Start Writing Your Resume with the Header
As with all other resumes, your UX designer resume should also start with a header. In the header make sure to only add your name and contact information so that the hiring manager can find you.
CORRECTUX designer
oliver@gmail.com(293)627-8276
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverq
INCORRECT(293)627-8276
113 Alma Dr
Lumberton,
Texas(TX),
USA
Consider the following while writing your resume header section:
- Write your first name and last name.
- Add your current job title under your name.
- Make sure to sure your Email address (Do not use your office email).
- Add your mobile number.
- Include an updated link to your Linkedin profile or portfolio website.
- Do not add a mailing address if it’s not specifically asked in the job ad.
Add Your Experience as a UX Designer
Your experience as a UX designer would be the most important part that a hiring manager would concern about when making shortlisting decisions.
If you are a senior UX designer, we will show you how to add your years of experience to a single paper in a visually appealing format.
However, if you are applying for an entry-level UX designer position, don’t worry about your previous experiences – we will demonstrate how you can utilize your freelance and project experience to fill up the experience section effectively so that the hiring manager wouldn’t feel less about your profile.
Whether you are an experienced UX designer or an entry-level UX designer who’s trying to find an internship, we will walk you through the process of demonstrating your skills and experience in the most relevant form.
As most recruiters use an applicant tracking system to shortlist resumes, make sure to carry out your keyword research at the beginning before jumping straight into writing your experience section.
Example Experience Section for a Senior UX designer
INCORRECTAug 2016 - 2022
Senior UX designer
Quantum software solutions
- Created simple interactive interfaces.
- Conducted UX research.
- Created simple, initiative user interfaces.
- Obtained user data including analytics, task analysis, and participatory design techniques.
CORRECTAug 2019 to 2022
Senior UX designer
Quantum software solutions
- Promoted to senior UX Designer by focusing on user entry design principles, creating simple and effective user interfaces that contributed 100% to yearly growth.
- Monitored upcoming UX design trends and practiced integrating them into future projects.
- Managed a team of 7 designers and developers to handle a $3M project.
- Won the joint award for the best UI/UX design mobile app in 2019.
- Participated in design review meetings to brainstorm new UX developments using critical thinking.
- Resolved UX design problems through testing, iterating, and prioritizing development methods.
Example for an experience section for a UX designer with no experience
INCORRECTAug 2021 to Present
UX designer
Abacus technologies
- Developed user experience, personas, and scenarios.
- Created a community with UX promoting e-commerce conversion.
- Collected information about clients.
- Designed User experience for a dashboard with new interactions of users.
CORRECTAug 2021 to Present
Ux designer
Abacus technologies
- Developed user experience with scenarios that increased a 15% conversion in sales.
- Created a community of user experience designers including their social proof with e-commerce conversion.
- Utilized social media, marketing techniques, and e-commerce to provide monetized services across multiple platforms.
- Designed and developed a user dashboard to increase user experience, contributing to an average trust score of 4.5 to 4.9.
Being an entry-level UX designer, you should focus on demonstrating your technical skills along with the soft skills – time management, teamwork, and enthusiasm to learn new technologies would add value to your profile.
Make sure not to write a list of roles and responsibilities in your experience section – which is what most candidates do. Write a strong experience section by adding your achievements and accomplishments – use numbers wherever possible.
Start each sentence with a relevant power word such as developed, managed, carried out, planned, or designed.
Getting Recruiter's Attention with Your Previous Project Experiences
Projects are a part of every UX designer. You learn a number of skills when you plan, manage and execute a successful project.
So make sure to add your past project experiences, and talk about the goals, achievements, challenges, and the final results of them.
This section is very important for entry-level UX designers to fill out their experience sections. Because they most likely don't have any previous work experience in the industry – projects are going to be their experience.
Project example:CORRECT- Analyzed the daily productivity problems faced by people generally.
- Maximized the existing app to add more user-friendly features.
- Set the target achievements to increase efficiency by 7%.
- Provided a comprehensive report to the management with suggestions and an action plan.
