From perfectionism to progress: How to improve your UX portfolio and get interviews

Most designers think “storytelling” means showing slides of sticky notes. It doesn’t. Storytelling gets thrown around a lot in design. But what does it actually mean? Too often it is used as a buzzword without clear guidance on how to present your work. Sometimes it feels like people say “storytelling” without ever showing what strong storytelling looks like in practice. So when Tom Scott asked if I wanted to collaborate on an article about it, I jumped at the opportunity. Together, we focused on making it tactical and concrete. I hope this piece helps designers at all levels, especially those on the job hunt, sharpen how they present their work and land the opportunities they deserve.

As a recruiter I see a lot of designers fail during interviews due to failing to present a compelling story of their work. Areas I see designers falling down in the case study rounds of interviews: - Compelling narrative & timing. - Outcome-linked craft initiatives. In most companies you need to have a track record of shipping high quality products or scaling design quality and pairing it with crisp storytelling and evidence of rapid, high-ownership shipping will better position you for high-ambiguity, success-first environments like a modern day tech company. If you can’t get buy-in for your work, how are you going to get someone in a company to care about design? In this article with my friend Ozzy U. we discuss the importance of storytelling and how to get better at doing just that. With over 14+ years in design across agencies, startups, and big tech working for companies like Meta, Airbnb, Robinhood, Fantasy, AKQA and more Ozzy is someone who is talking on this topic from a lot of experience. TL;DR of what you will learn: - You need to show off your work - How to read the room and lead with your best work - How to ensure you nail storytelling - How to put your portfolio together at any level - How to beat the nerves I hope it helps!

Do we fake it? I just got some very thoughtful feedback from an interview. The positives: strong cultural fit, good storytelling, asked smart questions. The negatives: my case study didn’t have enough visuals or end-to-end artefacts to follow the flow of the work. Here’s the issue. In an agency setting, or when you’re added into a client’s Figma team, you’re basically a guest in their house. You get access to their files while you’re working. But once the project ends, access is removed. The visuals I shared were the only ones I had been allowed. When the work ended, access was removed. I asked for supporting material, but that’s all they were willing to provide. This means you don’t “own” the artefacts. You can’t and shouldn't grab screenshots of their boards, early explorations, or stakeholder comments. You leave with what the client is willing to give you, sometimes just a handful of final screens. So I am genuinely curious , what do we do? - Do we fake visuals afterwards, to create a more complete story? - Do we stick to the narrative and hope it’s enough, even when recruiters say hiring managers care more about process than polish? - Or do we risk underselling ourselves by presenting only the scraps we’re allowed to keep? It feels like a catch-22. Designers are judged on storytelling and artefacts, but in cloud-based workflows, much of that work lives and dies in someone else’s system. Do For those of you in agency or freelance work: how do you handle this? Do you recreate? Mock up? How do you handle people that just want to see some nice images? Or do you just accept the gaps? I want to do the best I can, so would be great to hear from you.

Are great storytellers born, or are they made? Made! Ok, but how do you become a great storyteller? In our inaugural Conversations On Craft with LinkedIn Design video, Principal Product Designer Nicholas Smith shares the secrets behind his approach to telling great stories. 💡 Storytelling is a design superpower, and in less than 5 minutes , you'll learn detailed steps that will empower you to tell better stories. 💠 Storytelling helps you sell your ideas 💠 Practicing your presentation 50 times or more 💠 Focusing on your audience and what they will hear 💠 Deliberate practice leads to stories that sound effortless 📽️ This is the first in a limited series of videos we're calling Conversations on Craft with LinkedIn Design, where I interview my talented LinkedIn Design colleagues and ask them to share the secrets behind some of their design superpowers. I'd love your feedback about these posts. What other topics or conversations would you like to hear? #Design #Storytelling

In our first episode of conversations on craft, LinkedIn Senior Principal Product Designer, Nicholas Smith, shares insights on the power of storytelling and how to build it into your skillset. Check out the video below! 👇

Great story telling - is hard work! Learn more from Sam Stern and Nick Smith who share insights on the importance of comms goal setting, practice, and content simplification! #CXLeadership #ProductDesign

Most designers don’t get rejected for bad work. 🤷♀️ They get rejected for weak storytelling. I learned this after applying to 120+ jobs… and not getting a single interview. Back in 2024, my portfolio surely felt “done.” 🤦♀️ But here’s the truth: it wasn’t designed for the person reading it. 😭 So I treated my portfolio like a client project: 😌 I optimized images for responsiveness (no recruiter should fight with load times). 😌 I spent as much time writing the story as designing the visuals. 😌 I made sure the visuals did the teaching — so a recruiter who didn’t know the problem space could still see my process and impact. ❤️ And I was radically honest. No inflated jargon. Just what I actually did, why it mattered, and what changed. With no SEO, no ads — just a private link — my portfolio crossed 1000+ views in <4 months. And tons of interview calls started coming in.🤯 😏 Good portfolios showcase design. 🙂↔️ Great portfolios feel like design projects themselves — usable, honest, and outcome-driven. If you’re rewriting yours right now — ask yourself: “Would a recruiter understand my work in 2 minutes… without me in the room?” Also, feel free to ask for my portfolio link in the comments below!! Good luck. You've got this❤️ #uxportfolio #productdesign #uxdesign #designcareers #casestudytips #jobsearch

