In today’s job market, landing any internship & new grad offer is a big deal. Especially in the UX big tech market. This has been an achievement that many aspire to, yet few attain.

It is almost common knowledge now that these entry roles have become way more competitive then most mid-sr roles due to the sheer number of applicants from the surge in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) programs across the United States. Not to mention, career switchers and bootcamp grads have only intensified the competition, with each internship position drawing thousands of eager applicants.

Against this backdrop, the traditional rush to share the excitement of receiving your dream internship offer on Linkedin seems normal, you’ve seen so many folks do it, why not do it yourself?

Indeed, in a landscape where securing such opportunities is increasingly challenging, there’s a compelling argument to be made for focusing on the completion of your internship as the true cause for celebration. This approach not only underscores the value of perseverance and hard work but also offers a more inclusive, humble, and reflective way to share your achievements with your network.

Here are a few good examples of a very hardworking student who we saw when sharing their intern offers at great companies.

The pros, celebrating Success, you earned it: Sharing your internship offer can be a way to celebrate your achievement and express gratitude towards mentors and supporters.

However, here are some cons — sensitivity Among Peers: The news might not be well-received by everyone in your network, particularly those who might be struggling to secure their own opportunities.

Our recommended alternative Approach:

Purposeful Sharing: Opt for a more thoughtful presence on LinkedIn. Instead of a simple announcement about starting an internship, share a comprehensive reflection after its completion. This approach not only showcases your achievements and the impact you’ve had on the team in a modest manner but also enhances your visibility for future recruitment cycles. Including photos and highlights from your time with the team adds a personal touch to your professional narrative.

Co-learning and making more out of it! Other great examples include what Sharon has done here, to create her whole youtube series off of it!

However, don’t forget to thank your mentors!

Always send a personal thank you to your mentors! Make them feel special, most likely you will want to reach out to them again in the future! Examples form UXGO members in 2024

Always remember to enhance Your LinkedIn Profile: Remember, LinkedIn remains a crucial platform for recruiters. By sharing your experiences, thanking your team, and discussing your learnings, at the end of your internships! You not only celebrate your accomplishments but also significantly strengthen your LinkedIn profile.

What if its a new grad, junior, senior, or full time role?

These are usually okay to share right away, however we recommend waiting until at least a month after your start date before sharing, you may even want to wait longer if your previous company is not aware of your decision! Generally we recommend sharing projects and updates of your contributions, rather then just the fact you started at a company! Once again purposeful sharing to boost your visibility to recruiters.

In summary, taking a more measured and reflective approach to sharing your professional milestones on LinkedIn can foster a more inclusive environment, showcase your growth and contributions, and potentially open doors for future opportunities.

Share or not to share? — how to celebrate your offer on LinkedIn! (without making anyone upset) was originally published in Bootcamp on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Prologue: Who should spend the time to make a killer portfolio website?

Consider this: What’s your unique UX superpower? What’s the one trait that makes you irresistible to potential interviewers? For those fortunate to have a track record of successful products at renowned companies, a portfolio website might seem like a “just for fun” move.

However, if you’re a budding student, someone at a startup, agency, consultancy, or simply someone who is not as confident in their career record, your portfolio becomes your beacon.

It’s a crucial asset that compensates for any uncertainties in your resume or work experience. (Since your portfolio website is one of the few things you have total control over during the job hunting process)

So ask yourself, does your portfolio truly represent your best work? If you’re aiming to make a mark in UX, switch to a dream job, or stand out among thousands vying for highly competitive roles at top companies in 2024, then settling for a ‘good enough’ portfolio isn’t an option.

Strive for a portfolio that’s undeniably exceptional, one that you’re unequivocally proud of, and don’t stop until you get there.

1. Understand The Evolution of UX Portfolios in the US tech market: What’s Trending in 2024 is not what is trending 5 years ago.

As emerging talents in UX design, your portfolio is your stage to showcase potential and versatility. This is your moment to experiment with new tools and techniques, creating work that makes seasoned designers ask, “Wow, how did they do that?”

Do: On your landing page, balance simplicity with creativity. Picture a project that reimagines an app’s design, enhancing user navigation — it’s a blend of intuition, clarity, and user empathy. In your case studies, steer clear of generic solutions. We’ll delve deeper into both these aspects in this article, offering insights on how to stand out.

Don’t: Avoid the pitfall of cramming your portfolio with every academic project. Overloading it with classwork can make it appear unfocused and scattered. Remember, your portfolio should be a curated display of your best work, not a comprehensive catalog of everything you’ve ever done. Select projects that truly represent your skills and growth potential.

For Senior, Lead, and Staff Levels: Depth, leadership, and innovation are your tickets. Take a look at my own portfolio & how it has evolved throughout the years (I try to update it yearly, but do not do a good enough job)

Do: Embrace complexity and creativity in showcasing your projects. For senior professionals, it’s about emphasizing the impact and scope of your work. Illustrate a major UX project you spearheaded across multiple platforms. Highlighting shipped projects with significant public impact is key. At this stage, your ability to lead and execute is assumed; the focus should be on what you accomplished and the rationale behind it. Infuse your portfolio with stories of strategic decisions and team leadership.

Don’t: Underestimate the power of a well-crafted portfolio, even at a senior level. Avoid presenting a portfolio that’s merely a checklist of tasks. While it’s not necessary to detail every step of your process, your portfolio should still captivate and inform. Consider adding unique elements that reflect your personality or interests in UX design.

This could be anything from your involvement in teaching to creating podcasts, participating in design events, or any other aspect that showcases your unique contributions to the field. Make your portfolio a reflection of not just your professional achievements, but also your passion and distinctiveness in the world of UX.

2. Stop Overlooking The Power of the Landing Page

In a world where more and more UX designers are making amazing portfolios from easy-to-use templates, your originality is king!

This is where good design comes into play, your portfolio’s landing page will be your throne room.

Our recommended site builder is Webflow (Still in 2024) — Most of our coaches Go-To: This tool balances the act between using templates and creating custom, memorable experiences with simple Code. In other words, it scales well. It’s about creating something you can apply over a weekend, while accessible to build out something crazy.

Do: An interactive timeline of your design journey can be a game-changer. It’s engaging and tells your story at a glance.

Don’t: Falling into the trap of generic templates. They may look clean, but they lack your personal brand’s soul.

Landing Page Importance: It’s your handshake, your first impression. Make it count. Take a look at this great visual flare from one of our advanced class students Eric.

Do: Use it to succinctly tell your story. A designer used a video clip summarizing their design philosophy, instantly captivating visitors.

Don’t: Overloading with information. A cluttered landing page can overwhelm and deter visitors, defeating the purpose. Remember a UX design portfolio is not a graphic design portfolio. See this amazing graphic design portfolio from Jarret Fuller, do you think this would be accessible to recruiters? Would this make a good UX design portfolio?

Word of advice, find the right balance between cool sh*t, while still being immediately recognizable as a product/UX design portfolio.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should take a look at the above Webflow demo we did in our UXGO class with the Webflow superstar portfolio invite-only series. Even though you definitely don't want to build a portfolio like that, you can use those animation and 3D techniques to build eye candy elements in your portfolio like this one here, for our advanced class students.

3. Mastering “Real Storytelling”: The New Age of Case Studies

Now, the design process is common knowledge. The differentiator? How you weave your narrative and context into your work.

Crafting Your Narrative: Storytelling is about the ‘how’ and ‘why’, not just the ‘what’. Think of an actual movie.

Do: Weave a compelling narrative into each project. Think of your portfolio as a collection of stories, each explaining why you’re the perfect hire. For instance, the highlight of your first project might be how user feedback shaped every design iteration. The next project could focus on your ability to use data persuasively with skeptical stakeholders.

