From 640 design candidates to 1 hire

The truth is that 50% of applicants didn’t meet the basic criteria, yet still applied. They go for every role, hoping to slip through the filters.

Let me tell you that straight. Only some will come through.

One caveat, though — who?

This is what I will try to explain to you.

Below you’ll find my recent hiring process — the clearout.

It’s my way of finding the right candidate for Tandem. It may differ from other hiring managers, but I needed to apply some methods to avoid getting crazy.

Please check those if you are looking for a UX/UI/Product Designer job. Perhaps you will never apply to work at Tandem, but some of my tips may help you to get through other processes.

As a side note, it was the first time I saw that the number of job applications and hiring previously did not have to be as brutal. Perhaps it’s a change in the market, perhaps something else.

Job description

We have published job adverts everywhere, on LinkedIn, Indeed, our website, etc. I specified certain rules I’ve been looking for in the ideal candidate. These were aligned with the type of designer I needed for my team.

A crucial first step for any applicant is carefully reading the job description. Surprisingly, 50% of applicants did not read the job description.

Essential

The points below were a few essential or must-have criteria I expected from candidates.

• You have documented 3+ years of experience with mobile app design.

• You can design research and do usability testing.

• You have worked on actual products, not only Bootcamp or side projects.

• You are a team player, a great communicator, and (I hate that word) passionate about what you do.

• Based in the UK with legal rights to work — it is a remote role, but you still have to live in the UK.

Desirable

Points below I treated as nice to have. Not necessarily required, but if the candidate presented these, they could gain extra points.

• Everybody knows Figma nowadays, so proficiency in it is an entry point. If you are mastering other design apps, you just get extra points.

• Understanding the UK financial market — we are the bank, and we provide financial products, so knowledge about finance is important.

That’s just an excerpt from the full list of requirements. However, I know now that in the future will need to provide more details and better specify who I’m looking for.

Elimination

Within a week, we received 640 job applications.

With that amount, I had to have some kind of filter in place. I could not spend 320 hours reviewing every single CV and portfolio alongside my day job.

So at this stage, my goal was to eliminate as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Brutal? Yes.

Pragmatic? Has to be.

In reality, that meant I rejected every single application that was in any way not meeting the criteria. That necessity works as a dual-sided sword. I scanned applications very quickly, looking for any reason to reject, eliminating obvious time wasters and mass applicants. Even the most talented designers could be overlooked if their application wasn’t well-presented.

But there is a method in the madness, and I had a system in place. I set up a few criteria I judged applications against.

Bad formatted CV

I was surprised by how many designers did not pay attention to their CVs. It seems like they treated that document like a side piece of note that nobody cares about. Well, it’s a history of your career on the page, so it does mean something.

It should be easy to scan, learn about the candidate, and ideally, to be remembered.

But there is one factor I paid huge attention to — I was hiring a designer. So if the candidate cannot design a simple document that is scannable and readable, that’s a reason to reject.

It tells me that they don’t care.

CV content

Once I can read the document, the content becomes important. And this is where I can see if the candidate read the job description. So if I said I needed someone with 3+ years of experience with mobile apps, that means I’m not hiring a freshly graduated junior. Yet I still got such applications, which, unfortunately, are a waste of my time.

Portfolio

At this stage, I check candidates' portfolios quickly. It’s not a proper analysis and case study read. It’s a quick check, and I’m looking for any signs that this is not what I want. I look for reasons to reject.

Application and portfolio red flags

CV formatting:

• Too small font: This creates accessibility issues and makes the CV difficult to read quickly.

• Too much content crammed onto the page (indicated by small font): Suggests a lack of clarity in communication and an inability to prioritise information.

• Justified text: That works in books and maybe magazines, but not on the screen. It’s a readability and accessibility issue.

• Poor presentation of dates, locations, and job titles: Makes it difficult to quickly scan and understand work history.

• Too low contrast: Another accessibility issue that makes reading difficult.

