Define your career aspirations
Start by exploring all areas of interest where you’d like to develop your career. Draw inspiration from organizational charts and role models in the design industry. Remember that job titles may vary across organizations, so look beyond familiar departments.
Research design roles on platforms like Behance, Dribbble, or LinkedIn. Look for job titles like UX Designer, Visual Designer, or Product Designer. Pay attention to the responsibilities and skills listed in these positions.
Action step: Write down every job that resonates with you and seems like a viable option to begin your design career.
Inventory your skills and experiences
Next, compile a comprehensive list of your projects, summer jobs, and side hustles. Set aside any imposter syndrome – every experience is valuable, and you can’t predict what might interest potential employers. Focus on experiences you can share as stories during interviews, supported by tangible evidence like design portfolios, GitHub commits, or case studies.
Categorize your skills into technical (e.g., proficiency in design software), soft skills (e.g., teamwork, communication), and domain knowledge (e.g., understanding of user-centered design principles). For each skill, note a specific project or experience where you applied it.
Action step: Collaborate with a peer or mentor to brainstorm and document as many skills as possible.
Map your aspirations to your capabilities
Now that you have a list of interesting positions and an inventory of your skills and experiences, it’s time to find connections between them.
- Create a matrix with interesting positions on the vertical axis and your experiences on the horizontal axis.
- For each cell in the matrix, identify connections between the position and your experience. If a skill wasn’t used in a particular experience, mark it with a minus (-).
| Interest / Experience | School project | Side hustle | Freelance work |
|---|---|---|---|
| UX Design | Conducted user research and created wireframes for a mobile app | Redesigned a local nonprofit’s website based on user feedback | Developed user personas and journey maps for a startup |
| Visual Design | Created brand guidelines for a fictional company | Designed social media graphics for personal Instagram account | Crafted a logo and visual identity for a small business |
| UI Design | Designed a mobile app interface as part of a team project | - | Created responsive web designs for client websites |
| User Research | Conducted interviews and usability tests for a school project | - | Performed competitive analysis for a client’s product |
| Prototyping | Created low-fidelity prototypes using paper sketches | Built interactive prototypes using Figma | Developed high-fidelity prototypes for user testing |
| Information Architecture | Developed site maps and user flows for a web application | - | Restructured content organization for an e-commerce site |
| Interaction Design | Designed micro-interactions for a mobile app | Experimented with animation in personal projects | Created interactive elements for a web application |
| Accessibility Design | Ensured WCAG compliance in a school project | - | Conducted accessibility audits for client websites |
| Design Systems | - | Created a basic component library for personal projects | Contributed to the development of a client’s design system |
After completing your matrix, review each row to identify your strengths and areas for improvement. For instance, seeing consistent evidence of UX Design skills across multiple experiences indicates a solid area to highlight in your applications. Conversely, if you notice several minuses in a row for a skill critical for your desired position, this signals an area for focused development.
When analyzing your matrix, focus on two key aspects:
Evidence of practiced skills: Cells with detailed examples demonstrate your practical experience in that area. These are your strengths and should be emphasized when targeting related positions. For example, if you have multiple entries for UX Design across different experiences, this is a strong indication that you’re well-prepared for UX Design roles.
Missing or underdeveloped skills: Cells marked with a minus (-) indicate areas where you lack experience. This is where you need to make strategic decisions:
- If the skill is critical for your desired position, consider how and when to acquire it. Can you take an online course, work on a personal project, or seek specific internships or volunteer opportunities to develop this skill?
- For skills commonly required in your desired positions but currently missing from your repertoire, brainstorm ways to quickly gain experience and produce evidence of using these skills. This could involve collaborating on open-source projects, participating in design challenges, or offering pro bono services to local organizations.
The goal isn’t to have every cell filled but to have a clear picture of your current skill set and a strategic plan for developing critical skills you may be missing.
Action step: Based on your matrix analysis, create a prioritized list of skills to develop and outline specific actions you’ll take to acquire them. Set realistic timelines for each skill development goal.
Develop your career strategy
Analyze the patterns in your matrix. Your best short-term opportunities are positions with more relatable experiences and skills. For roles lacking evidence, assess your level of interest and research the required skills.
For each key experience in your resume, craft a concise point highlighting your role, your applied skills, and the outcome. Use action verbs and quantify your achievements where possible.
For example:
Led a 4-person team to redesign the company website, increasing user engagement by 30% within 3 months.
Action step: Update your CV or LinkedIn profile to reflect your experiences, skills, target positions, and relevant stories.
By following this structured approach, you will gain clarity on your most promising career paths and identify areas for strategic skill development. This targeted strategy will help you stand out to potential employers and secure internships that align with your long-term design career goals.
