Don’t forget the UX of your job applications

Simple tips to improve your resume and cover letter

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Anyone who has been responsible for hiring will tell you that screening applicants can be a special kind of hell*. Many hiring managers are still trying to do their day jobs, and perhaps the job of more than one person if they have an unfilled vacancy, so are time poor. Unfortunately this means your application will probably end up in the not suitable pile if you haven’t made things simple for them.

(* hiring can also be amazing. You get to meet interesting people and learn about exciting projects and their passions. In the best of cases you learn something yourself).

This blog post has been half written for years. The gripes, while all things I have really seen, are not meant to chastise any one individual. Often they are things I have seen time and time again. The good news is the issues can be very easily addressed. Better yet, these can be quickly fixed to get you on the way to the next step in your career adventure. All you need to do is utilise your core UX skills — think about your users, consider their context of use and design to make things simple for them.

Many things about hiring come down to personal preference — some hirers love cover letters, others will never read them. Some think those popular indicators showing tool knowledge are meaningless as they’re self-assessed and there’s no standard measure of proficiency, while others find them appealing. Some question the value, and fairness, of requiring portfolios for UX job applications. This post is concerned with broad tips that can help improve your application, regardless of what the hirer is asking for. Some of these may seem obvious, but the obvious is not always so when people haven’t slowed down to consider the hirers’ perspective (or when first applying for jobs).

Make it easy for the hiring manager to read

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

A poorly formatted resume that is difficult to read not only means that the hiring manager may not be able to see what you were trying to say, but puts your design…