Why I rejected 103 out of 106 junior designer job applications 🤯

What I will cover in this post

1️⃣ 3 things you SHOULD DO to increase your chance of getting an interview

2️⃣ I explain how you can do these things

3️⃣ 3 things you SHOULD NOT DO in your application (why some job applications were rejected)

4️⃣ I explain what you should do instead

Introduction

As you may know from my previous posts, we are looking for a Junior Product designer for our design team. I’ve had 106 applications for the Junior Product Designer role for my team. I have rejected 103 in stage 1 which is looking at their CV and portfolio.

So for this post I want to talk about a few patterns I saw from the applications we received and how you can make sure you do/don’t do certain things to increase your chances of getting to the interview stage.

I feel there are some small mistakes people are making which can easily be changed to improve your application! These changes aren’t drastic changes, some of them you can spend an extra doing and increase your chances of getting an interview.

3 Things you need to be doing

1. Read through the requirements of the job and highlight how you meet these requirements clearly

The first one surprised me as as it seemed like so many people just didn’t even read the job application, and this was clear from their CV. For example we were asking for designs to have experience using Figma and designers wrote Sketch as the tools they’ve used.

Even if you have only used Sketch, spend a week using Figma and creating some designs to get used to it, and then add Figma to your CV.

Remember: Don’t miss out important information assuming they will know you meet these requirements, as nobody assumes anything when going through an application. For example if this role was London based as it was a hybrid role with 2 days in the London office. However a lot of the applications had non UK phone numbers and they hadn’t added whether they would be able to work in the UK/travel to the office or not. Because remote jobs are so common now, this is something you will need to start to clarify on your application.

What to do:

Read the job application and modify your experiences using the same terminology. I am not saying to lie, just use the same wording to describes things you have already done as it will resonate with the hiring manager.

If there is something the job application specifically asks for, and you have that skills/experience - then highlight this clearly.

2. Do something different

What I found with the majority of these applications, especially those with bootcamps was they all seemed to be a replica of each other. Nothing stood out, every step in their process, their images and the way the described what they did was the same. Try and add your own touch to your portfolio. Do something which the bootcamp didn’t ask for.

What to do:

For example one thing you can do is get in touch with developers and ask them if they would look at what you’ve designed and give feedback on what is technically possible and what would be quick to build and what would take more time to build. Based on this you can do a redesign and document this process in your portfolio. This shows you are taking the technical considerations into account which many people miss. Be creative. Show some initiative.

3. Add a short personal bio

Adding a short bio which is a few sentences is a really nice touch. I was previous against doing this myself as I wanted to get straight to the facts in my CV, but for a junior role when there are more people applying, this is something that can help you stand out by making you sound more human to the reader.

What to do

Add a SHORT bio, make it light hearted, add skills mentioned in the job application and also add one sentence about you, what you enjoy, your hobbies, an achievement you’re proud of.

You can even add what you’re seeking (but make sure it aligns with what the company is offering in their job description). If you’re part of any groups, do any volunteering then add this too, as it shows me what you’re like as a person!

3 things you really should try to avoid doing

1. Don’t clutter your CV.

I know this is an easy one to do because you want to highlight so much. But you don’t have to make your CV fit on one page - it makes no difference to us if it is on two pages. It is better to have it on two pages and clearly structured with white space so I can read the information quickly and easily, rather than squashing all the content on one page and it becomes challenging to read.

Remember you want to me it easy for the user (the hiring manager) to scan your CV as they will only have a minute or so to read through it.

What to do:

Create a clear structure to your CV. Have clear titles with enough space in between each section. Have a clear grid - Google examples of how to do this. If you’re unsure how to do this, send me a message and I will send you some examples and help you structure your CV.

2. Don’t try to pull of your personal projects or non client projects as actual real life projects.

This can be really frustrating as I have to spend time to identify which projects were industry examples. Yes your case studies will show you know the design process and you are able to create beautiful screens, but there are challenges of real life projects that case studies don’t allow you to experience so I need to see if you have experienced this.

I understand that often you won’t have industry design experience but trying to hide this is a waste of time as we will find this out in the interview stage anyway so it’s a waste of your time and the hiring managers.

And remember some roles don’t mind that you don’t have industry experience - they just want to see your skill level so for them it is fine that you don’t have experience.

What to do:

Make it clear which projects are self initiated projects and which are client projects. Have a label, or add it to the introduction of the project.

3. Don’t show me the project you did at a boot camp as your main case study.

A lot of designers have gone to bootcamps to get their qualifications and develop their skills. And there is nothing wrong with this.. unless the only project you show me is the one you did at the bootcamp. Bootcamps provide a lot of support and guidance throughout the process so of course you will end up with a project at the end - but applying this to a project you did for yourself or a friend/family member is much more impressive. This will demonstrate that you are able to apply what you learnt outside of a classroom environment, and that you are able to motivate yourself to do a self initiated project.

What to do:

Ask your friends/family members if they require any help with any projects they may have, such as a small business website, an idea they had for an app, or pick your own project. Then take the skills you learnt and apply it to this new project and show us what went well and what didn’t go so well. This is much more insightful.

To sum up

Remember if you are trying to apply to jobs and aren’t hearing back, you need to treat your CV and portfolio as an experiment, you need to try different things and see the impact they have. Don’t keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

Get in contact with designers on LinkedIn or Instagram and ask them if they’re willing to review your CV or portfolio, or ask me. You’ll be surprised at how many people want to help.

Also get in contact with recruiters and ask them for feedback as they will see hundreds of applications and will tell you designers do when they do get interviews.

Good luck in your job search and I hope this helps someone!

A