{"id":8552,"date":"2019-03-28T13:39:49","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=8552"},"modified":"2020-05-21T11:26:07","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T15:26:07","slug":"how-to-hire-a-great-ux-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/how-to-hire-a-great-ux-designer","title":{"rendered":"How to Hire a Great UX Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re a hiring manager, the odds are high that you are looking to hire a User Experience (UX) Designer now or in the very near future.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, 87 percent of managers <\/span>polled<\/span> by Adobe said that hiring UX Designers is their top priority, while 75 percent plan to double the number of UX Designers on their teams within the next five years.<\/span><\/p>\n

But finding the right UX Designer is hardly easy, and in a job market where talent is in high demand, you will want to be sure to go about the hiring process the right way. \u00a0Here are some tips on how to hire a great UX Designer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Icon\"<\/div>\n
\n

Become a UX Designer in just 12 weeks!<\/p>\n

BrainStation’s User Experience Diploma Program<\/a> is a full-time, 12-week program that equips professionals with the skills and experience to start a new career in design.<\/p>\n

Speak to a Learning Advisor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Consider the Timing<\/b><\/h3>\n

The above statistic about the sheer number of businesses looking to hire UX Designers tells us that many organizations didn\u2019t properly value user experience in the past, and they\u2019re understandably looking to correct that.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as you begin your search, some in the industry caution against the expectation that you can simply bring on a UX Designer and expect her or him to fix all your past products.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first (and very common) mistake that businesses make in executing a strong design strategy is to focus on building the product first, with the goal of having a Designer come in later to improve the user experience,\u201d <\/span>said<\/span> Jaimi Kercher<\/span>, Director of Customer Experience at <\/span>AppFolio<\/span>. \u201cBut design is a practice in much the same way product management or engineering is.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a Designer come in at the end of a project to \u2018polish\u2019 it is like hiring a Product Manager at the end to just work on market positioning for the product, or asking an engineer to \u2018just hook up the back end.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Decide What Kind of UX Designer you Want<\/b><\/h3>\n

Depending on your role, you might not even be sure what a UX Designer does. If that\u2019s the case, check out our primers on <\/span>UX Design<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>skills UX Designers need<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Google Ventures\u2019 Braden Kowitz <\/span>recommends<\/span> developing a skill list. He lists the following what he believes to be the most critical skills: research, product design, copywriting, interaction design, visual design, and UI development, while other skills \u2013 like coding, for instance \u2013 he doesn\u2019t see as crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mistake he says companies commonly make is to look for a candidate who possesses <\/span>all <\/span><\/i>of those skills \u2013 for instance, a junior Designer who can sketch wireframes, design mockups, craft the company\u2019s logo and brand, write UI copy, run usability studies, prototype, and write production-ready HTML and CSS.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I read a post like this I think, \u2018Great! There\u2019s a team that understands all the skills they\u2019ll need!\u2019 But I also think, \u2018They\u2019re looking for a unicorn \u2013 a magical Designer who can solve all their problems.\u2019 It\u2019s too bad unicorns don\u2019t exist,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, you will need to really prioritize and figure out which skills are essential to your organization and which might be \u201cnice-to-haves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you make some tough choices and pick the granular skills you need on your team, you\u2019ll be able to write a much better job listing,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll be better prepared to evaluate design candidates (you) interview.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Write a Killer Job Posting<\/b><\/h3>\n

To lure the right candidate \u2013 and make sure that your organization is a great mutual fit \u2013 you should be as specific as possible in the breakdown of your expectations and your candidate\u2019s duties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be clear on what their day-to-day tasks will be \u2013 for instance, prototyping, designing wireframes, or research. If you\u2019re looking for a UX Designer to work on a specific project or product \u2013 for example, if you\u2019re looking to improve your app\u2019s gestures \u2013 put that in the posting. Likewise, it\u2019s worth letting your candidates know if you have very specific goals or desired outcomes, such as increasing user retention by a certain percentage.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is also the time to boast about your culture and unique environment. Further, don\u2019t be afraid to have a bit of fun with your posting \u2013 UX Designers are creative people, and might appreciate a less-formal approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask the Right Questions<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ellen Twomey, the owner of <\/span>UX Simplified<\/span>, has <\/span>six-and-a-half questions<\/span><\/a> she recommends asking all UX Designer job candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

From a technical point of view, she recommends asking for an invisible problem that the candidate solved to improve user experience, how the candidate captures the product vision and displays it tangibly on the screen, what the candidate sees as the UX Designer\u2019s role, and what tools the candidate uses in her or his work.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, on that last question, she warns against being hung up on whether the Designer\u2019s preferred tools are the exact same that you use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf a Designer knows one tool and not another, this should not be a major factor in your decision to hire,\u201d she said. \u201cIf a UX Designer knows one wireframing tool, they will easily be able to pick up a different tool. There are very few exceptions to this rule.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to BrainStation\u2019s <\/span>2019 Digital Skills Survey<\/span><\/a>, 66.2 percent of UX Designers use Sketch for wireframing; so it might be worth asking to see one of the candidate\u2019s Sketch files and look for how well it\u2019s organized, if the layout elements are properly spaced, and how consistently the elements are named.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other good questions to consider asking your UX Designer include:<\/span><\/p>\n