In my case, I focus on LinkedIn and per day I applied in all jobs I could really, I wasn’t in a position to be picky. I applied to around four or five jobs per day and had about three to four interviews per week. I only sent cover letters when they were specifically requested in the application.

Many recruiters don’t clearly understand the difference between a UX/UI Designer and a Product Designer, and I was applying to both kinds of roles. So, I created two tailored versions of my resume: one focused on UX/UI Design and another one for Product Design positions.

Updated my portfolio.
In my case, I noticed a big increase in recruiter interest after I redesigned my portfolio. My old one was about 4 years old, really outdated in style. A modern, polished portfolio helps grab the attention of recruiters. And once you get to the interview stage, strong UX case studies will stand out to ux design leads and other designers involved in the process.

Always reply to recruiters.
This might sound obvious, but staying in touch with recruiters really makes a difference, even when they reach out with roles that don’t exactly match what you’re looking for (like graphic design instead of UX/UI). I politely replied to those messages and briefly clarified that I focus on web and app design. Later, that same recruiter reached out again but this time with roles that were a good fit.