Career

UI Design

UI Design Job Application Process – Simplified

The UI design job application process can feel overwhelming, especially with the increasing competition in the design industry. Whether you’re a recent graduate, transitioning from another field, or looking to level up your career, understanding how to navigate the job search efficiently is crucial.

In this guide, we will simplify the entire process—from understanding the job market and creating a standout portfolio to acing interviews and negotiating your salary. By following these steps, you’ll not only increase your chances of landing a UI design job but also gain confidence throughout the journey.

A person in a suit

Understanding the UI job market

When you’re in the UI design job application process, understanding the job market is crucial. It helps you tailor your skills, stand out from the competition, and land the role that’s right for you. Let’s break it down.

Types of design roles

The design field is diverse. That is why understanding the UI design job market and the different roles in it can help you decide which path aligns with your interests and skills.

Here’s a quick overview:

  • UX designers: Focus on user research, wireframing, and prototyping to improve usability.
  • UI designers: Refine the product’s visual appeal, ensuring it is consistent with branding.
  • Product designers: Oversee the entire design process, balancing user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.
  • Visual designers: Handle aesthetics beyond UI, including branding and marketing materials.
  • Motion designers: Create animations to enhance user interactions.
  • UX researchers: Gather insights to guide design decisions.
  • Content designers: Craft user-friendly content that complements the design.

Each role plays a part in creating a seamless, user-centered experience. If you want a deeper dive into the product design team roles, check out this blog.

Skills that hiring managers look for

Let’s face it: the UI design job market is competitive, which makes the UI design job application process daunting. With so many skilled designers out there, you’ll need to stand out by showcasing both technical and soft skills.

Here’s what hiring managers are looking for:

  1. Storytelling skills: being able to explain the “why” behind your design decisions adds depth and context to your work.
  2. User-centric mindset: understanding user needs through research and translating data into actionable insights is key.
  3. Full product lifecycle knowledge: designers who can contribute beyond visuals, like understanding business goals and technical constraints, are highly valued.
  4. Soft skills: communication, collaboration, and leadership are just as important as technical expertise. These skills help you excel in team settings and position you for leadership roles.
  5. AI tool mastery: learning how to use AI tools to automate repetitive tasks can free up your time for creativity and boost productivity.
  6. Master Figma: Figma is the industry-standard tool for UX and UI design, and a great design tool to learn because of its handoff features and export options that simplify the transition from design to code. If you want to master Figma, we have a course that was made with you in mind. It targets all your biggest struggles, concerns, and pitfalls and transforms you into a Figma ace! Let the Advanced Figma Video Course exceed your expectations of online design education.

Job market trends

Staying competitive means keeping up with industry trends and committing to continuous learning.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are in the beginning of the UI design job application process:

  • Remote work vs. in-office work both have their pros and cons. Figure out which style suits your lifestyle, and focus on opportunities that align with your preferences.
  • Freelancing can be awesome because of flexible working hours, location independence, and it can lead to great income if you’re good at it.
A paper-cut figure of a person carrying a rectangular block, standing next to four ascending wooden blocks topped with colorful rectangles, symbolizing progress or growth, against a purple background.

Knowing the market you’re applying for helps you tailor your skills, stand out, and secure the right role.

Creating a portfolio

Creating a portfolio is an important step in the UI design job application process. Let’s go through a few things you should keep in mind when creating your portfolio.

Recruiters are not only interested in a couple of screenshots of a finalized product. What makes a good product design portfolio is giving insights into the messy parts, such as research, challenges, and everything you had to overcome to deliver this shiny new design.

Your portfolio should showcase both the outcomes and the processes of your work. To highlight the importance of your portfolio, you have to realize that it is another design project in itself. It is as important as your previous work.

When you are presenting your work in your portfolio, make sure to include more than 1-2 screens or just the top of a landing/home page. Contrary to the belief of many beginner designers, a portfolio filled with 1-2 screens and tops of landing pages, unfortunately, won’t land you a job. ⁠

If you want to read more about what a good product design portfolio has to contain, you should check out this blog.

It’s also important to know that there are many great portfolio builders out there. You don’t need to be a coding wizard to create a beautiful portfolio website. With no-code portfolio builders, you can easily build an eye-catching one that showcases your creativity and skills.

Some of them are:

And remember, as with everything, you’ll get better at it the more you do it. Knowing how to iterate will come in handy for all your future projects, not just the UI design job application process!

Prepare your CV/Motivational letter

Uncertainty about what to include in your job applications, motivational letters, and emails is something familiar to all of us in the design world. You’re not alone!

Each and every job application requires time and dedication. The design job application is one of the most daunting experiences we go through. But we do have a simple solution for this. Save your time and energy for the fine-tuning that makes the difference!

All the most important situations you can find yourself in while job searching are covered by this one free product! Once you have access to this file, you will receive lifetime updates for all the templates.

If making your UI design job application process as seamless as possible sounds appealing, make sure to download the free Design Job Hunt Templates!

A close-up of a person handing over a printed resume during an interview, focusing on the resume while the person in the background is slightly blurred.

Preparing your CV/Motivational letter requires time and dedication.

Where to find UI jobs

You’ve perfected your application and now it’s time to find the right job. The good news is that UI job opportunities are all around us. You can search for jobs on general job boards but don’t forget to check out company websites, too! Many companies list their job openings on their own sites.

