How to Get More UX Job Interviews: 3 Product Management Principles to Apply to Your Job Search

In product development, we follow processes and apply principles and strategies because they provide us with the necessary knowledge to build the right things faster, or as close to the right thing as possible!

The candidates have to meet the needs and goals of _their users — _the UX recruiters, hiring managers, and everyone else involved in the interview process.

When this shift happens, everything comes together and candidates are able to articulate their skills and experience in a way that stands out and helps them get hired faster.

Instead of diagnosing the root problems in their job search, many UX professionals go into panic mode and keep applying because they don’t know what else to do. In fact, some UX bootcamps, education programs, and UX career coaches teach students to simply play the numbers game.

It is crucial you diagnose problems early and often so you can invest your precious and limited time on activities that will actually make a difference and help you stand out so you can get more job interviews and offers.

Equipped with the insight and information from diagnosing problems in your job search, a product manager would then help prioritize the changes a candidate like you may need to make. Many tasks related to your job search depend and build upon each other. That’s why it’s crucial to strategically prioritize what you do in your job search.

By having a clear plan for your job search and understanding the consequences of not following the plan, you will be more motivated to make progress and stop procrastinating.

In the actual job search, many UX professionals only track metrics such as the number of jobs applied to, interviews received and offers received. There are so many small steps candidates can take to help themselves stand out in the sea of applicants. Simple things such as sending a follow up after an interview or writing a cover letter can sometimes help interviewers, HR people, and hiring managers remember you. For every job you apply to, it can be helpful to track whether you did these activities as a way to hold yourself accountable.

To get hired faster, you need to pivot your UX job search and start thinking and acting and thinking like a product manager.

Too many UX and product people are stuck in roles that have left them in a skills plateau, at companies that don’t align with their values, and not earning the salaries they deserve.

Your future is created by what you do today.

Decide right here, right now, to have an honest conversation with yourself about your career.