CV content:

• Lack of the expected minimum experience.

• Not based in the UK: It was specified in the job description that the candidate must be located in the UK.

• Profile description written by ChatGPT: Generic profile descriptions like those written by AI lack a personal touch.

• Too many details: As a UX designer, the candidate should care about the user and be able to adjust content for the reader or the situation.

• No link to the portfolio: I know links can be provided separately, but I download CVs, and then I don’t have time to search for the original application to find the link

Portfolio presentation:

• Dribbble-based portfolio: Dribbble was great for getting a tap on the shoulder from fellow designers and to polish one's own ego, but it’s not good for real job applications.

• Behance-based portfolio: Same story as dribbble, presentation made for other designers to earn brownie points.

• Figma-based portfolio: It’s easy to build a portfolio with the tool designers use all the time. However, the Figma prototype takes too long to load, and it may be difficult to navigate.

• Lack of password for locked portfolio: Often, designers lock their portfolio with passwords to protect work under NDA from the World. And that is a noble thing to do. Yet, when applying for the job, the applicant should share the password to the locked content.

• Difficult to navigate portfolio: You are selling yourself as a designer. Navigation, ease of use, and overall experience are crucial then.

• Only mockups of work without description: This may be enough to show potential clients how ‘pretty’ pixels you push. But for the job applications is not enough. I need to see your thinking and design process, and understand the problem and objectives to determine your role and involvement.

Following these points, I was able to clear out even 70% of applicants. It’s brutal but necessary. You may be an amazing designer, but if you fail to commit one of the above mistakes, you are out.

LinkedIn messages

Since we announced hiring, I have received hundreds of LinkedIn messages from random people either asking for more details on the job or informing me they have applied for it and are excited for the opportunity.

I guess somebody, somewhere, sometimes advised you that this is a good strategy to put yourself on the hiring manager’s radar. The truth is, LinkedIn is being abused by salespeople, headhunters, and agencies looking for a contract. It’s too much noise. So the majority of LinkedIn messages are being ignored.

I do ignore the majority of them.

Reasons not send LinkedIn messages to a hiring manager:

• First of all, at this stage, I have no idea who you are and will not remember your name.

• Secondly, I ignore the majority of messages on LinkedIn.

• Even if it happens, I open the LinkedIn app and check messages I don’t have time to read and respond to every single one.

• Finally, if you are asking for more details about the job offer, you are wasting my time. All details that matter are displayed in the job description. If you are not sure whether you want or should apply for this role, that means you probably don’t.

What to do instead:

Instead of direct messaging, focus on building a strong LinkedIn profile and engaging with relevant content. I tend to check LI profiles of candidates that I’m considering further, so I ensure it’s polished.

Round two

I was left with roughly 200 job applications after the elimination phase.

That was still way too many.

To eliminate this further, I spent a bit more time in candidates’ portfolios to see the quality of work, descriptions, and stories, to learn more about them.

To help justify the decision of who to reject, I use my points guide.

Points guide

I rate portfolios in 3 categories, with 0–2 points.

• Experience with real products: I check if the designer demonstrates work on actual products, not only boot camps or side projects. I’m looking to hire someone who has gone through the challenges of a project, dealing with stakeholders, pivots, and ups and downs. But mainly someone who solved a real user problem. Projects for dribbble, boot camps or side gigs do not carry that weight.

• Portfolio quality: I’m looking for more than just great visual design. I value storytelling, attention to detail, overall experience, readability, accessibility, and variety in projects. I want examples of mobile app design to be clear and impactful, with details explaining your role, the problem you were able to solve, business objectives, methods you have used to solve the problem, the outcome, and what you have learned.

• UX process knowledge: I’m expecting to see evidence of understanding and implementation of the iterative UX processes. I hope to read about the methodologies used and how they influence outcomes. If you faced any challenge from stakeholders and were able to use UX skills to deliver value, you could have extra brownie points.

