What UX designers should not do on their resume

As the leader of a UX agency as well as a UX instructor and mentor, I get to look at resumes and portfolios a lot. Most of the time, I review resumes with the designer so they have a better shot at landing a job. My lens and feedback is both as a hiring manager AND a friendly mentor.

Other times, when we have a position open at Standard Beagle Studio , I review resumes solely through the lens of a hiring manager -- one that is hopeful of finding the right candidate but also knowing the specific needs of my organization and what success looks like.

As a result, I tend to have a more critical eye for resumes and portfolios when I hire. I’m on the lookout for positive skills and experience that might mean a good fit, but I’m also watching for something else.

Dishonesty.

I take a dim view of resume hacks that cross the line between showcasing work in the best light and downright lying about experience. Once that line is crossed, I’m done. I will not consider a candidate ever again.

What’s an example of resume deceit?

There’s no room for lying on resumes. Downright lies are when designers add companies to their resumes that they never worked for. Or when they plagiarize other designer portfolios and pass the work off as their own. Lies also include passing off an internship as a paid position and passing off work for a vendor as direct employment for an end client.

Lies are complete fiction.?

But I’m also wary of another form of deceit -- half-truths. These are fuzzier. They still aren't true, but they are more like embellishments on the truth. Here's an example: passing off bootcamp projects so they look like projects for actual employers. Or not clearly labeling an internship as an internship.

I am aware of how competitive the job market is for new designers. I'm also aware that there is a lot of conflicting advice on tips and tricks for finding that first job. For example, I have found online articles that advise bootcamp students to include their bootcamp as their most recent experience.?

I strongly disagree with this advice.

Why bootcamp work should not be included as experience

Bootcamp projects are NOT the same as professional experience. Designers should never include bootcamp projects as experience.

Here’s why.

Professional experience has a level of expectation that elevates it above a bootcamp. While bootcamp programs -- like the one I teach for -- do their best to simulate a professional environment, they simply can’t make the experience the same.

Professional projects have three things bootcamp projects don’t:

Strong and varied critique

Professional projects go through critique from many levels: product managers, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams. Critique at this level is strong and can be harsh. Critique also happens multiple times during the product design life cycle.

As a result, the design goes through far more iterations than it would at the bootcamp level. This means a design that has gone through more opportunity for improvement. And the designer has had more opportunity for improvement and learning.

In bootcamps, projects have less time for iteration, and critique comes solely from inexperienced peers or a few experienced instructors.

Elevated level of polish

Professional projects typically have a much higher level of polish. Teams, clients, and stakeholders have a high level of expectation, so designs must go through stricter editing and polish before handoff.

The products and websites my team creates must have a level of professional polish that most bootcamp projects simply don’t have time to complete. In addition, my designers collaborate closely with developers once the website or application is in development. Developers may need the designers to answer questions about functionality and states throughout the product life cycle.

Student work doesn’t always have this level of need, and designs may lack the details that developers would need to actually build the product.

Higher stakes

The work that my team creates affects the bottom line for our clients. Our clients’ livelihoods are often at stake. And if we don’t do a great job, our reputation is at stake. SO there’s more on the line as a professional designer.

This is not the case for the majority of design bootcamp projects. Bootcamp projects are created in a safe environment -- as they should be for learning purposes -- and don’t have the same stakes. Student work is created under different circumstances, which means decision-making is different between the student and professional level.

Consider constraints

I also want to mention constraints, which differ between professional and student projects.

At the student level, constraints are typically time, resources, and team dynamics. It’s not uncommon for student work to introduce fictional products and companies. Design projects also don’t always think about technical feasibility -- they don’t have to coordinate with engineers about how to implement designs into a complex system. So student projects are often idealistic.

Constraints at the professional level are different and extremely common. Professional designers also deal with time and resource constraints, but they have to consider the tech stack of a product, the stakeholder decisions, and company objectives. Professional designers must take all of this into account as they design.

An example

When I mentor designers, I typically recommend they create a separate section for their bootcamp projects and clearly label them. They often ask me if that will hurt them when looking for a job. They want to show as much experience as possible.

Here’s the thing, though. It’s far more damaging to risk lying about your experience. For example, I recently saw a resume that listed under recent experience:

UX Designer - Contract - June 2022 to present

Underneath were two companies I hadn’t heard of, with a bulleted list of examples of the experience. I was intrigued, so I checked out the designer's portfolio. That’s when I realized that both companies were actually bootcamp projects. I couldn’t tell where the bootcamp began and ended. And I wondered -- was this person actually a contractor and paid for the work? Or was it a simulated project? I just couldn’t tell. It triggered me. I felt like I was misled and it really hurt my perception of the designer.?

It’s risky to include bootcamps as experience. It’s not the same level of experience and if uncovered, it could lead to not ever being considered for a position again.

Conclusion

Don’t ever lie in your resume or portfolio. But also, don’t try to mislead. Be honest about your student projects. I’d rather a designer be honest and up front about their work. Because the level of experience between bootcamp projects and professional projects just aren’t the same.