5 “shoot for the stars” ideas solving for the UX job market crisis
By: Lylo Sy Trotta
Tags: Ideation, Recruiting, UX Design, Job Hunting, User Experience

5 “shoot for the stars” ideas solving for the UX job market crisis

The US is currently suffering from a global pandemic, economic collapse, unemployment, political polarization, social unrest, and racial equality, to name a few. At the same time, there are more budding UX Designers looking for work than ever before. I would argue that faulty and inconsiderate design has gotten us into this mess and that empathetic, human-centered design could get us through. We must start with our own industry.

When ideating, it’s important to remember: we’re on a planet, floating through space.

As I have been describing in previous posts, understanding the complexities of research is critical when problem-solving, in order to develop useful and robust tools. With that in mind, I will share 5 ideas I came up with for possible solutions to the UX job market crisis, as a way of initiating the expansive and collaborative process of imagining. These were developed during a 6/8/5 sketch session, where I challenged myself to think far and wide, with no limits, in order to brainstorm as freely as possible. This is what I came up with:

Create a platform where talent can create a “mini-profile” with a 30 second or 1-minute “value pitch” video recording of themselves. The profiles will be mini in the sense that they will capture the Top 3 data points that the job posters are looking for, whether that be years of experience, values of operation, willingness to learn, or software experience. It will then be on the Hiring Manager or the Recruiter to scroll through the talent boards, searching based on their constituents. They can watch or listen to all the videos of potential talent through a streaming and seamless playlist. If they hear someone who catches their eye, they can message them. By listening and having the experience of someone, a recruiter may be able to get a better feel for how the person will fit/expand their company than they would by reading their resume. It turns the table on who is looking for who, based on the belief that the Hiring Manager knows more about what they’re looking for than the talent does. Therefore, the Hiring Manager can resource appropriate potential employees and reach out to them directly, saving time on both parties’ end. Form a coalition of strategists and policy advocates to make it so that large companies or companies that reach a certain quota must sign a “designers of tomorrow” agreement. In theory, any company could choose to sign this agreement as a way of showing their commitment to the evolving world of design, or any industry for that matter. The contents of this agreement would be collectively and inclusively created, but at its core, the agreement would require companies to hire X amount of new designers. On a similar note with working around policy, a similar coalition could raise private funding, (hello big tech), to offer smaller companies, who can’t afford the “agreement” from above, subsidies for hiring new designers. Perhaps they get a tax cut, or some sort of financial package incentive that supports the company in taking the risk of hiring new designers, while also allowing space for the necessary recognition of the potential in every new designer. Pinning off of the subsidy idea, imagine if the government or public/private affiliates donated X amount of dollars to a fund that paid eligible/unemployed designers to work for important non-profits that were in need of service, experience, and human-centered design support. Perhaps it is a platform that cross-connects funders with eligible talent, who can then connect with their favorite non-profits or community-based initiatives. There are so many organizations that need the help of designers to make their, often perpetual, demand for services, more efficient, effective, and therefore, available and accessible. There is an abundance of large tech companies that have more money than they know what to do with. There is an immense amount of unemployed and talented designers who would love to work for an organization that has a positive impact on the world, and yet cannot afford to volunteer their time. This would bridge the gap between these industries and provide something for everyone involved. The talent gets a paid job, meaning and purpose, and experience. The non-profit/community organization gets the help they need to streamline and organize their services without spending their funding. The donors and big companies get to, by effect, impact the world in a positive way, in addition to supporting the designers of tomorrow that they need to keep their company evolving! Create a platform that connects the values of the talent with those of the industry while serving as an “ideation center” for designers to collaborate on possible projects. The job board that doesn’t feel or act like a job board, where the designer really enjoys engaging with it and gets a job/gig by effect, not intention. This “concept library” could serve as a place to get inspired, connect with others, form teams, and even, create start-ups. The core of the connections would be around values, such as growth, sustainability, inclusion, accessibility, diversity, equity, liberation, community development, etc. The talent picks out their top values and then is able to search through industries and projects that align with those. It is well known that humans work better when they feel connected to their work, so wouldn’t it do everyone a huge favor to place them in positions where they can access those values? This would not be as much a job board, in its display or focus, however could be used by a recruiter to view what designers are talking about in their industry and what kind of ideas people are chatting about. It’s also based in and around open-source content.

Once the ball gets rolling, it gathers.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if any of this felt inspiring and you would like to discuss more.

Here’s to finding a way through!