Rating Scale:

0 = Not demonstrated

1 = Partially demonstrated

2 = Fully demonstrated

Points allocation

When browsing and analysing portfolios, I apply 0 to 2 points in each category and add them together to measure a sum. Designers scoring less than 4 points are rejected. Designers scoring 4+ out of 6 are shortlisted for the next round.

So in theory, you could not present a value in one out of 3 categories and still be considered further if you nailed two others.

Potential points

Sometimes, some designers may earn an extra “Potential Point”.

This is an extra point that I can add based on my purely personal opinion.

I have noticed that sometimes a designer can be missing some details in their portfolio, so for example could not get 5 points. But due to their work history, experience or any other factor, I can smell they have the potential to be special (using FIFA games terminology), and I will add a potential point to the tally.

To be clear — it’s purely my gut feeling. I may be wrong sometimes. But looking at my final interview list, I had 2 people with Potential Points. So it works.

Shortlist

I said that usually, designers scoring 4+ would go to the next round. However, due to the number of applications, I had to narrow down the final list and decided to keep only those candidates rated 5+. That gave me a list of 20 names for a phone screening.

Round three

Phone screening is done by my colleague from the People Team. She helped me to build the initial report of salary expectations, their current work situation, leaving notice, and also to identify people who would fit into our culture and become a great addition.

After comparing notes, we ended up with 12 names for the interview.

Pretty good number considering we began with 640.

Round four

If you asked me about my favourite way to interview, I’d say:

• in person

• out of office

I would be more than happy to meet potential candidates in a bar, restaurant, coffee shop, or go for a walk, anything that is not a Teams call.

The reason is that I love interacting with people and I’m a strong believer in human-to-human interaction. Only an in-person conversation can give me a full sense of the person.

And because I build a team, not just a bunch of individuals working together, human relationships are extremely important.

For example, I’d rather hire a person with a slightly lower set of skills but with a great personality, over an amazing designer with an ego through the roof, as I don’t like to work with dickheads.

Unfortunately, we work in a remote world, and people apply from all over the country, making those in-person meetings much more complex, time-consuming, and difficult to pull off.

My interview process

When it comes to interviews, I prefer a conversational approach, focusing on understanding the candidate’s personality and potential fit within the team.

I don’t usually follow the “UX design interview pattern”, for which you can find the most common questions and answers all over Medium.

I interview my way.

It’s a conversation between two adult human beings. I still try to find out what I need to know. But more important to me is to learn if someone I could be working with day in and day out has the potential to be a great asset to the team.

I have a list of 20 questions from which I choose a few to ask, but if I don’t ask some of them, that is fine too.

This approach has proven successful in building a strong and effective team.

Also, one of the people I have interviewed recently said it was the most interesting interview they had ever. Seems like I am doing something right then…

Round five

Final round of interviews.

Only those who made an amazing impression in round four will land in the final stage.

This is a team interview.

I invite the candidate to meet two of my senior designers for an hour. This is a chance to meet potential colleagues, but also a chance for the team to have a say in who they want to work with.

We have a structure for that call, which is dedicated to reviewing the chosen portfolio work, some ideation discussion and general conversation between all.

Ideally, I would hold it in person too, in the office, or the coffee shop or the bar, for that matter, but again remote work culture slightly put that in jeopardy.

Final discussion

After all interviews are done, we gather with my designers and do a round table discussion, summarising all interviews and all candidates to make a final call.

That person will be offered a job in my team.

Summary

Today, the designer’s role is not just a pixel pusher. You need to know how to sell yourself. You need to be able to tell interesting and compelling stories, talk with business language and be able to take a seat at the table when they invite you.

Ultimately, a successful application demonstrates not only design skills but also the potential to be a valuable and collaborative team member.

When applying for a job, you design the application for me, I’m your user. So do your homework, research, design and tell the story about yourself the best you can.

And maybe you will come through the clearout.