Hey ChatGPT, how do I land a design role in 2023?

Have you ever wanted to write a screenplay about Han Solo falling in love with R2-D2? Or have you wished there was someone who could help you find a bug in a piece of code to save you from banging your head against a brick wall? Well, both of these things are now possible in a matter of seconds with ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot, developed by OpenAI, which has the potential to change our digital lives. Trained using textbooks, websites, and thousands of articles (PCGuide, 2023), ChatGPT uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to interact with humans who might ask it questions, or for help to complete tasks. It’s like a genie inside your laptop!

ChatGPT can write code, stories, or even a YouTube video script discussing why Pokemon Trading Cards are still popular. What excites me is the instantaneous advice it can give based on the millions of data points the AI chatbot is built on. With all its data and knowledge, let’s see what ChatGPT thinks the best steps are for landing a UX / UI Design Role in 2023.
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Build a strong design portfolio

The first piece of advice that ChatGPT generates is to develop a portfolio that demonstrates your skills, approach to solving different problems, and the projects that you’ve worked on. Saying you can do something on paper is one thing, but showing the world you can is another. If a recruiter or hiring manager can see evidence of the skills listed in your CV it quickly shows them that you could be a great fit for the role and makes it easier to put your name forward. Remember, your portfolio is like a store for your services. The more attractive you make the products in your store, the more likely it is that someone will purchase them.

When designing your portfolio, ChatGPT recommends you make sure that you demonstrate your ability to:

• Design for user needs (e.g. human-centred design)
• Your understanding of design principles
• That you understand industry and accessibility guidelines and standards.
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Learn & stay up to date with design tools

For people just starting on their design journey, learning popular tools, like Figma (my personal favourite), Sketch, Adobe XD, or InVision is vital to becoming a UX / UI Designer. Don’t believe ChatGPT? Jump on LinkedIn and look through the job ads for UX / UI Designers…you’ll be hard-pressed to find one that doesn't mention at least one of these tools.

Once you understand the basic principles of these tools, it's super important to stay up to date with all their latest product features. Tools available to designers are getting better and making our lives easier, such as Figma adding spellcheck in 2022, which was an absolute game-changer for me.

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Networking

Attending design events/conferences or joining online design communities to connect with industry professionals is super useful for developing as a designer. I’ve learnt new techniques, and ways of thinking and have been able to grow professionally by interacting with other designers in Discords, Sub-Reddits, Slack channels and on LinkedIn.

When you’re first starting, getting to know people in the industry is vital. This is how you’ll hear about job openings, be recommended for different opportunities, identify key people to follow, and grow your brand. As the old saying goes, it’s often more about who you know than what you know. To get the ball rolling here, check out Chimmy’s blog on the design conferences not to miss in 2023 here.

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Get Relevant Education

ChatGPT is right…without an understanding of the fundamental pillars that underpin UX / UI, it will be hard to land a design role. People going into this amazing space must understand the importance of concepts like human-centred design and accessibility standards and how to apply them.

If you’re reading this and wondering where you can learn this information (or anything related to UX / UI), Memorisely is the perfect place to start. Head over to Memorisely’s website and check out all of their available classes and bootcamps. Trust me, it's a life-changing decision.

While it's important to develop an understanding of UX / UI, it’s also useful to expand your knowledge into other closely related fields, such as Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design or Psychology. A better understanding of human behaviour, motivations, and how our brains work will only make you a better designer in the long run.

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Become flexible & adaptable

When first starting as a UX / UI Designer, or in any field for that matter, it’s important to remember that the first job you take most likely won’t be your dream job or at your dream company. Your first role (or maybe even the first few roles) is there to help you get the experience and connections you need to move towards that dream job or company.

In these early stages, it’s important to be open to different roles and industries, ranging from startups to larger, well-established companies. Don’t purely reject a job because it's not at Nintendo (who years later still hasn't responded to my emails). Evaluate each opportunity based on its own merits and think deeply about what you can learn from the experience. Try different things and see what you like. You must be continually adapting to new and emerging trends in the market. This includes things like keeping up with new technologies, such as ChatGPT, and the use of AI in our everyday lives and ways of working (such as remote working and the impact that has on collaboration). If you aren't able to adapt to the rest of the industry, you risk being left behind.

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Continue to learn. Always.

The final tip that ChatGPT gives is to keep learning. Adopting a growth mindset (see Carol Dweck’s work for more information on this) will allow you to continuously develop and help you stand out from the crowd. Keep up with industry trends and new developments in UX / UI by reading, attending workshops/webinars, taking online courses, and joining different design communities. The more strings that you can add to your bow, the more employable you’ll make yourself. There is almost always something new waiting to be learned that can help set you apart from the rest.

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Wrapping up

Regardless of whether you’re trying to get started as a UX / UI Designer or seeking a new challenge, landing a role can be tough. But these super practical steps from ChatGPT can help you move in the right direction. Embrace the challenge and put your best foot forward.

By the way....how awesome is ChatGPT? Check it out if you haven’t.

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