Junior
Months passed since this pandemic but the damage remains. As businesses are starting to collapse and employment is going in a downward direction. Things around us are not getting any better and permanent solutions are far from reality. If you are a junior UX design looking for opportunities things might be a blur for you. But don’t worry we will help you overcome this phase through this article.
As a young UX designer, you might feel disappointed. Countless of submitting so many applications and still no response. The fast-growing competition as well as the scarcity of jobs contribute to the crisis of the job market during the COVID-19 crisis.
Let’s talk more about the hard truths that current UX juniors faced.
In a normal situation, there are about 46 applications for a UX job in Germany alone on average. With the increasing number of applicants every day, you can’t just rely on luck. Everyone wants to be in and sadly there’s only a position available.
This made a lot of impacts not only on junior hopefuls but also on everyone in this field. With no permanent solution or ending date, all businesses are also on the edge which freezes the block of the hiring pipeline.
Though it’s not good news to everyone, this reality will help you ease your mind that there’s nothing wrong with your application.
Here’s the biggest burden to all junior aspirants, increasingly more seniors apply for junior positions in the middle of this global pandemic.
What would you do as a hiring manager? You have two applicants: one is talented; one has years of experience.
Previously we wrote an article about the common characteristics between seniors and juniors. Read it here
SENIOR UX DESIGNER VS JUNIOR UX DESIGNER
Every UX designer has gone through this phase before and during the pandemic. But the current pandemic makes it even harder for everyone.
Acknowledging these hard truths will give you a new light on how to step up with your application.
Now is not the time to just sit around and wait for a miracle. That’s not how it works especially during this time where everyone is also of the same race as you. Instead, you need to gain hard-earned experiences and improve your craft and most of all the quality of your work.
We know what you’re thinking at this time of the pandemic where do you find and get those hard-earned experiences?
You’ll be surprised to know that there are a lot of ways not just to get experiences but also to improve your craft and quality of work.
Not only do you get to experience a real-life environment but you also learn from other peers in the team. Two birds one stone. If you do well and learn fast, the chances you might get a permanent job is high.
There is a lot of freelance and part-time jobs that you can find on online hiring jobs platforms like Upwork. This is also a great way to up your skills by working on different projects.
Fun fact: Behrad —the founder of Bonanza Design — freelanced online for the first year of his career bidding on projects as low as 5$/hour.
Dribbble is a competitive platform for designers to showcase their designs. Invite yourself to a 90-day challenge through which you publish a design every day. At the end of the quest, you’ll be a totally different designer. Believe us!
There are a lot of online platforms that you can use to connect with other designers. Aside from that, there are communities that you can enjoy a talk and relate to. Dive into the Slack communities, Linkedin, and Facebook groups. Share your thoughts, expose your processes, and learn from peers.
They’re plenty of online courses that are excellent for learning about user-centric design. There is no excuse to not do one. You can go as far as doing as many as you can, remember learning is key.
Here in Bonanza Design every month we hold a free webinar or online workshop that can help you with improving your skills. From design thinking to UX design we are giving all of our best practices for free. If you want to avail of one check our workshop schedule here Design Thinking and Innovation – Only Workshops
Self-discipline is not only important to conduct your work but it also helps you during the process of finding a new job. Self-discipline helps you to become an unstoppable force of energy to reach the greatest level in your life. If you want to become successful in life, the first thing you need to do is discipline yourself.
Enjoy a good and quiet morning by meditating rather than pressing yourself sending those applications. Then take time to study, improve your skills. Only focus on your design skills. If you are a night person, then take advantage of the night.
Start sending your application and communicate with companies in the afternoon around 15:00 to 18:00. In the morning everyone gets busy with their own tasks, so it’s more likely that your application will be fully attended to in the afternoon.
After the long day, most of us would jump right away to our couch and enjoy Netflix. Netflix can make you lazy. Passive watching is not great for you especially as a creative. Limit your Netflix consumption and instead read a book or learn more about science, culture, and design.
Trust us this will help you a lot in a long way especially when you will be talking to a lot of people during your application process.
The primary factor behind a successful person is her level of dedication. This signifies her commitment to achieving objectives and life goals. Thus, dedication implies total devotion.
If you set up an objective for yourself, try to do your best to meet it in any way possible.
Quick money makes you comfortable and fills you up with hesitation and irresolution. Resist doing other jobs that give you quick money, focus on your long term goal. Believe in yourself. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Mastering your craft takes time, a lot of time, and practice so just accept that your designs now are not as good as what they will be that’s why you should only spend your time on developing your craft.
Hopefully, this article helps you ease your worries during these uncertain times. We at Bonanza Design are very active in the design community helping everyone get the support they need.
Check our meetup community and keep up with our new workshops Design Thinking and Innovation – Only Workshops
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