How to Present Your UX Portfolio or Case Studies During Interviews
[2-day skillshop] Leverage the remarkable power of ChatGPT
Presenting your ux portfolio or case studies during an interview is your chance to shine and stand out from the crowd. It's not just about showcasing your design or research skills; it's about conveying your ability to think critically, solve complex problems, and communicate effectively.
Today, we'll dive into the art of showcasing your UX work in a way that leaves a lasting impact on your interviewers and gets you that coveted UX role.
"Presenting your UX portfolio is about narrating a compelling story about your journey as a UX professional, with each project serving as a chapter in your book of experiences."
Preparing Your UX Portfolio for Interviews: Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Organize and Simplify
Curate Your Best Work: Include your strongest projects that highlight your skills and experiences. For example, consider showcasing a project where you significantly improved user engagement or retention.
Showcase Your Process: Share your design or research process. Explain how you tackled problems, made decisions, and iterated on designs. For instance, you might describe how you conducted user research, created personas, and used these insights to inform your design decisions.
Step 2: Tailor Your Presentation
Understand the Company: Research the company and its culture. Tailor your portfolio to align with their values and goals. For example, if the company values accessibility, highlight projects where you prioritized and achieved accessibility improvements.
Select Relevant Projects: Choose projects from your portfolio that are most relevant to the company's needs and the role you're applying for. If the company is looking for someone with experience in mobile app design, focus on projects that demonstrate your proficiency in this area.
Step 3: Tell a Story
Engage Your Audience: Begin with an introduction about yourself and your design journey. Make it relatable and engaging. For instance, you could start by sharing a personal anecdote about what sparked your passion for UX design.
Project Flow: Explain the context, problem, and your role in each project. Walk the interviewers through your process from research to the final design. For example, you might say, "In our project to improve the onboarding experience, I started with in-depth user interviews to understand our users’ pain points during the onboarding process."
Step 4: Highlight Achievements
Quantify Impact: Share measurable results from your projects. Did your design lead to increased user engagement, reduced bounce rates, or higher conversions? For example, you could say, "Our redesign of the checkout process led to a 20% increase in completed transactions."
Challenges Faced: Discuss challenges you encountered and how you overcame them. This demonstrates problem-solving skills. An example could be, "We faced a significant drop in user engagement on our platform. We conducted usability testing to identify issues and successfully increased engagement by 15%."
Step 5: Interactive and Visual Presentation
Visual Appeal: Use visuals, like images, infographics, and prototypes, to make your presentation engaging. You could include before-and-after images to visually demonstrate the impact of your design improvements.
Interactive Elements: If possible, provide interactive prototypes to allow interviewers to explore your work. For instance, you might give them access to a clickable prototype of a mobile app you designed.
Recommended Resources for UX Portfolio Preparation
Here are some resources to further enhance your portfolio creation and presentation skills:
Workshop: Crafting an Irresistible UX Portfolio: Master the Art of Showcasing Your Work by Research Bookmark
Collection: Cofolio - a platform that compiles design portfolios from interns hired by top tech companies like Google, Facebook etc.
Tool: UXFolio - This is a UX portfolio creation platform. You can use it to put together a portfolio of your projects.
Workbook: UX Portfolio Workbook: A step-by-step guide to designing a winning UX Portfolio by Ian Fenn: This workbook guides you through identifying what portfolio reviewers need to know and deciding which work to share for maximum effect
Use the code RBM23 during checkout.
⭐Upcoming Skillshop…. a few slots left!
Get ready to revamp your customer research approach! In this 2-day skillshop, we'll delve into Customer Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) research and harness the incredible potential of ChatGPT.
Guided by Customer JTBD Expert, John Gusiff, you'll explore core principles and groundbreaking methods that promise to reshape your approach to understanding your customers. Don't miss out on this opportunity for a profound shift in your strategy!
A Few More Tips
1. Mock Interviews
Conduct mock interviews with friends, mentors, or career counselors and get feedback on your presentation, body language, and responses.
2. Addressing Critiques
Be open to feedback and avoid becoming defensive. Show your willingness to learn and adapt based on feedback.
Best of luck in your portfolio or case studies presentations!
Warm regards,
The RB Team