Still trying to find a job!

Careers & Mentoring
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#1

Hi all,

I’ve had a really useful internship since I was last here, and have a better idea of what I want to do. But, people still tend to want me to have more experience than I have, and some recruiters have suggested that my website isn’t nice enough looking. I’m not a visual designer, though, which has made that harder.

Anyone have any suggestions for how to find things to work on that might actually see the light of day when I’m done? Or suggestions for my website and/or portfolio? suzannehillman.com is my site.

I’m currently volunteering with patternfly.org - simple bug fixes, helping with their accessibility document, and working with someone who wants to do a bit of research. I’m also potentially working with a student nearby on a project. However, I’m not sure if any of this will see the light of day.

I’m also working with a large number of recruiters.

2 Likes
#2

hi wlspfox,

Can you tell me what recruiters you are working with by any chance? I was just coming here to post a question on wether anyone new any ux recruiting firms. Any help is appreciated.

Erin

#3

Great to see you back Suzanne.

This topic offers some advice (and links to other topics) that is helpful.

Some advice on building a portfolio[quote=“wispfox, post:1, topic:4188”]
I’m currently volunteering with patternfly.org - simple bug fixes, helping with their accessibility document, and working with someone who wants to do a bit of research.
[/quote]

This is perfect. It’s exactly the kind of thing that we recommend.

As for your site – that’s a tricky one. I personally think it’s fine. You’re not pretending to be a visual designer so unless the recruiters are planning on putting you into a role that you’re not suited for, it does the job of communicating your information effectively.

You’ve done a brilliant job of documenting your process for the case study, which is the most important part.

#4

I am also struggling alot. I had one internship as UX Designer and they don’t know how it works. They wanted me to do everything under a month. Even though, I had a member with me but It wasn’t enough for both of us. Atlast, they kicked me after a month and 10 days. They didn’t even give me stipened. I did make a portfolio but I am worried that it’s not that stong.

#5

Hi Erin,

I can suggest some places, but they may all be for the Boston area!

https://www.randstadusa.com/technologies/
https://aquent.com/ and https://vitamintalent.com/ (sort of the same place)
http://www.creativecircle.com - although they aren’t as hands on as vit T.

I’m also aware of https://www.roberthalf.com/creativegroup and http://www.onwardsearch.com/ although I’m not actively working with them.

Good luck!

Suzanne

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#6

I don’t know if it’ll help you, but my internship was through Outreachy (https://wiki.gnome.org/Outreachy) and I did some UX work with the Fedora Project. If you want to read my blog about it, see https://medium.com/@suzannehillman/long-radio-silence-fe64cca6913c

#7

great thank you

#8

I’m on the job hunt, too, and focused on a UX Researcher role. I am
distinctly not a visual designer, but I have put forth significant effort
to make sure that my site demonstrates effective visual communication.

My site, www.eccentriccog.net, is running on a Wordpress.org setup and I
sprang for a premium WP theme and took to Fiverr for my logo. My portfolio
is powered by a plugin.

I’ve gotten some good response and several first level interviews, but I’m
coming from a different background, as I’m finishing a human factors PhD,
so I imagine that’s been driving much of it. Much of my work, currently, is
focusing on how to communicate academic background as professional skills.

All I can say, from my experience, is that some things (website style,
branding, etc.) are worth paying a little bit up front for if you know what
you want.

1 Like
#9

I feel you! I’m still on the job hunt, too… not even an offer for an internship (it seems like companies want a “college” intern so they don’t have to pay them). I’m also not a visual designer, but I small companies tend to expect UX designers to also do visual design… until companies become more educated in the UX process they will continue to look for those “unicorns”… I’m going to take another online course in content strategy and maybe get in that way… but the job search has been much more difficult than I expected, especially since companies seem to be begging for UX designers, but don’t want to put in the effort to train juniors…

#10

sadly Outreachy is no longer taking applications… looks like they only do one round of internships/year… :frowning:

#11

Outreachy internships are usually twice a year, and you need to do something ahead of time on the project you are interested in - including figuring out who you want to work with. So while it’s true that the Summer one is probably currently in progress, it might be worthwhile to take a look at who was available then and figure out if any of those look interesting/are doing usability or UX things.

And yeah, most places want you to be in school to intern. They tend to pay, but that’s hard on those of us who aren’t. Most places seem to want mid-level or senior UX people, not junior.

#13

@jdebari:

I thought I had a lot of process in my design. Can you clarify?

I don’t have a large number of projects as of yet; do you have more words for what you’re thinking here?

I have been trying to decide how to funnel people better: my main page is really scattered especially as compared to my portfolio/design artifact portfolio.

You mentioned playing up the accessibility (a11y) stuff: I haven’t expressly been including it in my UX work, although it’s always in the back of my mind. Do you recommend mentioning it specifically somewhere other than in the separate a11y page?

Thanks. :slight_smile:

Suzanne

#15

I’m working on moving to a different platform for my website, since I think a lot of the problem is that I get bogged down in the coding details. This is not complete or official yet, but what do you think?

https://wispfox.wixsite.com/hillmanconsulting - specifically, the overview pages for the completed work section of my work.

#17

Hi again!

If you’re willing to take a look at my Wix page again, I think I’m to the point of being able to reasonably make it my main site instead of the one currently at suzannehillman.com

https://wispfox.wixsite.com/hillmanconsulting

All feedback is welcome!

Thanks.

#19

Good, actually! I had a good phone interview last Friday for a contract-to-perm associate UX research position, and am expecting hear back about an in-person interview soon.

Thanks a bunch for your feedback!

5 Likes
#20

I really like your new web-page format. I think that it’s something that I needed to see, as I share the more research-focused angle.

It’s simple and approachable and shows your process well. I think that you are actually in a good spot with the volume of work, and that I might actually learn more from you in editing my portfolio to provide a better focus.

On a related note, I might be doing post-doc project-work for the VA in PTSD research, so maybe we should talk shop sometime on the topic.

3 Likes
#21

It’s not easy. It took me two years of freelancing after switching from a related field. There were a lot of times I wanted to give up but persevered and finally landed a great UX job.

1 Like