Thread by @jmspool

It seems quick for some hiring managers to complain that applicants may not have a portfolio available to apply to their open UX positions.

Their complaint is often that it makes it harder for them to determine if the candidate is qualified for the position.

1/11

This is not as much a problem for the candidate than it is for the hiring manager.

Smart hiring managers know how to evaluate candidates who may, for many legit reasons, not have an up-to-date portfolio that showcases work.

2/11

Legit reasons include:

• having work under NDA,

• not having work that has shipped due to reasons they had no control over,

• and having family or life obligations that make it hard to do additional work outside of their jobs.

(There are other reasons too.)
3/11

By limiting viable applicants to only those with detailed portfolios actually makes it harder to hire someone who is be highly-qualified.

Restricting the requirements for applicants to even be considered reduces the candidate pool, which slows down hiring.

4/11

Many smart hiring managers have identified and implemented alternative methods for evaluating the qualifications of candidates.

These methods aren’t hard, but do take deliberate effort. Adopting them pays off with faster, better hires.

5/11

There are those who would assert “if someone doesn’t have a portfolio, they can’t expect to find work” and insist the burden is on the candidate.

That, in my opinion, is a flawed argument. It doesn’t deal with today’s UX work environment.

6/11

More importantly, it denies that portfolios rarely reflect what makes great UX work these days.

Portfolios over-index on visual work. Much UX work today doesn’t have a visual components. That work doesn’t naturally show in a portfolio.

7/11

Portfolios are skewed to show individual efforts. However, much UX work is a team effort. That’s very hard to reflect in the portfolio. We want great team collaboration, right?

8/11

Portfolios don’t reflect a candidate’s leadership skills.

They rarely show research, or design exploration.

So much of what really makes our team members great just won’t show up in portfolios.

9/11

If a candidate has a portfolio, great. I’m not suggesting a hiring manager should ignore all portfolios.

I’m saying that it’s an anachronistic, biased practice to insist that applications always require portfolio or they won’t be considered.

10/11

Open the pool. Hire faster.

Be smart. Hire inclusively. Don’t require portfolios for consideration.

11/fin

I’m talking about this and other hiring strategies in a free, live discussion on Monday at 2pm ET.

Would love to see you there.

https://twitter.com/jmspool/status/1401246209877106697

Often, the most critical UX contributions aren’t what’s put into the design, but what is kept out or removed.

Telling that story in a portfolio is difficult.

Hiring managers probably miss 70% or more about the UXers real skill by asking for more screenshots.

https://twitter.com/mishascholte/status/1401649054535323653

Recruiters are members of the hiring team and their behavior reflects on the organization as a whole.

If a recruiter isn’t trained on what you’re looking for, they’ll push away your best candidates.

This is the responsibility of the hiring manager.

https://twitter.com/prixalcantara/status/1401884414062252036