The 90:10 Rule: How to Get Over Getting Looked Over as a UX Candidate
“Thank you for taking the time to apply for our User Experience Design Role. After careful consideration we have decided to pursue other candidates. We encourage you to apply in the future.”
Does this sound like something that just popped into your inbox once or ten times this morning? I didn’t even have to copy and paste, I just have in memorized.
This isn’t going to be some hate filled, bitter read about how the design world is too selective, how rejection is the worst, it’s not going to be a to do list for when you send an application into the abyss and hope for the best.
I wanted to come up with something tangible to help better process the never ending stream of well thought out emailed rejected templates.
Let me break down the basics:
If you apply to 90 UX roles, chances are that you might, might, get a few call backs, some nibbles on your work, chances to present your best designers and processes.
And this is great, excellent work, super proud of you!
But the point I’m trying to make here is, that number is very low. Like on the ground low. And that’s okay!
Think about how jobs you have applied for and really, really taken the time to look into the company, the role, done a little LinkedIn investigation to see what the other designers who also work at said company do.
What’s your answer?
If it’s just as a low as the number of first round interviews you get, I think you are starting to see the connection.
Just because you got rejected does not mean that you failed.
Let me say that again.
Just because you got rejected does not mean that you failed.
As designers, the job market has been exploded for us, but not always for us if you know what I mean.
Just because you are getting looked over doesn’t mean that your work, your products, the things you have created from start to finish are not good.
It also does not mean that someone, somewhere and somehow is better than you.
I hate to say it, but you kind of just have to get over it.
You have to keep moving forward and most importantly, you have to listen to that voice that tells you to keep going.
It might get a little softer from time to time, but it’s still there. Trust me.
You have to remember that the journey is just as important as reaching the end. The end looks different depending on who you are and what you really want, but the takeaway here is that there is an end.
Maybe you get your dream job.
Maybe you get a great freelance project that turns into steady work.
Maybe you meet an amazing connection and grow and learn from them.
There is no right or wrong way to work in the UX field. From my experience the only right way to do things is to be persistent. Be brave. And be true to yourself.
If you feel like givin up, chances are that you are so close to what you want that it’s pretty much already yours.
This doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen if you don’t try.
Sometimes, there is no luck of the draw. Sometimes, it’s just a numbers game.
So, remember, take what you have and be grateful. Listen to feedback, and take every rejection as a perfect pathway to what you are really going after.
It might not always seem this way, but most things fall into place before you know it.
Stay strong, my friends!
