Delusional by Design: Why Unhinged Ideas Lead to Creative Career Leaps— The Ultimate UX Job Search Playbook for Career Changers & New Grads
The ultimate UX job search playbook for every woman, POC, immigrant, or LGBTQ career changer or UX learner. In a tough job market, learn how to build a personal UX brand and stand out from the crowd when it comes to the UX job search.
Our proven system that helps UX career changers and new grads rebrand their past skillsets and education that makes Fortune 500 hiring managers and recruiters take notice…
“I’ve applied to 200 jobs and no one even replies. I’m starting to wonder if I wasted my time getting into UX.”
Sound familiar? We’ve all been there. As UX career changer it can be overwhelming to take in all the job search advice and consume all of the UX content online, still watching recruiters ghost you while everyone on LinkedIn seems to “magically” land their dream UX jobs.
The Struggle: Why Getting Your First UX Job Feels Impossible
Your daily job search struggle looked like this:
Sending out endless applications and getting zero responses
Wondering if your portfolio was “good enough” or just confusing recruiters
Getting ghosted after promising interviews
Feeling crushed seeing others get jobs while you stayed stuck
Wondering if switching to UX was a huge mistake
You might have already tried all the advice out there:
“Just network more on LinkedIn” (cold-DMing 50 people… nothing)
“Update your portfolio design” (you redesigned it 3 times and still got ghosted)
“Take another UX course” (you might have already spent thousands on your education)
“Do free projects for experience” (it just made you feel used)
“Apply to 100 more jobs” (you did — and still nothing)
Each rejection makes you feel smaller, and every ghosting email stung harder.
Our playbook will help you land six-figure UX jobs working for brands like Reddit,CVS,GE Aviation, and Verizon…
Its important to learn how to present your value as a UX designer.
Through trial, error, and hundreds of recruiter conversations, we’ve uncovered what actually gets entry-level designers and UX career changers noticed, even without experience.
According to a 2024 UX Research survey, 78% of hiring managers said most junior UX applicants and UX career changers “fail to tell a clear story of business impact.” They don’t care about “pretty wireframes.” They care about how your unique design process, how you communicate, and how you solve problems.
That insight changes everything. Stop focusing on “looking hire-able” and started communicating like a senior-level UX designer who solves business problems — even in how your present yourself in your portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn profile.
Introducing: the UX job search playbook by UX Woman, helping UX career changers land interviews with HP, Reddit, Nike, Google and more…
This isn’t another fluffy “networking” guide or generic resume template.
It’s a step-by-step system that helps you:
Get recruiter callbacks even with zero formal experience
Fix your portfolio story so it shows problem-solving impact (not just screens)
Use AI and UX strategy to personalize applications that stand out
Build LinkedIn visibility that attracts real recruiters
Interview with confidence and handle tricky UX hiring questions
After helping over 100+ aspiring UX designers replicate these results, I refined everything into one complete roadmap anyone can follow — even if nothing else has worked before.
Don’t just take my word for it…
The 4 Skills That Separate Hired Designers From The Ghosted Ones
Skill #1: Powerful Storytelling —
Hiring managers want to see how you think. Without story flow, your projects feel like homework.
(Without it, your case studies sound robotic and forgettable.)
Skill #3: Clear Tonality —
UX interviews aren’t about right answers; they’re about how you articulate your process.
(Without it, even talented designers get passed over.)
Skill #4: Job Search Actions —
You can’t just apply once and vanish. Visibility compounds — especially on LinkedIn.
(Without it, your applications disappear into the void.)
Skill #2: Personal Branding —
You don’t need years of experience — you need to show you understand business impact.
(Without it, recruiters can’t see your value beyond “junior.”)
Here’s Everything You Get With The UX Job Search Playbook
The Complete 100-Page Playbook:
Your full, proven roadmap to go from “no replies” to “multiple interviews.” You’ll learn how to identify your UX niche, fix your portfolio story, master recruiter outreach, and prep for interviews with confidence. Plus These 5 UX Career Bonuses:
Bonus #1: Create a Unique Career Path Based on Skillset
Consider transferrable skillsets and education to focus on 1-2 UX career paths, specializing in 1-2 industries based on expertise.
Bonus #2: Create a Plan to Break up from your Toxic Job
Consider UX hiring seasons, knowledge gaps, and UX portfolio building to break up with your current situation.
Bonus #3: Define your Design Process & Personal Brand
Learn to talk through the end to end design process with confidence, including your industry or educational expertise
Bonus #4: Define Business Impact for Your Case Studies
Define key impact metrics to show how you moved the needle in terms of work impact and business impact.
Bonus #6: Speak Like a Senior UX Designer in UX Interviews
Speak like the new brand that you’ve created for yourself on paper, talking like a Senior UX Designer in interviews.
Bonus #5: Rebrand Your UX Resume and Linkedin Profile
Rebrand your past education and work experience to consider transferrable skillsets and update your resume and LinkedIn profile.
Before and after the UX Job Search Playbook…
Before The UX Job Search Playbook:
Endless ghosting from job applications
Confusing portfolio feedback
Feeling like “UX is gatekept”
Applying for roles that don’t fit
Constant imposter syndrome
Believing you’re not “experienced enough”
After The UX Job Search Playbook:
Recruiters reaching out to you
Clear, confident portfolio storytelling
A repeatable job search system that works
Real interviews at companies like HP, Reddit, and Nike
Renewed confidence in your UX journey
Finally landing that first UX role
Your Transformation Path
-
→ Consider transferrable skillsets and your educational background
→ Find focus in 1-2 career paths and specialize in 1-2 industries to build a focused UX portfolio -
→ Work through the end to end design process on a UX topic that aligns with your UX portfolio focus and impresses hiring managers in the 1-2 industries you want to focus in.
→ Speak confidently about the design process. -
→ Create a UX resume, UX portfolio and LinkedIn profile that highlights your business impact.
→ Show don’t tell to reveal business impact with clever UX storytelling. -
→ Speak like how you look on paper.
→Talk about advanced UX skillsets like project scoping, product or feature scoping, business strategy, and design systems
Ready To Finally Get Results?
While other aspiring UX designers are still sending cold applications into the void, you’ll be attracting recruiters, landing real interviews, and finally stepping into your first UX role — with clarity and confidence.