Each project should unfold like a distinct, action-packed story, much like an award-winning movie. While films follow certain structures, the best ones are always unique and memorable.

Don’t: Avoid the trap of merely listing design steps without any narrative. Portfolios that just outline processes without the soul of the story miss the mark. They resemble formulaic movies — similar plots with different settings. Repetitively applying the same methodology to various projects without acknowledging their unique contexts is a major red flag.

It’s like watching the same film plot repeatedly, just dressed in different costumes. Your portfolio should avoid this monotony and strive to showcase the unique journey and context of each project.

Epilogue: Your Portfolio Adventure Continues in 2024

The journey of refining your storytelling and portfolio skills is vast and exciting, and we’ve only just scratched the surface! Follow us for our future articles on storytelling & portfolio tips, or join our exhilarating 2024 live series, every Sunday on LinkedIn.

We’ll explore these realms together — and it’s completely free! For those seeking a more personalized and in-depth experience, we’re thrilled to offer full scholarships to select students who are active on LinkedIn and engaged in the design community. Don’t miss this chance to elevate your skills. Apply for a scholarship here. Let’s embark on this journey of growth and discovery together! 🚀🌟

Why your UX Portfolio is not getting interviews in 2024? Do’s & Don’ts! was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read about all the insights updated for 2024 on Amazon Interview Prep!

Who often gets interviews?

UXGO has helped over 20+ members land their Amazon offer from 2021–2024. It’s also the main reason why many students first learn about UXGO.

We help our members through various guides & courses we have released. So, today let us take a look at this ultimate overview and data break down for 2024 regardless of your level, or background, for Amazon UX Interviews!

UXGO internal reference index:

During 2021–2023: 16 interviews progressed to 11. (Campus Recruitment + Social Recruitment)

During 2023–2024: 4 progressed to 2. Currently, Amazon’s main issue is giving many lowball offers, and often the interview loop ends halfway through. However, we still recommend Amazon as a company to interview with. Amazon treats most candidates seriously and is willing to move fast, which is why as long as you prepare well, Amazon is a great big tech company to start with.

Content to prepare for the interview:

The internship level is very simple, most end the battle in 90–120 minutes. You can learn more in our past articles or from our video here.

NG is a bit harder — 5 rounds of loop, the same format as mid/sr loops. (Prepare everything from BQ, Deck, Whiteboard & Onsite)

We call this the onsite (final round 4 — 5 back-to-back interviews, where the whiteboard happens).

For Sr UXD — Which is more difficult? It’s likely that after interviewing for sr L6, you’ll be offered L5 mid.

Break down of Amazon UX leveling:

L4: Intern/New Graduate (0–2 Years of Experience) This level is typically for those who are just starting their careers or have recently graduated. The focus at this level is on understanding the candidate’s potential to grow and adapt to Amazon’s dynamic work environment.

L5: Mid-Level (2–6 Years of Experience) At this level, candidates with mid-level experience are evaluated. It’s important to note that many seniors with more experience might get down leveled to L5 at Amazon. The evaluation at this level is more rigorous, assessing not just technical skills but also the ability to handle complex projects.

L6: Senior (5–10 Years of Experience) Senior level is for those with substantial experience, often involving leadership or specialized expertise. It’s noteworthy that individuals in staff or design lead positions from other companies could be down-leveled to senior positions at Amazon. The interview process at this level is quite comprehensive, focusing on a candidate’s leadership abilities, technical depth, and strategic thinking.

Next Level: Principal Beyond L6, the next level is the Principal UX Designer, but it’s important to recognize that Amazon has only around 100–200 Principal UX Designers. This makes it a very rare and high-level title within the company. Attaining this level indicates a significant achievement and recognition of expertise and leadership in the field.

The hardest part of the interview in 2024:

As always the LP flexible application in BQ interviews, aka knowing which question tests which LP aspect, is still the core at Amazon.

So to prepare for Amazon specifically in 2024: BQ, BQ, BQ.

Try two here:

1. Why do you want to work at Amazon? (Believe it or not many folks stumble on this one, and simply say, well I just want to work at a big tech company — very bad answer)
2. How do you balance business needs & user needs? (Hard question for many folks who lack cross-team experience)

If you’re not well-prepared for BQ at Amazon, it’s a big GG. (Game over)

(Those interested in how to specifically prepare for BQ are welcome to read past articles from us.)

How good is the final offer:

First of all, as long as you interview well and are not down-leveled, Amazon’s salary is impressive, just like any FAANG company’s salary.

The TC range for L4 NG is 140k for, for L5 mid is 240k, for L6 Sr is 300K+

(Locations will adjust the TC)

How stressful is the job?:

Actually, there’s not much pressure at work, since you won’t be PIPed. (Despite the common myths)

The only thing is depending on your team, it may be hard to get a promotion at Amazon. So if you believe the hiring manager's promise of a 1year promotion after being down-leveled from Amazon l6 -sr to l5, you may be caught off guard if things do not pan out the way you want.

The Amazon 2024 UX Interview Guide, from interns — Sr designers. was originally published in Bootcamp on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hey there, future UX stars! It’s your friendly neighborhood UX design coach team here from UXGO.

Today, I’m thrilled to share with you the secrets of acing your job interview at Roblox. Let me tell you, it’s not just about talent — it’s about charm, storytelling, and a touch of magic in your portfolio. So, buckle up, and let’s dive into the world of UX in gaming!

The Inside Scoop: UXGO’s Internal Metrics

Here’s a little insider info from our UXGO team: Between 2022 and 2023, it was a tough race with only one in three making it through the interviews. And guess what? This year’s looking just as challenging with three current UXGO members interviewing. So, brace yourself — Roblox’s interview process is as rigorous as it gets.

What Makes a Roblox Candidate Stand Out?

First off, let me tell you, that for Roblox a stunning portfolio with a personal touch is your golden ticket. Think UX in gaming — this is where creativity meets tech in an explosive way. Whether you’re a fresh undergrad or a savvy grad student, your degree takes a backseat here. What shines is your work. Need inspiration? Check out the portfolios of UXGO members who nailed their interviews — they’ve got that special something!

The Must-Have Skills

Now, onto the nitty-gritty: solid UX chops. Take a leaf out of a fellow UXGO student from CMU — their storytelling skills are off the charts! Remember, Roblox isn’t just looking for skills; they’re looking for your ability to weave a story, your logical prowess, and that irresistible personal charm of yours.

Preparing for the Interview: What to Expect

Gone are the days of the 5-day design challenge of 2023. Now, it’s all about whiteboarding and other fresh critique methods. Don’t fall for outdated info floating around online. Brace yourself for the challenge/critique section. It’s crucial to understand the difference between UX in gaming and regular UX. It’s a whole different ball game.

The Shift in Roblox’s Interview Format

Roblox has overhauled its process, moving away from the 5-day design challenge (à la Google’s old format, in fact even Google has changed its format after 2022) and into a more streamlined newgrad — mid lvl approach: the whiteboard challenge plus a behavioral interview. This change, in our view, is a significant upgrade, aligning more with real-world job scenarios.

The New Whiteboard Challenge: Your New Battlefield

• Duration: Officially 60 minutes, but here’s a UXGO hack — practice for just 40 minutes to sharpen your skills under time pressure.
• Resources: Dive into UXGO’s treasure trove of whiteboarding material free online anywhere. We’ve got you covered with everything from beginner basics to advanced techniques.
• Not that different: Be prepared for any prompt, the whiteboard is about a way of thinking, not memorizing an answer, design thinking! Think Mark! Think!

The Legacy of the 5-Day Design Challenge (apply this to the whiteboard in 40m)

While it’s out, understanding the old 5-day design challenge is like learning the history behind a famous Roblox interview landmark — enriching and informative. Take the tips here into your new whiteboard.