Your Education as a UX Designer is Mandatory
Every hiring company expects UX designer candidates to have a good level of educational background. In most cases a Bachelor's degree in UX designing or IT would be preferred, If you possess a Master’s degree, that would be an advantage.
There are cases where your educational qualifications are transferable. For example, if you have a software engineering degree where you have a solid understanding of back-end development, that would be quite important in front-end design and development.
Other than your degree, you should also highlight your academic achievements, GPA, and chosen subjects relevant to the position.
You may add your education section just below your experience.
Education
Minor: UX Design
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Prototyping
- Visual design
- Information Architecture
GPA- 3.6/4
Dean’s list 2020
The List of Hard Skills and Soft Skills for UX Designers
During their education and work, UX designers develop a set of soft skills and hard skills which are very useful to become successful in their careers.
The technical skills you need will depend on the industry you work in and the type of platforms you optimize while the soft skills required would depend on the organization's culture and the position.
But how do I find the skills I should list on my resume?
Well, to do this, you will have to go through the UX designer job description you are applying for. Have a clear idea about the type of candidate they are looking for and the goal of the hire.
Soft skills: Soft skills are the personality traits that a candidate possesses.
Hard skills: Hard skills are the skills that you obtain through education and experience.
List about 4 -7 skills for both soft and hard skills.
Soft Skills for UX Designers
- Problem-solving
- Communication skills
- Organizational skills
- Teamwork
- Attention to details
- Leadership
- Interpersonal skills
- Analytical skills
- Time management
- Presentation skills
Hard Skills for UX Designers
There could be hundreds of hard skills that you have achieved during your education. However, be smart to add relevant hard skills required for the position you are applying for.
- Design thinking
- Decision mapping
- Prototyping
- Visual elements creation
- Design process development
- Basic frontend coding
- Wireframing
- Information Architecture
- Usability testing
- User testing
The UX Designer Resume Summary to Hook the Reader
Use a sales pitch at the beginning of your summary to hook the reader.
Yes, it works almost all the time.
Most hiring managers will read the first 2 - 3 lines of your resume summary. If you are capable of giving them a good impression at the beginning, then you can make them read your resume until the end.
Consider including key skills, experience, and expertise which is relevant to the position in your resume summary. Your hiring manager will understand if it's worth reading your resume at a glance.
Be careful not to add unnecessary information to waste your hiring manager's time. Try to include the most important information in a readable and time-saving manner. This way you have a higher chance of securing an interview.
The first sentence of your summary should include key skills, level of experience, and the reason you're interested in joining the company. You can add your experience and achievement in the second sentence of your summary.
Have a look at these examples 👇
CORRECTA dedicated and highly motivated UX designer with more than 8 years of experience in UX designing looking forward to utilizing my skills at TechGrip Designs for their brand new design project. In my previous job at 99X Designs, I was a senior UX designer managing more than 10 team members including developers, graphic designers, and junior UX designers.
INCORRECTI am looking for a job in a UX designing company. I have worked as a UX designer for more than 8 years. I am confident that I would be a great addition to any UX design team.
Add specific and relevant details in your summary. Use numbers or bullet points to add credibility and interest to your summary. Following are some example points you can include in your summary.
- The number of years of experience.
- The number of staff who worked under you.
- The number of projects you carried out or managed.
- The size of the projects you worked in.
- The names of the clients (if this information is not confidential).
If you are an entry-level candidate without any experience, you can write a resume objective summary to highlight your skills and to show your interest and passion for the particular industry.
Some other Sections You Can Include to Please the Hiring Manager
Why is it important to add additional sections when you can use the same information under the main heading?
- Hiring managers are more likely to pay attention to the small sections in the resumes.
- Your resume will look clean and easy to read when you have more subheadings rather than long sections.
Don’t just let your additional information section be irrelevant or useless. Choose the additional sections wisely. The following are some examples of additional sections that you could include in your UX resume:
- Extracurricular activities
- Computer skills and certifications
- Publications and patents
- Awards & recognitions
- Languages
- Hobbies
- Interests
Extracurricular activities
If you have any extracurricular activities which are relevant to your job, make sure you add them to your additional section. Once again, don’t add any irrelevant information to your resume.
