You’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.

A variety of folks will see your presentation, each with a different focus:

  • Design manager. Craft skills, quality, process, and style.

  • Product manager. Prioritization, business outcomes, impact.

  • Engineering. Productive collaboration with engineering.

  • UX research. Methods you’ve used, how you’ve partnered with research.

  • Data science. Formulating initial questions and area of inquiry.

Keep this audience in mind when you’re practicing. It’s very likely you’ll see this cast of folks again during your one-on-one behavioral and cross-functional interviews.

Building Your Deck

The number one person you’re building this deck for is yourself. You’ll want to create a modular portfolio that you can remix at a moment’s notice if you’re called in for an interview with another company. To help you get there, I recommend you start an assessment of your recent work.

Stacking Your Projects

What were your recent projects that you consider to be your best work that show a variety of skills? Highlight projects that played to your unique identity as a designer—your combination of skills, point of view, and process that led to a result no other designer could have achieved.

You’re reading a preview of an online book. Buy it now for lifetime access to expert knowledge, including future updates.
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