• Research: It began with understanding the assignment think of this as define or UXR. (Most of your time should be spent on defining, and narrowing down into good problems, that is how you get good answers)
• Synthesis: Crafting personas and user stories was next, akin to painting a picture of your user. (Make sure you create real outputs here, for the whiteboard, create a redefined HMW before ideating, make it clear to the hiring team, and watch all the famous recordings + free courses from Leon on the website)
• Ideation: Here’s where creativity met logic. Designers were tasked with balancing app requirements against real-world constraints. (Try to go outside the box, but make sure they tie back to your HMW and persona)

*For the whiteboard: MAKE SURE TO CREATE AN END-TO-END USERFLOW

• Final Designs: The stage where concepts are turned into visual realities. (For your new whiteboard, 3–4 key screens are okay, do not spend too much time sketching)
• * For whiteboard reflections: A period for your final show-off! What worked? What to spend more time on? How can we scale or measure success?

Tailoring Your Preparation

Want to nail this? Start by chatting with actual Roblox mentors or gaming experts at UXGO or ADPList. Get a clear picture of what UX in gaming really entails. Make sure your BQ, and whiteboarding skills are top-notch. Those are your very first rounds. Trust me, Roblox values these skills, no matter the level you’re interviewing for.

The Payoff: Why Roblox?

Roblox is the new heavyweight in the gaming industry. Only a few like Riot, Epic Games, and the legendary Rockstar can match up. If these names don’t ring a bell, the gaming industry might not be your cup of tea. Roblox once boasted some of the highest salaries in the UX design world. (Pre-IPO)And even though the hype has settled, the company’s steady growth and impressive headcount speak volumes. Whether it’s an internship, a new grad role, or a career leap, Roblox is a fantastic place to be.

There you have it, my friends — your roadmap to start off strong when trying to land that dream job at Roblox. Remember, it’s about showcasing your unique blend of skills, storytelling, and personality.

So go ahead, let your portfolio do the talking, and ace those whiteboarding rounds! Good luck, and may the UX force be with you! 🚀🌟

Landing that Dream Job at Roblox: UX Design Interview Guide 2024 was originally published in Bootcamp on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

AI,AI,AI,AI,AI,AI,AI, that’s the Google I/O 2023 wrapped up for you in a few words by Google’s visionary leader Pichai. Not everyone considers Generative AI a big impact on UX Design. Our reflections with seasoned UX professionals within the UXGO community, yield speculation, but here’s our take for the near future:

We believe that if you’re an aspiring UX designer, it’s crucial to understand the impact of generative AI such as the AI Snapshots presented in the 2023 Google keynote.

Google has long been a trendsetter in design, championing wide usage of white space and user-driven approaches, much influenced by IDEO’s interaction design concepts. With Google I/O 2023, it’s clear that Google is preparing to integrate AI into its search systems, via AI-Snapshots.

Let’s ask, “Does AI impact UX (User Experience) negatively or positively?”

UX design and AI models are both about making the experience “better” for the end-users. However, as a designer, it is important for us to define what “better” is.

“Better” is abstract, and abstract needs to be defined through design thinking. (We LOVE talking about the Double Dimond Method in all our UXGO workshops and public live courses, so students of ours understand defining the abstract is “half the design”.)

In a simplified summary, as designers, we need to understand AI exists to make the UX better through the below key points to make it less abstract.

Better for who? — End Users, search users.

What is “Better”? — Speed & accuracy, users want to find what they want quicker.

How is “Better” measured? — Time, a clear data point.

The emphasis on a better user experience like search is similar to most UX-driven products. Speed and accuracy are key. Bing (Microsoft) acquired ChatGPT (OpenAI) because of this.

AI threatens Google more than anything because of this. AI represents — “Smart”. Traditional Search represents — “Dumb”. A smarter search means a faster experience, which often relates to more business value. In short, AI aims to enhance UX by focusing on speed, accuracy, and time-saving for end users.

So how might we design for a smarter AI-driven user experience?

In the world of UX, the key to a good design is focusing on an end-to-end flow of interaction, meaning every step of the interaction should be carefully crafted and considered, from the happy path to edge cases.

However, as UX designers, we can’t just say, “Now our user types into the search” and AI gets them what they want.

So how does AI give them what they want? How exactly does a user interact with this AI, and how does the AI get better or faster results?

Think about when Siri just came out: people at the time thought “Wow this is going to be a real-life Cortana.” However, users quickly realized the reality was these VUI systems such as Siri or Alexa were “dumb”, and often gave users an experience of something like this:

User — “Siri how is this Friday weather?”

Siri — “Setting a reminder for you to fight Mayweather Jr.”

Sounds familiar? Why does this interaction suck? Because it’s inaccurate. It causes you to repeat or interject by saying “No, Siri cancel that!!” all while thinking WTF….?

However, as a UX designer designing this VUI pattern, you simply can’t do much else.

Now if we factor in AI, you can easily design a system that improves and learns about past mistakes for better recognition. If you realize no one in their right mind will ask to fight Mayweather Jr. (other than actual boxers), that response should never be given in 99.999% of circumstances.

This is one oversimplified example between Smart vs Dumb VUI systems.

Now let us dissect and evaluate the UX of AI Snapshots from Google.

From a UX perspective, the end-to-end experience of the AI snapshot is impressive on paper. To design for this, it is up to the UX designer to actually define how the “Magic AI happens”.

Remember, UX designers are in charge of the entire end-to-end flow. Just like designing for any experience, you should start thinking about all the possible implications and use cases this creates, lets's start by looking at users.

Better for who? — End Users but who are the end users?

~Around 59% of users use Google as a first touch point for online shopping, starting with a search.

The AI -Snapshot can create a smart result where an interactive experience that goes beyond traditional search is offered. Users can explore items much quicker, dive deep into reviews, and even interact with 3D models all generated in real time. In other words, a “smart” search result that gets you to what you want to buy much quicker.

So shoppers are clearly the primary users in this flow, but they are not the only “users”!

There are secondary, and tertiary users as well. For example, merchants that sell the products the primary users are searching for. From my experience as the product design lead for the commerce world, we call these C1 & C2 users.

Google’s approach as pitched for their search with AI snapshots will most likely cause smaller links on Google to never be surfaced for users. (Since Users will now need to manually scroll past the entire AI-Snapshot to find traditional “dumb” search results of small mom-and-pop style shops.)

Combining this with paid promotions, if handled poorly, could be very hurtful to small businesses that simply can’t compete with the SEO and backlinks larger companies and sites have. In turn, becoming a reinforced cycle where “big gets bigger” from AI.

Only two things will happen to a product at this point:

1. It loses all of its small business C2 customers eventually. (If they have no visibility, they will move to another platform.)
2. Small business C2 customers are forced to pay for advertising or adapt in another way.

Both could be hurtful to the ecosystem in the long run if not handled properly. C2 experience directly impacts C1 UX experiences. A shopper can not shop without the merchants.

In other words, because of how powerful AI is, UX designers need to combine AI in their system in an empathetic and cautious way.

Key takeaways & how to get started in AI

In conclusion, the role of UX designers will evolve significantly with the rise of generative AI. Previously, UX designers were primarily engaged in crafting and designing interfaces that allow users to navigate through existing content. However, generative AI has expanded this role to include the design of interfaces that facilitate interaction with the creation of new “smart” content.

To land a UX role in this up-and-coming field (you can bet demand will rise exponentially soon), you must build real hands-on AI product experience. (Just like AR/VR design, web3, or any other emerging technology).

