybe a bit of luck (and often a lot of free time on their hands)—end up presenting their experience as a recipe. "I've figured it out. If you just do what I did, you'll get there too!" But they forget they’re asking you to take the tray out from the burning oven with your bare hands, and rarely do they question why the system is keeping all the gloves to itself.
Is anyone else wondering about this? Are we just accepting these requirements as how things are? Shouldn’t we be having a chat about regulating who has the upper hand in hiring and how recruitment, in general, could work better for everyone?
You raise a ton of great points. As a former recruiter and someone who has looked for jobs, I know how messed up the power balance is when it comes to the hiring process. The idea behind these anonymous interviews isn’t to share “oh look I figured it out, you can do it too” it’s actually to counter the generic posts like that we do see from people who are just generating content without being helpful. These interviews are clearly one person’s perspective and experience but it’s important to hear the actual realities, and learn from them, take from them what we need to apply to our own situations. Especially when there’s so much despair right now. And while yes, the balance should be more equal, that’s not the reality and the only thing we can do, is take control into our own hands, so hearing these stories becomes a good way to know what is working for others. Without any washing of the reality. Hope this makes sense - hard to have conversations like this via comments.
It does make sense and thanks for editing this. This person’s point of view is worth acknowledging. It is, as you say, based on reality and they’re talking plainly about what one best do to get a job as a (insert job role) these days. It’s valuable advice.
I worry though that the directness and lack of nuance, while making the interview easy to share and nod in agreement to, can also perpetuate that myth that “hiring can take whatever shape it wants, and it’s down to individuals to figure out how to work it out”.
Or it might be a case that this touched a nerve because the other conversation, the one I saw missing here, is also missing from mainstream Substack, where bullet point advice (and I say this from experience with my own newsletter) tends to win over content that exposes friction and imbalances.
Hmm I take your point but I'm confused by "directness and lack of nuance" comment - isn't an interview with a real person, who shares exactly their situation is precisely the nuance and the directness needed? Versus a million posts that say "Do these 10 things and get a job" I state very clearly it's an interview with one person - not some 10 bullet point list someone generated with AI or wrote from their experience finding a job 5 years ago and not today? This interview specifically has been read thousands of times across different platforms now and has been helpful to lots of folks who resonated with the situation because they themselves found themselves in the same position. What's missing from the conversation is more of these conversations. You mentioned that we should be talking about regulating who has the upper hand and sure, I agree it's an important conversation but who can change the system if not better people leading companies in better ways? But I don't know how that changes to be honest across the board. So, my responsibility is to share what works and how to get around the system because that's what I've personally done over the last 10 years of my own career - I've written extensively about it. These interviews add another layer.
What the hell is even this ?
After running a lot of A/B testing for work, thinking about A/B testing portfolio is not a bad idea at all
Right?
I am in a totally different line of work and I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon this, and I'm SO glad I did. There's so much here that translates to what I do and I'm so inspired. Thank you, thank you. Bookmarking this to revisit anytime I forget that I'm the only one responsible for my experience.
Love this, thank you so much for this comment. I'll pass this onto our awesome anonymous designer.
wonderful <3
So happy to have stumbled on another design writer! AND one talking about things very pertinent to today. Thanks for being here — I’m looking forward to reading more of your work :)
I’ve seen a lot of people write UX and product design thought leadership pieces recently in which they say what’s in your interview:
“… a lot of design leaders shouldn’t be in leadership.”
And I must admit at times it’s gone through my head that it sometimes feels that design leaders are blaming designers for not being what they want (the perfect unicorn generalist) or not being effective. When in reality, the problem is often influencing, managing and building relationships with the business at the highest levels where an IC is probably not going to have access to.
But instead of the blame game and just pointing fingers… can we just accept that we have the leaders that we have and now ask: what do we do about it?
What are the best tactics to approach, influence, or connect with the design managers that we have in the market today? Or how could we change their thinking?
This is a really great point actually. And a missed opportunity on my part to probe and ask that question. If this ever comes up in one of these interviews again, I'll make sure to ask the questions.
Very interesting, especially the points around spraying/praying, portfolio testing and design leadership.
Sharing a related thought on standing out from the pack: https://waqaswrites.substack.com/p/ridges-teeth-and-pins?utm_campaign=post&showWelcomeOnShare=true
🙌 appreciate it!
portfolio A/B testing is brilliant. as someone on the hiring end it’s been wild to see how many applicants haven’t tailored case studies/their portfolio to be relevant for the role - too much reliance on a standard website
Yess!
As long as you publicly are able to share that case study. Did you get permission from the client? Guessing no
I love the approach for DMs. I’m having a hard time approaching people for jobs without begging, and this was great advice.
Glad it resonated!
spot on
🙌
How did you do this. It's great. I felt I was sitting beside you but you'd have to punch🥊my leg when I'm eye rolling or going cry me a river! You are talking AI? That's the issue? Not pre-AI?🥊 Your issue might be people giving themselves titles like it's a whimsical dream. Yea. 🥊I couldn't. Oh dear. I think you'd have to go, that's your 3rd strike for loud exhale. But love these posts.
You are great. I just can take 2 mins. Or I set it as don't cry or blame the world. Let's fix it. That...is easy
Great point on courage!
Could you share more on what you mean by "I do have reservations about submitting assessments/projects when applying in addition to submitting a portfolio and participating in several interview rounds"?
Sure. Companies have been requiring candidates to submit assignments and tests during interview stages. Even the ones that stand out and submit a stellar project do not necessarily get the job offer.
True, unfortunately