Essential Skills to Land a Job as a Ux Designer [Entry-Level, Medium, Senior]
UX design gains popularity as the IT industry grows. Employees with excellent UX designer skills are in high demand. This article will highlight the skills necessary to craft a winning resume and which accomplishments you need to enter the world of technology as a UX designer.
What Do Ux Designers Do?
If you are planning on becoming a UX designer, you should learn what this role implies. A UX designer is a generalist IT professional, and the main task of a UX designer is to create a logic of communication between a user and an application.
A UX designer takes care of the information architecture of an application, its visual look, and overall logic. There are plenty of job opportunities for UX designers, but each position implies different job duties.
UX Designer Technical Skills
An excellent UX designer should be technically educated and know the principles of application development and the practical implementation of these principles. UX designers are responsible for the product's success. Therefore, it should be impeccable. You may find the following skills in ux designer job requirements for different positions:
- Prototyping
- Visual and software design
- Research methods like quantitative data collection and audience analysis.
- Agile.
- Application development cycle.
These skills are broad categories where you may find specializations and master their different branches.
UX Designer Non-Technical Skills
A UX designer is a professional who has to manage the technical and non-technical sides of product development. This management style implies close communication with different company departments and the necessity to deal with multiple flows of information.
A UX designer needs several non-technical skills to do that efficiently. You may find such non-technical skills in different ux designer requirements:
- Team collaboration.
- Presentation skills.
- Prioritization and time management.
UX designers need to have a solid vision of a future application and the ability to present this vision to their colleagues.
The Most Relevant Skills for a Ux Designer
It is important to know not only what does a user experience designer do but how to present it in a resume also. The modern applicant tracking process heavily relies on automated programs. Many recruiters and recruiting firms use ATS bots to find the best UX designers for the project at hand.
You need to have at least some of these skills in your resume to land an interview or even a job as a UX designer:
- Team and Stakeholder Management.
- Communication
- Interpersonal skills.
- User Research and Strategy.
- Prototyping and Wireframing.
Team and Stakeholder Management
Team management is not a default part of the ux designer skill set. Yet, it is a vital component of one's qualification. Before developing a user function, a UX designer needs to make it clear to the team and stakeholders.
Usually, an organization that has an interest in an application does not know all nuances of software development. It is a UX designer's duty to explain how the program works. Team and stakeholder management skills are a strong point of any UX designer's resume, and you want to have them in yours.
Communication
While the primary user experience design skill is programming and visual design, communication stands right next to it. Application development is a risky business that involves many people. The ability to communicate with different departments during the development process is a vital soft skill for a UX designer.
Different environments require different approaches. Therefore, a UX designer's resume should have notes about successful communication between different teams, report writing, and visual presentations. The better you can convey your ideas to your colleagues, the more chances there are to succeed in your job search.
Interpersonal Skill
Yet, business communication and graphic design are not the only skills needed to be a ux designer. Interpersonal communication is another vital skill when it comes to interaction with users and team members.
Starting from the instructions in the application manuals and ending with planning for a future scrum run, interpersonal skills are critical for a UX designer. You should mention such skills in one way or another in your resume to increase your chances of landing an interview.
User Research and Strategy
Half of the finished product success comes from the preproduction phase. An excellent UX designer should know how to collect data on the feedback and analyze findings to deliver the best product possible. It is the core of skills for ux designer.
Research skills and strategic planning have different forms. If you know software for data collection or create the best questionnaires on the market, do not hesitate to mention it in your resume.
Prototyping and Wireframing
The ability to create efficient prototypes is one of the most relevant ux designer skills needed. Before going into a full development cycle, an application should be carefully planned. A rough Sketch of an application is where everything begins.
If you know the tools for preliminary designs and have the necessary skills - you should mention them in your resume too.
How to Improve Your UX Designer Skills?
The best answer to the question "how to improve UX designer skills?" is to apply for an actual position. The more practice you have, the higher your skills. However, a successful job search requires an ATS-optimized resume.
If you apply for a company for a position of a UX designer, there is a high chance that members of a hiring work team use an ATS bot to track applicants. To nail this applicant tracking process, you may apply for a professional resume writing service assistance.
Follow the Influencers in the Field.
Following the authorities in the field is another great way to improve your UX designer skills. There are many online resources and blogs that provide additional ux designer education. Any job position will appreciate the time and work you have put into your skills. Take a note of every significant achievement in the field in your resume to make you stand out among other candidates.
Blogs to follow:
- Career foundry. It is a ux designer blog that each specialist should visit. It has everything: from introductory materials to advanced techniques.
- UX Planet. A perfect blog for beginners in the UX field.
- UXPin. A blog dedicated to in-depth UX coding techniques.
Twitter Accounts:
- Steve Krug. A usability expert.
- Don Norman. An interactive design professional.
- Bill Buxton. A researcher in the field of UX design.
How To Showcase Your Skills
It is important to know how to be a user experience designer. The ability to show it to potential employers is equally important. You need to attract recruiters' attention by something more than the ability to complete tasks at the workplace.
The best way to do it is to tie your skills to certain accomplishments. Whether it is your experience section of a resume or qualifications, try to add something of value. This will serve as a strong background for your competence.
Ux Designer Skills in a Resume Skills Section
When it comes to filling the section of a resume with user experience designer skills, try to combine soft and hard skills that are relevant to the profession. Recruiters need to know that you are capable of fulfilling your primary responsibilities, as well as taking the initiative.
The best skills to mention in the respective section:
- Knowledge of the Adobe programs: Photoshop, Illustrator.
- Wireframing.
- Prototyping.
- User research and product testing.
- High-level presentation skills.
- Efficient time management and team communication.
- Front-end development (coding).
- Visual design.
How to Highlight Your Ux Designer Experience
Your ux designer qualifications are the main catch for a hiring manager. It is better to get professional help for your experience highlighting to achieve the best result. One of the best options is Skillhub's resume helper, which can polish your resume to perfection. The Skillhub service will emphasize your key abilities and make your resume desirable for potential employers.
Example of the experience section:
ABC Company, New York.
Senior UX designer
October 2016 - Present
- Contributed to the overall company profit growth. Has been promoted to senior UX designer.
- Due to my data collection and analytical techniques, I was able to improve users' satisfaction by 20%
- Created interactive designs for web pages and applications.
- Conducted UX research using low-fidelity prototypes.
To Sum Up
When it comes to amplifying UX designer skills, improvement and showcase matter. If you wish to get more interviews, our writing service will help you to highlight your best experiences, allowing you to engage with high-tier job positions.
Ensure that your resume is ATS-friendly and keep honing your UX designer skills. It would be best if you contributed equally to a UX designer's social and technical skills. Team management and impeccable design executions are the core of the UX designer specialization. In combination, these practices will provide you with impressive results.