Here are our two recommendations for you to get started:

1. Acquiring foundational knowledge in AI is critical. This includes understanding machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks. Podcasts and articles on these topics such as this one can serve as an excellent start.
2. UX designers need to focus on designing interfaces that enable interactions with AI-generated content. This summer, our UXGO advanced courses are partnering with Harvard Business School clients to design real AI-powered products with big tech UX coaches. The VC world is very cutthroat. Through summer projects like these, you can gain hands-on experience and build real UX skill sets with the very best product folks in the world. You can learn more and apply for similar programs at UXGO, or try to reach out within your network to find unpaid/intern or AI design opportunities. The key is to get real hands-on experience with a good AI-driven product.

Other fun UX stuff from Google I/O 2023

There are many other exciting UX developments to explore from yesterday’s keynote, such as the material design update showcased in the keynote which we highly recommend you take a look at with the video below here.

AI is not all there is to the future of UX, but it’s crucial not to be intimidated by AI. Embrace its potential and come work with us on cutting-edge technology.

By focusing on AI and acquiring the necessary skills, junior designers can position themselves for future opportunities in AI-focused UX roles and create innovative, engaging, and user-friendly interfaces for the future. However, remember to follow Google’s exact words when designing for AI — “Intentionally moving slowly and carefully to make AI happen.”

How Google changes the future of UX forever with AI Snapshots. was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Google's UX internship has been open for a few weeks now, with 2023 right upon us, if you have not applied yet, this article will help ramp you up to speed and get your application in good shape. If you have applied and want to look ahead and prepare for the interview stage, I will help you avoid all the misinformation and outdated sources out there in this article as well.

For my new medium readers out there, my name is Leon and I write detailed recruitment-focused articles to help students break into the UX industry.

If this is your first time applying to Google’s UX internship, you need to know a lot has changed about the process since Covid, and even the interview formats have been revamped in 2022.

Everything in this article will be based on information from my own UX intern offer @ Google many recruitment cycles ago, and the recent experience of the 3 students I coached from UXGO that interned at Google in the summer of 2022. I will help you compare and dive deep into what has changed in Google's recent UX internship recruitment process and what has stayed the same while also including insights from UXGO’s Google campus recruiter partner (who will be kept anonymous to avoid LinkedIn harassment)

Therefore, I have organized this article into the Four topics below to best prepare you for your upcoming 2023 Google UX internship and answer some of the most common FAQs of students at UXGO.

1. What is the 2023 timeline, what has changed?
2. What is the new 2023 interview process, and what is team matching?
3. What is the new Whiteboard interview process, and how can I prepare?
4. How important are referrals and how should I approach them?

2023 timeline, what has changed?

First of all, this year’s Google internship deadline is January 27th. So save the date. In case you need the application link, here it is. Make sure you apply using Google’s official link rather than 3rd party sources to avoid any chance of applying to the wrong job id.

Although I would never advise anyone to apply to any role close to the deadline, if you do need the time and attention to polish your resume and portfolio before or right after the new year, please take the time to have everything reviewed before applying. (Especially your resume, we will talk more about why for Google particularly a good resume is ultra crucial, more than other big tech companies in the next section.)

From this deadline date, we can conclude the recruitment timeline for the summer of 2023 falls roughly within the same time frame as the previous years. Meaning so far, it seems that the UX internship hiring has not been affected by the recent hiring freeze and economic downturn.

Google has also been doing a lot of hiring recently, recently I've coached a student for an L4 role for Google’s AR interaction designer, and is currently coaching another general mid—senior level hire for early January.

I’ve spoken with a campus staffing partner through our UXGO network at Google. Although she can not disclose the specific headcount, she mentioned as a student all you need to know is for this year you have just as good of a chance to intern at Google compared to any other cycle. So don’t let the extra noise in the news about economic downturns or tech layoffs distract you.

Her advice was to focus on your individual application and reach out to your mentors/advisors/or industry experts to polish everything best you can because her recruitment team works hard to carefully review all applications, even though there are hundreds and thousands of applicants that go through her every year.

However, just like any other role, a good rule of thumb is if your application (Resume + portfolio) is ready and reviewed, always apply early. Do not apply close to the deadline.

If you want to find and apply to some other cool UX intern roles while you are at it, you can find a full up to date & free job board on the UXGO website with great 2023 UX intern opportunities from companies like Walmart, Oracle, Drop Box, all interviewing in a similar timeline to Google.

What is the new 2023 interview process, and what is team matching?

With the current timeline from Google, as an applicant, you can expect your interview process to start from the end of February to the beginning of March. The interview period usually lasts two weeks. You can expect your offers to be sent out within a week of your final round if you got an offer, this was the case for all 3 of the students I coached for the 2022 UX intern role.

The “so-called onsite” is long gone after Covid, Here is what you can prepare and expect for the interview process:

Behavioral/Kind of technical Questions + slide presentation+ whiteboard + team match interview with the hiring manager. (This is the internship interview format in 2022, most likely there will be no changes in 2023)

One quick note, your “first round” could be what we call the phone screen.

(With UX interns at Google this is 99% times skipped. Usually, for internships, you just sign an NDA and confirm your info, all done directly with the recruiter via email. Aka you get moved on to interviews with UX designers directly after your basic info is confirmed. However, I want to quickly explain what you can expect from a recruiter's phone screen since this is quite common for other UX intern hiring.)

Phone screenings with recruiters are generally very easy and not technical at all. Just make sure you are familiar with your resume, and ready to talk more about those experiences if asked. You should also have a great intro/elevator pitch ready, the trick here is do not over prep it. If you spend 5m giving an intro it is very annoying for the recruiter.

So overall just be excited to share your passion of UX whenever needed. Remember most screening interviews are just to confirm basic information with you such as work visa, education graduation date, etc.

Moving on to the next step, screening with UX designers.

This is much harder, and definitely something you want to prepare and practice for. Even though for Google 2023 UX internships, you don't have a real “Behavior round” but a presentation & whiteboarding interviews first, you should practice and get good at UX “behavioral questions”. Because it is important to note is there isn't a real difference in UX interviews between technical and behavioral questions, so they are often mixed.

Let me explain, questions like “tell me about your design process” and “tell me a time when you handled negative feedback” are often asked in the same session and could be a follow-up question for your presentation. So do not try to draw a line between preparing for behavioral vs technical.

So the tip is regardless of the question or interview structure you should always follow a good structure and framework when answering questions such as STAR or PAR (PAR is the one I like to teach to my students since it’s easier to control the time and be more straight to the point)

Preparing good stories with great examples for these behavioral/technical questions is extremely important for Google because that is your final round which is the team match call, aka your last step before receiving an offer.

What is this team match process?

This is where Google treats interns, like their full-time hires and matches you to a specific team. (Most other UX intern interviews do not have this step.)

In simple terms, after you pass your screenings, slide presentations, and whiteboarding (which we will cover in-depth at the next section.) Google will put you into their system for each hiring manager to view.

This has been the case since forever with Google, you can see in the screenshot below, it was even the case for me many years ago.

This is why in the first section, I shared the tip to spend extra time reviewing your resume, since hiring managers will be taking a look at it again at this step to decide which candidates (that already passed the early rounds of interviews) they would like to bring to their team.

My advice is be sure to highlight your personality and niche in your UX interests. Whether it is wearable, AR, payment, b2b, cloud, ai, ML, showing characteristics makes specific hiring managers working on those teams willing and eager to meet you. For reference last year our three UXGO students went to wearable, internal, and google cloud teams respectively.

This process can work out in your favor if you end up being a very strong applicant as seen in my own example, where it is possible to be matched with multiple teams, which gives you multiple chances at getting an offer!

However, that just means is it possible to have passed all the interviews and receive no team match! Yes, it is possible and does happen often each year, which really sucks. So be a unique applicant that has great UX fundamentals!