Here are some of the most popular job boards in 2025 for remote UX and UI work:

You can also engage in UI communities or by getting referrals. Another way to ease the UI design job application process and find UI jobs is to connect with other designers. Look for online communities such as Slack channels focused on UI design or on LinkedIn. Attending design events and meetups in your area is also a good idea.

Screenshot of Fiverr.

Acing the interview

Once you get an opportunity to attend an interview for the desired design position, the stress might rise. How to prepare for a design interview? What questions should you expect? 

Usually, there are a couple of phases in a design interview. First is the initial phone call with the recruiter. Following is a video call with their design team (if they have one). The third phase usually includes a video call with other stakeholders or an on-site interview.

How to prepare

Interviews are a big part of the UI design job application process. Before attending one, you should do your research and try to learn as much information about them as possible. The beginning of the interview serves as a self-introduction.

Since this is where you can create an impact, it is crucial to practice before the action. Your design portfolio is the most critical factor in this interview. So, you’ll have to invest time and dedication to polish it.

If you’re interested in more tips and tricks on preparation, make sure to go through our how to prepare for a design interview blog.

Design job interview questions

When you’re in the UI design job application process, you must familiarize yourself with the right questions to ensure you become the best candidate.

You can expect the interview questions to be:

  • Theoretically oriented
  • Questions about handling situations
  • Personality questions
  • Experience question

If you want to prepare for the design interview questions, we have a more detailed guide for you! Go through our UX/UI designer job interview questions blog and nail your next interview!

Things to ask in a design job interview

While it’s essential to prepare for questions you’ll get to answer during the interview, it’s equally important to prepare a list of things to ask in a product design job interview.

Asking relevant questions during a job interview can help you better understand the company, the role, and the design process, and can also help you determine if the job is a good fit for your skills and career goals.

You should ask about their design team, about their current design processes, and about the compensation and growth opportunities. Another topic to ask about is work-life balance and inclusivity.

For more detailed questions and topics to ask in a design interview, check out this blog post.

Navigating salary negotiations and offer acceptance

Salary negotiations can be tricky and are a huge part of the UI design job application process. It’s important to know your worth and be prepared to make a strong case for your salary. Research the market rate for your role and consider your skills, experience, and achievements. This will help you make a confident and informed argument for your desired salary. Remember to also consider benefits, vacation time, and other perks when evaluating an offer.

It’s also very important that you learn to recognize some red flags when in the UI design job application process, as they can point to a company’s unhealthy culture or practices.

Here’s a breakdown of common phrases and what they might actually mean about the company or role:

  1. “Strict, boomer-like job post” → Likely a strict, unfriendly work environment with little flexibility.
  2. “Able to work under pressure and in a fast-paced environment” → Potential for a toxic, high-stress workplace.
  3. “You’re a self-starter, able to set and achieve goals independently” → Poor management and little to no support or guidance.
  4. “Leadership skills for a non-leadership position” → More responsibility without the title or pay to match.
  5. “Looking for a junior in a company with no seniors of the same kind” → No mentorship, guidance, or opportunities for upskilling.
  6. “Withholding the salary budget when asked about it” → Unfair and unclear company culture.
  7. “Hiring a lot of people directly out of school” → Seeking a steady supply of inexperienced workers who may accept long hours, low pay, and potentially exploitative conditions.
  8. “A long list of skills from multiple disciplines” → Unclear expectations, or they’re looking for one person to fill multiple roles (hello, overwork!).
A man and a woman smiling and shaking hands in a modern office setting, symbolizing a successful job interview or business agreement.

Practicing for an interview is a great way to prepare for it.

What to do after landing the job?

Now that you are in the final part of the UI design job application process and you have landed the job you wanted (congratulations!), you might be wondering what to do in the first 30 days.

  • Make a plan to get to know people. Creating good working relationships is crucial in the first few weeks.
  • Ask lots of questions! You can ask about the state of the design, your team’s projects, your personal development plan, and since you’re new, they are already expecting these questions.
  • Set up your 30/60/90-day plan with your manager. Doing this is crucial as it will help you get settled in your new role and ensure you’re on the right path.
  • Work closely with your team and embrace feedback to refine your skills and contribute effectively.
  • Networking doesn’t stop once you get the job. Foster strong connections with colleagues and stakeholders to grow professionally.
  • Maintain a healthy work-life balance, set boundaries, and prioritize self-care. That way you’ll stay motivated and productive in the long run.

THE ULTIMATE UI Design Mastery Courses Bundle

Fast-track your path to UI design mastery and supercharge your career

Elevate your UI design skills and unleash your full design potential.
Confidently design stunning pixel-perfect web and app interfaces. Apply to higher-level design positions, enhance your portfolio, and impress your teammates and clients.

View Details

50+ hours

The UI design job application process requires a combination of strong design skills, strategic job hunting, and preparation for interviews and negotiations. By building an impressive portfolio, tailoring your resume, and leveraging job boards and networking, you’ll improve your chances of securing the right opportunity.

Remember, landing a job is just the beginning. Once you step into your new role, continue learning, collaborating, and refining your skills to grow as a designer. Stay persistent, embrace feedback, and keep up with industry trends to ensure long-term success in UI design.

Good luck with your job hunting! You’ve got this! 🥳

You might like the following
Blog Articles