Any volunteer work, sports you have participated in, or professional clubs you represent would be some ideal choices you can add here – these would demonstrate your leadership, communication, and team management skills.
Computer skills and certifications
As a UX designer, there are a number of in-demand certifications that you can add to your resume. Find out what certifications make you stand out from others. Follow online courses or examinations.
Some certifications of UX designers even require you to have a bachelor's degree as an entry qualification. Research and find out what suits the positions you are applying for.
The following are some examples,
CORRECT- Springboard UX Design Bootcamp.
- Google UX DesignCertificate
- General Assembly UX Design Immersive Certificate
- DesignLaB UX Academy
- CareerFoundry UX Design Program
- Flatiron School UX/ UI Design course.
- HTML, CSS, Javascript.
- Adobe Photoshop
- Video Editing
Having these certificates and relevant skills when applying for a UX designer job will add more value to your profile. Even though UX designers don't particularly code or edit videos, this will help your resume stand out from your competitors.
Publications and patents
If you have any publications or patents under your name. Make sure to include them in this section. Even though they are not directly related to your job, they will indicate your research skills, creativity, and other technical UX design skills.
Check out our ready-to-fill resume templates to put your additional information easily and arrange them in the most efficient way to save your resume space.
Awards & Recognitions
If you or your team received or was recommended for an industry award or recognition, that would be a great addition to your resume. Make sure you highlight such achievements with additional sections and indicate all relevant information about the achievement.
The team I represented (Wolfgang) received the award for the most outstanding UX design in the 2020 annual award ceremony, for an application we developed for an e-commerce brand in 2019.
Some tips to improve your UX designer resume
As we have discussed everything that you need to know to create a UX designer resume, here are some additional tips you can use to make your resume stand out from other candidates.
- No matter how good your English is, use a tool like Grammarly to proofread your resume.
- Do research about skill certifications required for your profession. Follow online courses and add these valuable certificates as a qualification to your resume.
- Make sure to take enough time to write your experience and professional summary sections.
- Tailor your resume according to the job position you are applying for.
- Write a cover letter to stand out from other candidates.
- Use a professional resume template to structure your resume with multiple columns.
Key Takeaways: Writing a Winning UX designer Resume
- Start your UX designer resume with a header. - Include your name and contact information.
- Write an eye-catching summary to hook the reader.
- Spend more time and find the most relevant points to add to your experience section.
- Use a consistent format to write your education section.
- Add a mix of soft skills and hard skills.
- Use additional sections to please your hiring manager.
Create a cover letter to send along with your resume
The cover letter would be the best tool you can use to talk directly with your manager before an interview.
Assume you are in an interview and the hiring manager is asking you their first question.
“Tell me briefly about yourself”
Make sure to answer this question using 3 to 4 paragraphs. Don’t make it too long, or too short. Just be clear and conscious about the facts you write.
Find out the reason why they are hiring. From the perspective of an employer, they are looking for someone to solve a specific problem. If you are able to convince them that you are already aware of it and you have what it takes to solve it, you will be ahead of many candidates.
In the second paragraph, briefly describe the way you solved similar problems in your previous work. Make sure to demonstrate them with examples.
In your last paragraph, add your key strengths, and skills. Also, include a call to action – Ask them for an interview and mention how immediately you could join.
FAQ
How to become a UX designer?
Different countries have different paths to becoming UX designers. However, in most countries, you will require a relevant bachelor’s degree or a recognized skill certification to become a UX designer. What is necessary to start as a UX designer would depend on the organization.
How to get my first UX designer job?
Getting your first UX designer job will be a little bit challenging. Even though there are a lot of UX designer job opportunities in the market, most of them are looking for experienced candidates to fill those positions.
As we discussed earlier this is where your resume comes into play. Even though you don’t have experience, write about the freelance work, projects, and internships to show the hiring manager that you have the required skills and expertise to handle the job.
Who do UX designers work with?
UX designers work closely with a number of professionals in a company. Project managers, developers, quality assurance engineers, graphic designers, and visual designers are some of them.
More often UX designers report to the product owner or VP of a product. In some companies, they report to their CTO (Chief Technical Officer) or Head of Design.