What is the new Whiteboard interview process, so how can I prepare?

The biggest change in the interview process in recent years starting in 2022 is the design challenge officially has been replaced by a whiteboarding exercise.

Personally, I think this is a great change since it makes the intern hiring process more similar to Google’s new grad/mid/senior interview process.

The previous design challenge was also really time-consuming and labor-intensive.

This change means two things:

1. You need to be great at whiteboarding obviously.
2. Instead of presenting your design challenge, you now need to share your own case studies and work in a classic slide interview.

Presenting a great slide deck and storytelling is in of another article for itself, here are a few tips from past articles you can take a look at, but if you want additional reviews or help, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I get tens of requests a day but I try to get back to all the students that reach out weekly.

Whiteboarding on the other hand can be tricky. Although there are lots of great videos and resources available online, being able to ace the whiteboard challenge is not about memorizing a formula. As someone whose done lots of whiteboarding now at both sides of the interview table as a design lead, being on time and process driven is the bare minimum we expect from an interviewee.

At the end of the day I love the whiteboarding challenge for any UX interview because its the best way to evaluate how good you are as a product designer.

For example, do you understand how to add constraints? Do you narrow the problem space? Do you think about business goals? Do you understand what we mean by solutions not recommendations?

A great whiteboard session requires the candidate to touch on all those points and beyond. For the sake of keeping this article short, here are two useful pieces of advice for you to apply in your practice.

1. Talk about the what if’s. For example, it may not be possible to do real uxr, or actually work with product owners in a 45m whiteboard demo. However, you can talk about, what you would do if you were actually working on this product in a real company setting. What data would you want to collect, and what timelines and constraints will you set?
2. Make your idea unique. Most inexperienced whiteboarding interviewees Ive coached even at a mid-level or senior level suffer from what I call generic ideas/solutions. Let’s say I ask you to “design a gift-picking app for stay-at-home users?”.
3. If your solution is not unique, it’s hard to impress others. How good of a solution do you think it will be if you show me an “Amazon clone?” So being able to narrow down to a more unique problem is extremely important. That is why always redefine your problem statement and create something outside of the box. For example when you brainstorm, what if your solution is an IOT? What if it does not have a screen? What if its voice is controlled? The solutions are endless, so do not go for a generic app unless you have a good reason for it.

How important are referrals and how should I approach them?

Based on my experience and the experience of my students, the truth is I do not personally think referrals are that crucial at an Intern hiring stage for FAANG companies like Meta, Google, or Amazon.

The reason is the referral process just requires you to essentially reach out to any Google employee and have them recommend you in third person, it does not have to be team or even UX-specific. This results to many students spending a lot of effort tracking these down, while in reality, from the data I’ve seen there has been no clear trend of referred candidates getting first “dibs” on anything over regular candidates. Our staffing partner at Google also addressed that a lot of the myths going on such as since there are thousands of applicants weekly, recruiters only look at referred candidates are simply just false.

This is something I can personally attest to as both me and the students I've coached never received any sort of referrals for Google’s UX intern roles and were able to get offers regardless.

“Why, do folks think as hiring teams we simply do not do our jobs properly?” This is a common response recruiter give when students ask them questions like do I have to have a referral to get an interview.

Therefore it is safe to conclude if you have to hunt down and spam random people on LinkedIn just to get a referral, that time is much better spent improving your resume.

The only right way I recommend my students to approach referrals is try to network with real Google designers and recruiters. If you can make great connections with recruiters, or better yet, real hiring managers, even if you do not get referred, you could learn a lot. So always approach it with an authentic networking mindset, not a silly, can you refer me through a link mindset.

Wishing everyone the best of luck!

Finally, I would just like to wish all my medium readers and students good luck for this year's hiring process at Google or any other companies you've applied to. I hope this article has been technical enough to offer you real insights without being too boring to read to the end. I know recruitment can be very stressful as a student, so always focus on improving yourself one step at a time!

If you would like to connect with me more, feel free to chat me up on LinkedIn. Have a great new year, everyone!

2023 Google UX Internship Application & Interview Tips (Timeline/Referral/Resume/Whiteboarding/FAQ… was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

UX Researchers are one of the most in-demand and thought-after jobs for students & UX enthusiasts in 2023. However, there continues to be a popular myth that you have to be a master's or PhD student from a competitive university studying HCI to even have a shot at the top FAANG companies.

So for today's article, I had the chance to chat with Jason, to bust that myth wide open.

Jason is the founder of the UXR department at UXGO, and is currently a UX Researcher part of a Web 3 video game company called Mythical Games.

Before that, Jason was deeply involved in the media and entertainment industry. The two companies he previously led UX research at were Disney+ and Google TV.

With that sort of track record, you might find it impossible to believe just 3–4 years ago, Jason was someone who studied communication at the University of Washington. (A major voted by many US students back in 2020 to be the most useless degree)

Not to mention, Jason graduated into a recession, the covid-19 recession. At the time, although passionate about UX, Jason had no UX experience or education and struggled to find employment.

That is why in this article Jason will help us answer these four questions below and share advice on how to be a successful self-made UX researcher.

1. How did you break into the industry with no experience or education?
2. How did you learn UXR on your own?
3. How did you deal with the struggles of rejection?
4. What are the qualities someone needs to be a self-made UXR?

1. How did you break into the industry with no experience or education?

So Jason, in what feels like a stressful recessionary environment nowadays, similar to what you went through back in 2019–2020, please share your story and advice with our readers. How were you able to turn the tables around and overcome what seemed like impossible odds?

Advice one: Admitting the struggle to become self-made.
The starting point of my career was definitely a struggle, especially for someone without a higher degree like Master’s or PhD. On top of that, I did not major in an HCI program at my school. During my junior year, I discovered UXR by taking an intro UXR course at the University of Washington. I immediately found it to be a field I wanted to pursue.

So rather than paying hefty amounts such as 10k for a boot camp, I took the initiative and I reached out to my professor to work on side projects outside of class.

So a big piece of advice from me is, If you want to succeed in the UX world, don't focus on learning the “theory”. UX is not coding, as much as those boot camps try to make you think it is, it's not. You can not learn what everyone else is learning and become a UXR. The theories they try to teach you, you could learn from a hands-on project led by a great mentor in a few months. That is why If you are someone who needs help, try to get high-quality 1:1 mentorship in whatever way you can, even if it's paid. That is something worth spending money on and investing in. Not theoretical knowledge or any certificates, because companies do not care about those at all, so why should you?

2. Advice two: Be willing to pay others to get work experience.

Jason, many folks might think, “what, pay others to let me work?” That is absurd. However, according to you that is another big reason why many self-made UX enthusiasts don't succeed. Nothing comes easy so is it true you need to be willing to put in the work without asking for a $bag up front?

Exactly, I can't agree more. My self-led project eventually led me to a start-up internship during my senior year summer.

Guess what? It was unpaid of course.

Did it feel good at the time? No it did not.

However, Looking back? I will say it was one of the best decisions that I made in college. In those three months of internship, I learned how to grow a business using research in a limited resource environment.

So if you are not sure where to start in your self-made career, reach out to me on LinkedIn, or reach out to a qualified industry mentor who would be willing to invest a few months of time to coach you hands-on with a case study. Then utilize all the technical and theoretical skills you learned from that project to help yourself get more practice with an unpaid intern or contractor role.

3. How did you deal with the struggles of rejection?

Something I bet many students can relate to is how there were many months of gruesome waiting and radio silence after applications. How did you deal with this Jason?

Advice three: trust the process and be patient for the right opportunity.
That stressful feeling is unavoidable I would say. So if you want to be a successful self-made UX Researcher, you need to be willing to consistently improve yourself without validation.

Consistency is key. Working on yourself, finding new mentors, networking, paying for coffee chats. There are many ways to improve yourself effectively.

Once again avoid cookie-cutter approaches like boot camps, my advice is if you plan to pay 10–15k, you might as well apply to a masters. This way you get much more networking and mentorship opportunities. Being able to learn from industry experts one on one is the most important way to keep your focus during a stressful time since folks like me know what you are going through, where it feels like all you are getting are rejections left and right.

It took me many months until I really had any opportunities, I was even unemployed at certain points. However, because I took that time to work with great mentors to consistently improve my portfolios & case studies, eventually when my opportunity came, I was ready.

My opportunity came in from Disney +. The consistency of self-improvement plus all the stories from my side projects and start-up work eventually helped me land the role as one of the first Associate UX Researchers at Disney+.

Too many self-made enthusiasts out there complain opportunity never arrives. The truth? They are just not ready for it when it does arrive, so they never even notice it.

4. What do UX Researchers need to be good at?

Very motivational Jason! So for our 4th topic, could you share some advice on what qualities does someone need to have to be a UXR, or what majors should they study in college?

Advice four: Don't talk yourself down because of your education.

That is why for my fourth piece of advice, I want you all to know UXR is a truly unique industry. We need people from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences to help us really understand our end users. The three keywords that come to mind when I think of a great researcher is someone that can build empathy, is analytical, and has self-confidence.

You might have heard of the first two words over and over so I will focus on why I chose self-confidence. Self-confidence is very important when sharing your work to stakeholders. You will learn that a huge part of your job as a researcher when you join the industry is advocating your insights. Helping stakeholders trust you will require data, but also self-confidence when presenting.

In reality, graduating with an HCI degree is the most beneficial, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from trying to break into the UXR industry because it didn’t stop me. Throughout my career, I have seen researchers come from English, Anthropology, Business, and Communication majors. I have seen and worked with researchers that didn’t come from a traditional background become managers and directors in big tech companies.

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to connect with me, or Jason here on Linkedin. We are always happy to chat & help you find your voice in the world of UX.

If you need more mentorship, coaching, customized 1:1 support on how to break into the UXR industry or would like a referral from our network on any UXR role, consider becoming a member on our UXGO platform below to get all the tailored industry learnings you may need.

How I went from unemployed to a self-made UXR @ Google & Disney with no UX education. was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Are you a new grad designer or UX enthusiast?

Well good news for you, despite all the recent economic downturns, Expedia is hiring a UX content designer! (Connect with us @ UXGO if you would like a referral)

However, If you are new to the world of UX? Maybe you haven’t really ever heard of Content Design. You might ask is it similar to UW writing? What are my responsibilities, and how do I get hired?

That is why today, I have partnered with an ex-coworker of mine Xinye, to help you understand what a UX Content Designer really is, and how you get hired as one at Expedia or other big tech companies.

Meet Xinye, who is one of the founding content designers on the Expedia maps team and a UX writing coach on our UXGO platform. Xinye, why don’t you quickly introduce yourself!

“Hey Leon’s readers! I’m Xinye, really happy to be featured here! I’m a content designer at Expedia Group. I’m also currently a graduate student studying UX and content strategy at the University of Washington in Seattle. When I’m not designing content, I’m also a passionate traveler and love exploring different cultures, languages, and food.”

In this article, Xinye will help us break down what content design is, how it shares its roots with other UX disciplines, and what qualifications does someone like you need to get hired as a Content Designer at Big Tech.

So Xinye, students often have this misconception that content design is very much like UX writing or copywriting, is that true?

Haha yes, I have heard this quite a few times. However, that would be an incorrect oversimplification, such as assuming UX designers are just folks who push pixels on Figma.

“Content design is heavily UX-focused, the only difference is you are approaching it from a Content first perspective.”

“Take a look at this example, below, how would you find your orders on Amazon?”

“You cant, because without content, aka text, UX design does not really work. Content is a huge part of UX design.”

Thanks for that quick intro into CX, so how did you get into the world of CD, what sort of preparations do students need?

In February 2020, I first learned about content design from a career workshop hosted by a UW alumna who then was a content designer at Expedia.

“At the time, I was finishing my undergraduate studies in Communications and International Studies at UW Seattle with a minor in Informatics (HCI), and was constantly anxious about my career path forward. “

“That workshop piqued my interest. I was fascinated by how human-centered the field of UX and content design is. I’m always passionate about improving humans’ lives in any shape or form.”

“So, out of curiosity, I started self-studying UX and content design through books, online resources, and virtual meetups during COVID, in addition to what I had learned through my minor.”

I see, so content design requires strong roots in UX, what happened next?

After learning the foundation of UX, I started to apply knowledge to hands-on projects.

“At the beginning of COVID outbreak, I attended a UX hackathon and my team designed an end-to-end experience for a digital COVID testing appointment system. “

“Due to the time constraint, we weren’t able to flesh out the voice and tone framework, different use cases, and edge cases for the experience. So, after the hackathon wrapped up, I spent more time upgrading the project in my spare time, sharpening the storytelling, and putting it together as my first portfolio project.”

“Later in my internship hunting process, this project helped me land my product content design internship at Bill.com, where I learned about content design in an organizational context and understood what the day-to-day collaboration and challenges are like as a content designer.”

So Xinye any recommendations on what degrees someone should have if they plan to pursue this route? What are companies like Expedia looking for?

Since content design is still a new, evolving discipline, there hasn’t been a content design or content strategy undergraduate major in the universities.

“Meaning companies like Expedia keep an open mind. Content designers, including me, come from a variety of academic backgrounds, such as English Literature, Marketing, and Journalism, to name a few. It doesn’t matter what you learn as a student. As long as you’re a problem solver, a storyteller, and a collaborative team player who can keep users in mind while designing content, I’m sure you can be an excellent content designer.”

What about skills, what are some qualities you need to have to be a CD?

Every content designer has their strong suits. There isn’t a comprehensive list of qualities that you need to have to be a content designer. However, from my experience as an entry-level content designer, I’d like to empathize 3 things that are important for UX, but are perhaps more crucial for CD:

1. Empathy:

“Empathy has been a buzzword in the UX industry, but I do think it’s essential. Being empathetic means you are a user advocate and are willing to understand users’ pain points and needs in depth. With the problem in mind, you then follow the design thinking process and keep iterating on the best solution for users.”

2. Research and data-driven

“Being research and data-driven also ties to being a user advocate. As a content designer, you learn about users’ needs and pain points from both qualitative and quantitative insights. Through these insights, you can figure out users’ mental models and the root cause of the problem, so you can design better content that makes the experience better. Also, research and data can back up your content recommendations, which means you can be more persuasive when communicating your design decisions with stakeholders.”

3. Storytelling

“Content design is all about connecting the dots across the experience. Designing a seamless narrative allows users to interact with your product the way you expect them to. If you’re designing an end-to-end experience, always think about what content or message a user needs at each touch point of the user journey and map out a blueprint to help you shape the story for your product or experience.”

Awesome, so let’s say if I am someone who feels like Content Design could be a great fit for me, what is the interview structure I should expect for a company like Expedia?

Similar to most UX design interviews, content design interviews start from a recruiter call to learning about your background, interests, and expectations.

“Be prepared to ask questions regarding the position. Then, if the recruiter thinks you are a fit for the role, they will pass your information to the hiring manager and schedule an interview. During the hiring manager interview, you’ll have the opportunity to share your past content design experience and impact. You’ll also be asked some typical behavioral questions, so make sure you have some examples ready.

“After the hiring manager interview, there will be a final panel presentation where you will share your 2–3 content design projects with 3–4 panelists.”

“ The panelists could be UX designers, content designers, or UX researchers. During the presentation, you’ll introduce yourself and drive the conversation.”

“You’ll have 20–30 minutes to present each project and make sure to leave some time at the end of each project for Q&A. The panelists are always curious to learn more about your approach, rationale, and thought process. Interviews are always a two-way process.”

“If you have questions about the company culture, how content design works at Expedia or anything, don’t hesitate to show your curiosity and ask questions. Our team is easygoing and amazing!”

Any other Interview advice for folks, and how would you recommend folks get help to maximize their chances?

“Other than just focusing on Storytelling & using the STAR frameworks when practicing, something that might not be intuitive for many job seekers is the networking and outreach you should do when applying for jobs and preparing for interviews.”

“For example, If you are not clear about a specific step of the interview process and the details of each round, always reach out to your recruiter and ask questions.

Your recruiter is rooting for you and wants you to succeed! If you land the position, it makes their job easier at the same time.”

Thank you so much for Sharing Xinye!

We hope to hear more industry insights about the unique world of content design from you soon.

If you need more mentorship, coaching, customized 1:1 support on how to break into the Content Design industry or would like a referral from me, you can consider reaching out to me directly on LinkedIn or becoming a member on our UXGO platform below to get all the tailored industry learnings you may need.

What is UX Content Design & How do I become a content designer at Expedia in 2023? was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hello, my name is Leon. I’m one of the youngest product design leads in big tech, and a UX educator dedicated to helping students jumpstart their UX careers.

No doubt, If you clicked on this article you’ve noticed, 2023 is going to be a stressful recruitment cycle.

From multiple hiring freezes from FAANG, big tech refusing to hand out return offers, and even potential layoffs right around the corner. In Game of Thrones terms “winter is coming”.

However, if you follow my advice in this article, there are actually still many opportunities for you to land an interview and secure yourself an offer. (even if you have no prior industry experience)

All it takes is more commitment and articulated planning, aka good goal setting.

When students or up-and-coming designers set “bad or inaccurate goals”, they will fail to meet their own expectations, such as applying to 50 companies but not landing a single interview.

This results in a strong sense of stress and feeling lost.

To combat this, you must set the “correct goals”. Correct goal setting includes both long-term goals and short-term goals. Goals must be broken down into concrete milestones.

In order to set these accurate goals, you need to give yourself a strong reality check through self-critiquing. What are your strength and weakness as an applicant? In other words, why would someone hire you?

Everyone will be very different. So understand who you are first, before setting your goals.

To better help you understand who you might be, I will share examples from three very different students I’ve coached through UXGO.

Victoria (Currently Interning at a fintech start-up)— Someone who is actively studying a UX-related program at a renounced college or university?

Yvette (Recently Joined Apple as an FTE)— Someone who has had previous work experience, freelancing for high-profile clients.

Ruchi (Just completed Amazon’s UX apprenticeship)— A stay-at-home mom transitioning industries, but has put in a lot of dedication and passion into UX with a unique journey to share.

So critique yourself, who are you, and what do you need to improve?

1. Have you actively studied a UX-related program at a renounced college or university?

Meet Victoria! Victoria’s goal was to work in big tech.

If you are like Victoria, you may attend RISD, or some other prestigious design school. This means with a strong resume and portfolio, through leveraging your academic background, you should be able to secure an interview at a FAANG company even with less industry experience than other candidates.

Therefore the first thing we worked on was to craft Victoria’s resume all over again alongside redesigning every case study structure on her portfolio website.

With these two steps completed, victoria can begin comfortably applying while building additional work experiences through an internship opportunity UXGO was able to reach out to her at a highly desirable fintech company called Nav.it.

The internship learning would then be vital for her to gain real industry experience working with her mentor, manager, PM, and engineers as she shipped out real product features impacting thousands of users.

Since it was hard for Victoria to find an internship until her resume and portfolios were optimized.

If Victoria were to skip the process, and not take set up the proper milestones, going straight to applying at big tech companies, her chances of landing an interview would be extremely low, which would greatly unmotivate her.

Therefore it was very important for us at UXGO to set these goals in this order for Victoria, so she would maximize her chances of landing that role in big tech, while not sacrificing the opportunities to build precious work experience by interning at a start-up.

2. Are you transitioning industries, having put in a lot of dedication and passion into UX with a unique journey to share?

Meet Ruchi, a stay-at-home mom. Ruchi reached out to me asking for help on securing an offer with an Amazon UX apprenticeship program.

A few months ago, I was able to help Ruchi, all the way from crafting her first application letter all the way to her final interviews for a unique apprenticeship program with Amazon.

Ruchi was extremely hardworking. However because of her circumstances in immigrating to the US alongside the responsibilities of raising a child, breaking into UX for Ruchi of course much more challenging compared to many of my other students. To her, all she had was her Bootcamp studies, which are highly looked down upon by most big tech companies, with no prior interview or UX work experience like Yvette, Ruchi felt like she was fighting against impossible odds.

So, I shared insights with her on what was needed from her to be an exceptional Amazon apprenticeship candidate. I broke down every industry topic she needed to learn in a systematic way, in relation to the Amazon leadership principles, and we tackled it one topic at a time.

I also told her to be proud of being a stay-at-home mom and weave that into her storytelling and presentation. That was what really stood out in one’s presentation because everyone is unique. Always be appreciative and leverage your life experience in UX interviews.

Being the ideal candidate doesn’t mean you are cookie-cutter. Instead, it means being exceptional in your most authentic and true-to-self fashion.

After two months of working together, Ruchi was able to secure her offer at the UX externship program at Amazon.

As you can tell from Ruchi’s experience, even if you come from an untraditional design background, there are still opportunities for you. You just need to know where to look, and how to work even harder than others.

3. Save your own time!

That is why — you have to be honest with yourself. If you ignore skills you lack because they are hard to improve upon, you are shooting yourself in the foot.

This is why I encourage you to save your precious time by working with the right mentor or coach.

Finding a mentor isn’t hard these days. However, I would strongly advise you to be highly selective, and think twice about using free services like ADP list.

Spending time with an inexperienced mentor could result in doing tons of busy work that isn’t your priority. Which significantly hinders you from landing your dream role within your time frame.

Again, time is your most valuable asset during a recruitment cycle — “free” often means that you will need to pay more.

Many schools offer great alumni mentors, which, if possible, you should definitely reach out and connect with. Try to look for qualified mentors with a successful track record who is fresh in the industry and share a similar journey with you.

If you still find it difficult to find a good mentor on your own, check out our UXGO platform, where you can find coaches like myself that offer 1:1 coaching sessions.

Thanks for reading! Work hard, I believe in you!

Remember, even with all the depressing news, not all hope is lost, if you know what needs to be done!

Four of my students recently received new grad interviews across a wide range of industries such as Splunk & Palantir, two B2B Data-driven companies, to RIOT & Epic Games, two of the best gaming companies out there.

Therefore, if you followed my advice in this article, there are actually still many opportunities for you to land an interview and secure yourself an offer. (even if you have no prior industry experience)

Make sure to take advantage of all free resources such as our 2023 Job board on UXGO.

You’ll be able to find the most up-to-date 2023 internships & new grad positions. Feel free to use this resource to plan ahead and keep applying to every position that interests you on this job board.

My name is Leon, and I’m always happy to chat! Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or check out our UXGO platform for more free resources and 1:1 coaching sessions.

How to secure your first UX Interview in the 2023 recession. was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Another year and another iPhone reveal for us to rave about. This year’s iPhone 14 has been quickly branded by the internet with the cone of shame. News articles and reviewers are hopping on the bandwagon claiming it has the “smallest” upgrade ever in apple history.

I am not here to tell you if you should upgrade your phone or not, what I am going to talk to you about is iPhone 14’s new stand-out feature, Dynamic Island, which I believe may change the world of UX as we know it.

Some have argued this is a shameless gimmick designed to hide the lackluster reveal, while others in the design world view it as the next renaissance in UX design.

So why is this “small UI update” polarizing the apple fan base and the UX world the way it is?

In this article, we will analyze dynamic island in-depth by answering these three questions below:

1. What is a dynamic island really?
2. Why is apple making it such a big deal?
3. Is this pattern the next big trend in UX design?

Through sharing projects and experiences from my own design career as a product design lead, I will help you determine if you think Dynamic Island is plain stupid, or the future of UX.

What is a dynamic island really?

Dynamic Island is just the term Apple coined for its new pill-shaped cutout at the top where your selfie camera used to be. See the image below for the difference.

If you take dynamic island at face value, it’s a “very insignificant change” in form & UI. It is not hard to understand why dynamic island instantly attracted so much hate from apple fans, designers, or even regular iPhone users.

Looking at just the image above, to most users, it's just a slight change in the form design. iPhone has done this a few times, such as going from rounded corners to squared-off corners, or removing headphone jacks, and switching up chargers.

How is it a “UI update” then?

Well, that's where the second part of hate comes from, with IOS 16 Dynamic island is a new form of notification and area of interaction for its users.

For instance, when using Apple Maps for navigation, you can tap on the Dynamic Island for an update on your navigation instructions.

The Dynamic Island can also show things like album art for content in the Music app, controls for FaceTime, specific background activities, and more.

Let’s hear what apple has to say about it themselves: “The Dynamic Island enables new ways to interact with iPhone, featuring a design that blends the line between hardware and software, adapting in real-time to show important alerts, notifications, and activities.”

“Really that’s it?” Feels extremely underwhelming you might say.

Perhaps. However before you make up your mind and throw Dynamic Island under the bus, I want to highlight one very important line for you.

“Featuring a design that blends the line between hardware and software.”

This concept of blending physical form & digital form is exactly why Apple has placed such an emphasis on Dynamic Island throughout the reveal, and why it's gonna reshape UX design in 2023.

Why is apple making Dynamic Island such a big deal?

It’s no surprise that many trends in today’s UX world are set by Apple’s design reveals, from OS patterns like dark mode to the current widespread use of emoji-style characters.

Before the official reveal, I've already heard some leaks from inside sources sharing this feature and calling it the “double bubble” which to me is a way cooler name than The Dynamic Island, but Im not the CEO of apple so what do I know.

However, to my surprise, I didn't expect just how big of a spotlight Apple would give this “double bubble feature”.

To me, without a doubt, Dynamic Island with all its interactivity between hardware and software deserved the spotlight.

What is an example of interactivity between hardware and software?

Smart home IOT products are usually a great place to look, take Ring doorbell, Alexa, and Google Nest as examples.

The Ring doorbell has a big camera on it to show videos on your app. Alexa is designed physically as a speaker because its core interaction method with its user is a VUI pattern. These are easy for us to understand, so let's look at Google Nest, the more interesting of the three.

On paper, the Nest is just a thermostat, so it could be in any shape or form. However, the design agency Bould design created an amazing product by choosing its now signature dial display.

A dial takes advantage of our mental model to turn knobs to control temperate. Think about it, this UX pattern is everywhere. When you cook, you twist a knob to control the heat right?

When people break this pattern, such as a Tesla forcing you to control the AC through the touch screen, the experience sucks. (Especially when you are mid-driving, take a look below.)

That is why even in Audi’s futuristic electric concept car, the Grand Sphere, Audi designers have intentionally kept temperature dials when they have an ultra-minimal design language.

Therefore we can conclude these three IOT examples are good designs because the physical and digital forms work in synchrony to deliver an experience that feels natural to the user's mental model.

The result of a natural mental model leads to more intuitive behavior, which translates to a more convenient and pleasant user experience. My definition of good UX design.

In the past, Apple’s vision and solution has always been, to keep making a bigger screen. Is the home button in the way? Let us remove the home button completely.

However, that doesn't always work. You can't just remove the selfie camera, you need it. Yet for every generation the issue remains, there is an odd widget taking up the center of your screen, the only reason it exists, is because it has to exist for the hardware, not because anyone wants it to exist.

If you’ve done any IOS mockups you know this, because you always intentionally leave that area blank and move content around it carefully.

Apple’s Dynamic Island is the first time Apple is addressing this problem from a UX perspective rather than taking a cheap way out. With Dynamic Island, Apple is not only embracing the fact that this widget needs to exist, but it's leaning into the hardware limitations, rather than away from it, to make a better software experience.

What used to be the area that is always blocking designers to create any UI interactions, now enables you to create the most unique UI interactions and design patterns. Sure currently all of the patterns are to enable users to multitask more efficiently, such as having music, a phone call, or map directions populate the Dynamic Island area, which sounds quite mundane.

However, on a high level, this means Dynamic Island’s small flexible area now provides a steady flow of information on what’s happening with your device, no matter what is on your screen.

Now you do not need to switch back and forth between apps all the time. This means essentially Dynamic Island enables you to browse multiple tabs on the same screen as if you had a mini dual monitor display. What used to be only achievable on a large display, is now possible on a mobile phone.

Small increased accessibilities like these work wonder in UX design, such as the famous infinite scroll down, perfected by TikTok.

With more IOS apps and products bound to support this pattern, Dynamic Island's capability will no doubt scale beyond these simple improvements.

To the larger UX world, in an age where attention from users is so limited, I believe this pattern will lead the way for all digital products to re-evaluate how they could better blend the UX interactions with their physical counterparts in more creative ways.

Is this pattern the next big trend in UX design

Now naturally I am a bit biased towards Dynamic Island not only because I am a big apple fan, but because I design for the interactivity between hardware and software on a daily bases.

For context, when I was the product design lead at Godaddy, I lead the design of its smart terminal POS systems. I’ve had the unique chance to drive product features by leading a close collaboration between hardware engineers, industrial designers, developers, and other UX designers.

During my work, I've had the chance to collaborate with the extremely talented designers from the Bould design’s agency (The same team behind Goggle Nest) on designing our POS machine.

Instead of needing to constantly flip a screen back and forth like Clover, we created a sleeker portable POS device that uses a dual-screen design to offer more convenience for merchants and customers alike.

The challenge, of course, is to always design for two screens showing at once. In a way very similar to Dynamic Island’s concept of overlaying information for more accessibility, but in our case for different users.

In the commerce world, convenience means speed, and speed is king. A 10% faster transaction speed per customer could end up making the difference of millions of dollars in revenue for certain clients.

However, even as the design lead, more often than not, with all the demanding deadlines and requirements from different stakeholders and partners, it's hard to spend more time perfecting the product from both a UX and Physical standpoint beyond our given scope.

Payment is a complicated world to design for. With different legal certifications and requirements, more often than not like the old iPhone designs, hardware requirements and UX requirements end up clashing, from said requirements, rather than blending into something better.

That is why I think Dynamic Island is a wonderful inspiration for all of us UX designers. Whenever possible in our projects, we all should start thinking about creative UX solutions to leverage our limitations as solutions if we hope to create the “perfect product”.

That is why the iPhone 14, is in my opinion the first time Apple has created the “perfect iPhone”.

It is perfect, not because there isn't further room to improve or iterate, but because everything is finally there for a purpose. To deliver the most convenient and pleasant user experience.

Thanks for reading!

So what do you think? Still plain stupid, or is there brilliance in the madness? Let me know in the comments below, thanks for reading.

My name is Leon, and I’m always happy to chat! Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or check out our UXGO platform for more UX resources.

Is the iPhone 14’s new Dynamic Island plain stupid or the next revolutionary UX pattern? was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.