Recently I was approached by a friend who is new to product design, she was feeling slightly overwhelmed creating her first portfolio applying for a Product Design UX/UI role.

On top of starting a new career she was also a new parent with a lovely two year old child that had lots of energy. Either side of childcare and family duties the prospect of creating a personal website was daunting and in addition to this she was facing doubt that her experience was not good enough.

If you are like my friend and are struggling with what to present, what format it should be in, and time limiting factors. Keep reading because I will reveal the actionable steps to move yourself out of self doubt and give you confidence to start your exciting new career.

Is my previous work good enough?

This is a common theme that pops up whenever you are needing to sell yourself, be it through writing a CV, creating a portfolio or pitching to clients.

Personally I struggled with this as I made my transition from Industrial design to UX/UI design, feeling like the experience I had was not good enough. I think this is common especially with creatives because you are always looking to improve and with an attachment to whatever you create its easy to feel negative towards your old work.

As we evolve and improve naturally we will look back at our old work and think, “I could have done so much better”, or “this work is not relevant to the new position”.

Well I’m here to tell you that most likely there is an element to your previous work that is relevant to the product design role. If you have anything that displays, artistic ability, problem solving, behavioral science or project management then you can include it in your portfolio.

If you are doubting using that piece in your portfolio, you must remember that the external world has a much different perspective especially experiencing your genius for the first time. It’s new, exciting and very inspiring to the observer so their reaction will be very different to yours – as they don’t have the history and association to the work like you do.

What I can do to move past uncertainty?

The easiest way to get around self doubt is to enlist the help of your friends. I know it is the hardest part sharing your work. Especially when it is personal and part of your growth in the new skill. It can feel very vulnerable to open yourself to criticism, but trust me it is worth it.

My friend approached me because she knew I have experience in product design, and that took courage. Knowing this I felt a sense of responsibility to make sure she felt safe sharing her work, and if you have people around you who you can trust then this is the perfect way to start.

If you can’t think of anyone with the experience to consult then I would be happy to help. You may send me a message at the end of this blog and we an arrange a time to meet.

Regardless of what your thoughts are towards your previous work, exposing yourself to feedback is an essential competency to product design. This is something you will have to be comfortable doing daily as a product designer. So you may as well get used to it surrounded by people that you trust.

Do I need a website to start my product career?

You don’t need a personal website to find work neither do you need a perfect portfolio. As someone who has hired new designers before I can tell you that the majority of entry level positions will be looking for key competencies over immaculate websites.

If you are applying for a UX dominant role then you need examples of design thinking, problem solving, behavioral science. If your looking for UI roles then any branding, typography, visual design examples are great places to start.

Product design or UX/UI design roles may need a mix of the above but don’t worry if you are less confident in certain areas. Focus on displaying your strengths and put emphasis on your willingness to improve or learn new skills. This attitude is great for making up the missing material.

In the case of my friend, she had recently finished a UX boot camp and had two really great examples of UX/UI case studies. Including some previous graphic design work with an old website example and branding from previous clients.

This experience is amazing, honestly a perfect combination of work to start. The most painful thing for her at this point was the feeling of overwhelm with how to present all of this effectively, juggling personal responsibilities all with an urgency to start work.

How can I present my work without a personal website?

If you have some visual examples of work like my friend. The best way is to post these examples on image based portfolio websites that already receive traffic. This way you fast track your marketing exposing yourself to an established audience.

You can post your first examples of work on here then when you get time in the future, link this work to a website for a more personalized experience. Some great portfolio websites to start with are, Behance, Dribbble, or Artstation.

My friend had two great examples of UX/UI workshops from her time in bootcamp. All the design thinking process was recorded with detailed examples of decision making for the product.

The solution for her was to distill these workshops into a digestible presentable state. Most employers will have lots of candidates to examine so I told her to think of herself in their shoes. What is the most effective way to present this work that shows your thought process and solutions?

We picked up to three summarized bullet points for each of the design thinking stages. Planning to present them in a readable formatted story showing user flows, decision matrices, wireframes and final prototype screens.

During this process we are looking to delete, delete, delete. Refining your content to short digestible chunks, utilizing visual examples and the design skills you have to help the reader scroll through your work enjoying each new nugget it presents. After all you are a designer that excels in creating exceptional user experiences.

Go the extra mile

You may also supplement this work with short form videos five minutes or less describing the design thinking process or presenting your click through prototype.

Not only are you showing off your design prowess but you are also giving the employer a glimps of your personality and communication skills.

A great platform for recording your screen and presenting with a camera is Loom. With the free account you are forced to fit the presentation under five minutes and you can post this content straight onto YouTube for more outreach and discoverability.

Show your genius

Seek second opinions, especially from people you already know and feel comfortable sharing. Use their reactions to the work as confidence boost posting to a wider audience or inspiration for further improvements.

When posting your work online, start with existing portfolio aggregating sites where you can set up a profile and get posting the same day. Focus on reducing the word count and summarize your design thinking into short effective sentences.

As soon as you have your work online start applying for roles. Every interview you have ask for feedback, ask how you might improve your presentation of work for the next person. Be willing to fail and accept feedback as a gift, this is how you improve over time. Simplicity is key, the better you get at communicating the more confident you will feel and the better you will come across when interviewing.

Remember your genius is waiting to be discovered, and many people will feel inspired by witnessing it. With product design you have the opportunity to improve and enhance people’s lives so don’t deny them this experience with inaction.