Am I doing something wrong with my resume / portfolio?

Careers & Mentoring
#1

Hello good UXers :slight_smile:

I have what, to my eyes, is a pretty good resume / portfolio. But I’m struggling to get many “bites” out there in the job market. I’m even getting passed on for internships. Ouch.

Am I doing something obviously wrong here that’s hurting my chances?

Any tips are appreciated. Thanks!

My resume

My portfolio

1 Like
#2

Hey Peter,
No, I don’t think so. In fact your portfolio is excellent. Your case studies (to be fair I skimmed) look well documented and are easy to follow. You explain your process and there are plenty of images.

Is the job market very competitive where you are? Have you asked for feedback from organisations that have said no? I’d start there… ask what they are looking for and what you could be working on to be more competitive.

#3

Thanks for the feedback :slight_smile:

I’m applying to jobs in:

  1. San Jose, CA
  2. Austin, TX
  3. Charlotte, NC
  4. Greenville, SC (my current residence)
  5. Atlanta, GA

I’m applying to junior positions, internships, and “normal” UX job postings. I used to apply for senior ones too (just in case), but I’ve stopped now. Been at it for a little over a month.

Maybe they just never make it past my resume, since I don’t have 3+ years of UX experience?

#4

It is very competitive out there despite the huge demand for UX. It doesn’t always mean something is wrong, could be someone impressed more. I checked quickly and the process is there but I think you can cut the text more. Try putting main points only and into bullet points since people don’t like reading a lot. Your headlines for your projects should explain the problem you are solving. ( for ex: in the calendar project, the title can be that you decreased the time it took for creating an event). Also see if you can show more Visual UI design even if you only want to focus on UX since it will give you an edge on competitors. I noticed there isn’t an about me page and I think that you should have one with an image of yourself.

1 Like
#6

You’re right about the experience - I wish I could just magically imbue myself with a few years of experience. Getting started from the bottom of the barrel is the hardest part in any career. :frowning: To help with this, I’m trying to find actual projects to collaborate on, but it’s slow going at present.

I put the church website project first, as you suggested. I also made the animations take only 1/2 a second so that there’s no “blank screen” time.

Thanks, Joe! I appreciate you taking the time to give me some feedback :slight_smile: