π 5. Findings of the week
Stop applying for jobs and what to do instead, get more UX interviews, usability heuristics explained...
Read time: 5 minutes.
Hi, how are you?
This week is very exciting for us because we have a hackathon tomorrow. As juniors, we are a little bit anxious because weβll be working in a team and it will be an opportunity to show my design skills (Mialy) and Michel will do the product management.
I feel like I don't even know what UX is but it's a good way to gain experience and get out of our comfort zone. Anyway, let's dive into our findings of the week!
You can join us on Twitter.
Break into UX π»
Stop applying for a job, maybe you should do this instead? π
Recently, we came across a very interesting podcast, Beyond UX, whose episode was "Stop applying, start connecting". If you're in the situation where you're sending out a lot of resumes, with no response, the author advises us to change your strategy.
To do this, he suggests building relationships rather than just applying. 85% of jobs are filled through networking (Source).
You can discover this episode here. And here are some more tips for networking (especially if you are an introverted like me)!
Tips to network as a junior UX designer
Where to network? Online (Your connections, the design community, design events, at your bootcamp, LinkedIn, Twitter)
Find people who have a similar experience to the one you are looking for.
Write a personalized message. The more personalized, the better. But remember to keep it direct and authentic. In this article, they give this example:
Be prepared with some questions.
Attention don't ask for a job, ask them about their experience. Not everyone will give you a job but they will help you improve.
Thank them for their time.
If you want to learn more, we invite you to read this article.
Get more UX interviews with the help of AI π»
If you are in the job search phase, you can practice with this tool that allows you to give advice on your resume, Dribbble or Behance profile. They also offer jobs with a percentage of matching with your profile.
A concept explained βοΈ
A way to measure a website usability: The 10 usability heuristics.
If you want to know if a website has a good usability or not, this tool is for you! You may have heard of Jacob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics, but what do they mean in practice?
Visibility of the system status: Users always need to know what is going on. To do this, you give them appropriate feedback.
Match between system and the real world: Instead of using complex words or jargon, speak the language of users. Use words, phrases and concepts that are familiar to them.
User Control and Freedom: Itβs very annoying to make a mistake and not be able to do anything about it. That's why you should always provide users with a clear way to "get out" of a situation created by an error. E.g: an undo button.
Consistency and Standards: You need to be consistent in your interface. Users don't have to guess if different words, situations or actions mean the same thing.
Error Prevention: Help users to avoid errors. E.g: add a warning message/a cancel button.
Recognition rather than recall: It is very difficult for people to remember certain information. So it is best to provide them with a series of information that will help them remember more easily.
Flexibility and Efficiency of use: The interface should be suitable for both experienced and inexperienced users. Give users the ability to speed up their use of the product. For example, add shortcuts.
Aesthetic and minimalist design: Donβt add irrelevant informations to your interface. Focus on the essentials.
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: When a user face an error, indicate it clearly and suggest a solution. Eg: use error message/red text.
Help and Documentation: It is best if your product doesnβt need to be explained. However, sometimes it can be helpful to provide some documentation to help users understand how to accomplish a task. Tip: Make sure that help documentation is easy to find.
If you want to discover in depth with concrete examplesπ
Cool tool for you β¨
#1 A template to help you with heuristic evaluation.
Heuristic evaluation is a good way to develop your eyes for UX and helps you to learn best practices. Here is a handy template that can help you easily perform a heuristic evaluation.
Weekly inspirations β‘οΈ
#1 Jonathanβs portfolio
This week we present you the portfolio of Jonathan Dharmadi, a product designer who works at Spotify. You can explore these case studies which are very interesting.
#2 Product selection
UX laws Chrome extension: a fun way to memorize UX laws?
Every time you open a new tab, it gives you a law. We added the extension and it's pretty cool. You can find it here.
Uxcel was very helpful to me when I discovered UX. If you don't know it yet, you should definitely check it out. I especially like the Arcade section where you can train your design eyes with the games they offer!
Juniorβs jobs
Europe π
Junior Learning Experience Designer β Deloitte University EMEA H/F
UX designer - Better Place LTD - Leeds UK
America π
Junior Ux Designer - Thinkktum, Canada
Asia π
UX Designer - Calin inc - Bahrein
UI/UX Designer - Computer future -Japan
Africa π
UI/UX Designer - Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy - Tanzanie
Digital UI/UX Designer - Summit Africa Recruitement Pty - South Africa
Thatβs all! Thank you for reading.
If you have a question, weβll answer it in the next newsletter. Feel free to ask it here.
And if you find this newsletter useful, you can share it to your people :)
See you on the next news,
Mialy and Michel