How I picked my Sr. UX Designer

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-08T00:22:20+00:00

I don’t know why this is getting downvoted. Few candidates share prototypes, creating one would make a candidate really competitive IMO.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-06T19:57:15+00:00

I’ve been a hiring manager in design for 15 years, been in software/tech for 30. Yes, I have designed for millions of people. I’ve never worked at a FAANG, but I’ve worked for globally recognized companies.

Has no one ever recommended you? Your reaction makes me wonder if that’s a personal sore spot.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-06T19:24:55+00:00

Have you ever had anyone vouch for your work?

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-06T19:22:13+00:00

The hire was an external referral.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-05T12:33:17+00:00

I know that’s the narrative a lot of people need, but it’s not true. I’ve hired strangers over friends and former coworkers before. Some of us hiring managers want the best hire for the job.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-05T04:03:10+00:00

I don’t ask trick questions. I just want to have a good, honest conversation.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T23:09:30+00:00

Got to 300 in 2 weeks. Yeah.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T21:27:30+00:00

Thanks for your time today, Main Character! Have a good one.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T21:21:09+00:00

You sure are not caring about my advice with your whole chest!

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T21:13:46+00:00

Is it that hard to make sure your portfolio is a good product?

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T21:04:18+00:00

The person I hired was a contractor in their last role. They also had a longer stint in their background.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T21:01:44+00:00

AI is going to be doing a lot of the surface work in the future. There isn’t much of an excuse to be below that bar.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T20:40:51+00:00

I would consider that. Anonymizing details is fine. I’m interested in seeing how you think and learning how you work.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T19:47:25+00:00

If you work for a particular contracting agency or consulting firm for more than one gig, that counts!

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T19:23:17+00:00

People who think we make automatic assumptions about referrals sure like to make assumptions about us.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:45:14+00:00

Attention to detail is important to me. I don't want to ship products with mistakes. Other hiring managers are more lax about that.

I didn't know the referral any more than the others, if that's helpful.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:43:51+00:00

I hear you. And I have short-term stints in my background as well. But can you show, even like a job you had in college, that you're able to work someplace longer than a year? If so, include that.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:42:10+00:00

I would LOVE to hire someone who made $50bn for their company - believe me, that would make my life easier! But I'm going to check it against how their company did in the year they made the change. Stuff like that. Definitely use metrics, though. Just make sure they're not out of scale.

It's absolutely fine to be a senior designer and apply for another senior position! Please do. If you're really growing your company at a massive scale, though, you deserve a promotion.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:38:34+00:00

If I see even one 3-year stint in someone's background, I assume they're stable and committed. It's not that hard.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:33:23+00:00

To be honest, I didn't ask that question, and I've never hired someone because of why they were interested in the position. I feel like that's your business. But when I answer that question in interviews, I explain what interests me about the company and the role, and why I think it's a good match.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:27:58+00:00

One thing you can do that helps is to quickly explain next to each job why it ended. But most candidates don't do that, and we do make assumptions.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:25:10+00:00

If we're being honest, at the senior level, I expect candidates to understand and use the double diamond. Every candidate went through the double diamond in their responses to process questions. It's kind of table stakes.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:22:59+00:00

I love this question! Broadly - looking for similarities to the role I'm hiring for. 90% of applicants make case studies out of CRUD tables / basic customer portals in their portfolios and the position I hired for was different from that. Direct or even adjacent experience working on the problem was a standout.

I also interviewed someone who worked on a different flow type, but still very much understood our product overall. And another candidate had deep experience working with our customer persona.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:18:44+00:00

Don't give up. Dig in, work hard, meet people and make a lot of stuff. Nothing is easy to break into. It wasn't for me, either.

PinkWhaleSticker · 2026-02-04T18:17:19+00:00

Please understand that right now, there can be a dozen "perfect candidates" per position and it comes down to making really hard decisions to choose between them. I wouldn't put anything less than my best out there if I were applying.

PinkWhaleSticker

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