Online presence is critical to the survival of a business. In order to attract consumers, you must create websites and apps that improve customer experience and deliver intuitive, tailored experience. This has triggered the demand for digital talent. I have closely observed that the demand for user experience (UX) designers is rising steadily, especially those skilled in design technology, to help turn your vision into reality. So when it comes to recruiting UX designer, what should be the considerations?
Here are a few questions that you might want to answer before moving forward:
- What makes a great UX designer?
- What additional skills should UX designers have?
- Do you hire based on experience level, portfolio, or achievements?
- What skills do you look for in a UX designer?
- What one question do you ask every candidate?
- How do you assess a candidate?
- Do you hire based on years of experience or achievements or portfolio?
Understanding the Difference
As a hiring manager, you have got to know the difference between UX and UI (user interface) designer. What role are you looking to fill in? A UX designer is primarily responsible for laying out wireframes with clearly specified elements to improve usability and ease of use, so the user doesn’t get confused. On the other hand, a UI designer is one in charge of designing the interface, ensuring it looks clean and appealing.
When it comes to recruiting UX designer, think of them as a thought engine behind each design aspect of your website. My experience tells that the UX designer deliverables include wireframes, user personas, usability tests, and low fidelity sketches.
Knowing the difference between UI and UX will ensure you look for the right talent. Additionally, it will send out positive signals to the candidate that you know what is reasonable to expect of them.
Hire Remote Talent
When looking for real talent, it would help to search for remote UX candidates. Limiting your search to local candidates that can work in-house may not be the best approach. Grow your candidate pool by considering hiring a remote UX designer.
According to a latest study, more than half of the total workforce is expected to work remotely by 2020. Look for UX designers that work remotely or telecommute some of the time.
Know Your Requirements
When hiring UX designer, it is critically important to know your company’s needs. It’s more about your understanding of your own business needs. A clear outlook as to how a UX designer would fit in and fulfill the needs is crucial. What are you looking for? What are your requirements? What are your business goals? What do you expect of a UX designer? A clear understanding is needed before you start looking for the right talent.
Ask them the Right Interview Questions
Simply reading their reviews alone cannot tell who the best fit for the job is. The best UX designer will amplify the work culture of your company. You should seek the right talent that has the skillset to tackle the unique challenges at that position. When screening a candidate, look for answers to a few questions. What motivates them in the field? Why they entered the UX design field? What is the philosophy behind what they do?
Answers to these questions should give you a clear idea about the candidate’s competence. Alternatively it shows candidates that you have done your research and they are at the right place. They will also get an idea about your company culture and what awaits them at the workplace.
Bottom Line: How To Recruit UX Designers
The right candidate should share your core values and is a strong team player, with all the skills and competency to deal with challenges.
Additionally, look for candidates with a significant online presence. It is a big surprise if a user experience designer doesn’t have one.
I think assessing a candidate’s competency for a job is one of the most challenging aspects of hiring UX designers. An understanding of the same should be helpful. Allow candidates to do the talking and pay ears to their words. Ask them the right questions and judge them on the basis of their answers, credentials, experience, and confidence. What does their personality tell? Do they have the right personality? Are they the right cultural fit?
When you do your homework well, you may not find it hard to recruit competent candidates.
Are you looking into hiring UX Designers? We can help.
