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Updated October 11, 2023You’re reading an excerpt of Land Your Dream Design Job, a book by Dan Shilov. Filled with hard-won, personal insights, it is a comprehensive guide to landing a product design role in a startup, agency, or tech company, and covers the entire design interview process from beginning to end, for experienced and aspriring designers. Purchase the book to support the author and the ad-free Holloway reading experience. You get instant digital access, commentary and future updates, and a high-quality PDF download.
If you’re starting out as a designer, congrats! You’re on an exciting journey. To set you up for success we’ll look into strategies for approaching the job search in a way that gives you more autonomy. I recommend paying close attention to the first part of the book, which will help you think through your ideal role based on your strengths, growth areas, and interests. Starting with the end in my mind will sharpen your senses and get the most out of your search. And of course, the book is chock full of interview examples to help you on your journey.
You may think you already know how to prepare and what to expect from interviews, having been through the process a few times. This may be true, but design expertise does not always equate to excellent interview performance. So don’t leave this to chance. Whether it’s how to represent yourself during your final presentation or how to solve design exercises without missing a beat, you can skip around to sections that you may need more practice on or are looking for ways to distinguish yourself.