How do I land a design job at a large company?
2 min readApr 8, 2022
One question I hear from designers is: “How do I get a design job at _______? I keep getting rejected. I must not be good enough.”
Here’s 7 simple truths that I always recommend about landing that job at a big tech company.
- Persistence & continual improvement pays off eventually. I was rejected from FAANGs at least 5 or 6x in my career before I got an offer or message from a recruiter. Persistence & continual improvement pays off eventually.
- At these companies, Impact is valued most: impact of your work on user engagement, the business, team processes, the roadmap, etc. Your case studies should spell this out.
- Most large design orgs freely share the format of their interview process and their expectations. Seek out & follow these guidelines because they usually reflect how you will be assessed.
- During behavioral interviews, ensure your answers follow the STAR method.
- Add personal touches to your portfolio & presentations. Tell them about your journey & unique POV. Talk about how your life & past jobs have shaped you. You’ll stand out.
- Don’t sit around waiting for a FAANG to call back. Create, build & share your best work. Eventually you’ll catch their attention. I didn’t get into Google/PayPal/etc. until I shipped things & did conference talks on better financial UX, something I’m passionate about.
- There’s plenty of compelling problems out there to solve! Don’t set your heart on big companies. Lots of interesting work at midsize cos. & startups that will help you hone your design/research/soft skills. Some of the most talented people I know work at small companies.
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