I treated my #CV like a #design project. Here's what happened. A year ago, I faced a challenge every designer knows: creating a CV and portfolio that actually works. Traditional approaches weren't enough. I needed something that would: - Pass automated prescreening systems - Capture recruiters' attention in seconds - Impress senior designers during evaluations With countless variables at play, I asked myself: "Why not apply the same #designthinking methodology I use for clients to solve my own career challenge?" 1. EMPATHIZE through direct research I discovered adplist.org and started booking sessions with recruiters and designers. +20 interviews later, I had a clear map of what they actually wanted, not what I thought they wanted. 2. DEFINE for specific audiences Recruiters (processing 100+ CVs daily): - Lean, scannable document - Specific keywords for ATS - 30-second reading time maximum Designers (evaluating technical skills): - Curated portfolio with detailed case studies - Documented design process - Clear, measurable outcomes Two audiences. I needed two different tools. 3. IDEATE exploring every format One-page CV or detailed? Static PDF or interactive Figma prototype? Website or presentation? I mapped pros and cons of each approach for each audience. 4. PROTOTYPE with multiple versions - Figma presentation for live walkthroughs - Website - PDF combo (presentation + CV) for emails - Single-page CV with portfolio link 5. TEST with real feedback More ADPList sessions to validate. The feedback was eye-opening: what I thought was clear, wasn't. What I considered secondary, was fundamental. 6. ITERATE with concrete data Installed Hotjar on my portfolio. Now I analyze monthly how people interact with content and optimize accordingly. Results: ✓ Landed a new role ✓ Built a network of 20+ professionals through ADPList ✓ Gained insider knowledge of how recruiting actually works The biggest lesson? We often forget to apply our skills to our own problems. We're so focused on solving client challenges that we miss the opportunity to be our own clients. p.s. If you have other feedback or tips, let me know in the comments. I'm all ears! #UXdesign  #CareerDevelopment #ProductDesign

The difference between top 3% design candidates and the rest isn't the brand names on their CVs. It's this. Most of you think you need to be “extraordinary” to stand out. You don’t. THE TRUTH You just need to perform good in a few critical areas: 1️⃣ CV: 💚 Outcomes > Tasks ❌ Stop listing responsibilities. ❌ Show outcomes and impact. → Task = Led a workshop → Outcome = Created better alignment & Delivered more in less time → Impact = Earned X / Saved Y ALSO: → Use real titles. If companies hire Product Designers, ❌ don’t call yourself UX Strategist ❌ Help me make sense out of your experience. 2️⃣ Portfolio: 💚 Visually strong and clear "But design is not about being pretty?" ❌ No, it's not ONLY about being pretty. 💎 But it's about visuals and aesthetics TOO → Yes, it should look good. → Yes, it should work smoothly. Make it clean, smooth, and scannable. 3️⃣ Pitch yourself (don’t make me guess) 💚 Frame your story like a case study: - The problem - Your role - The team - Your approach - The outcome - The impact - Start with the latest role and go backwards. ❌ Don’t make me drag information out of you. 4️⃣ Targeting > spray & pray “I applied for 1,000 jobs” = you have no idea what you’re doing. 💚 Recruitment is precise matching. 💚 Hiring teams scope roles and look for candidates who align. ❌ If you don’t understand the role, the skills, and the impact they want → you can't get the role. - Read the JD. - Mirror their language. - Show how you deliver the outcomes they need. - ASK questions. 5️⃣ Prep your story ❌ A good portfolio isn’t enough. 💚 You also need to present it well. If you’re aiming for senior/staff roles, you must be able to walk people through your thinking with clarity, confidence, and impact. 🫣 Standing out isn’t magic. 🫣 It’s not about luck. 🫣 It’s not about “applying to more roles” It’s about: → Clear CV → Strong portfolio → Compelling story → Targeted applications → Confident delivery  Do these well, and you’re already in the top 3% of candidates.

When I meet young professionals, I often see amazing talent. A brilliant graphic designer. A creative web designer. A amazing digital marketer. Or someone who’s excellent in their craft. But here’s the reality: 👉 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. You can be the best designer in the room, and still struggle if you lack 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. You can deliver beautiful work, and still miss opportunities if you can’t 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀. You can have all the talent, but still burn out if you don’t know how to 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀. Because to become a leader or manager, you need more than technical skills. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲. That’s what separates a good professional from a great one. So if you’re working hard on your craft, amazing. Keep going. But don’t forget to invest in the “other skills” too. Because those are the skills that will help you scale.