What do you guys look for in a portfolio? T-shaped designers or more generalists? I’m having a lot of issues sorting my portfolio to go from agency to in-house. 5+ years experience in digital design and consulting
The full stack, increasingly. Doesn’t necessarily require deep coding knowledge (you won’t touch the codebase at a larger company) but some understanding is good. Ability to work through complicated and complex problems is paramount. Understand the gritty details while connecting to the bigger picture. Good visual design is key. Different companies are different. I worked in agencies and consultancies for years before Amazon, which worried me, but they were totally fine with that because Amazon is more interested in how effectively you make decisions over specific prior experience. Other companies were not interested in me due to that smaller “blue sky concept work” experience.
Just messaged you.
That is an issue I keep seeing too. Some are ok with Custom production apps vs mass market apps while others aren’t.
I’ll speak to user experience/product design, since branding and marketing design is a whole different world. Looking for people who can define and articulate product strategy, identify what problems your products are solving, and can show they can execute on their ideas and think through complicated issues.
That makes sense, as I hear Airbnb is super design led. Would you mind if I asked you for feedback on my portfolio? I’m trying to switch from consulting...
Depends on what kind of in-house you're targeting and what aspect(s) of design. UX? UI? UX/UI? Content, Marketing, or Brand design?
I have a mixture of all of it, as consulting is more general. It’s the issue I’m having as I didn’t even make it to first round interviews at LinkedIn, Salesforce, & Waymo. It was for 3 desperate job description and I’m growing increasingly concerned about my career and portfolio...
Each company values different things so you may need to play to certain strengths once you do get an interview. As far as making it to first round with TT companies there are thousands of applicants so it can be tricky/competitive. I've interviewed at some FAANG companies and 2 of those I made to on-site after an initial referral, 1 made to on-site after an internal recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn. I'd say those referrals really help in getting noticed. As a former hiring manager though, when I'm looking through candidate portfolio websites I'm typically doing a high level evaluation on how this candidate identifies problems, thinks through solutions, communicates logic and rationale, and executes. I don't think you necessarily have to build out full case studies for every project (reading through those is time consuming) but how you storytell through projects and thought process makes a difference (along with the UX of your site/resume). Another thing I would look for is how this person has worked with other team members and cross-functional partners. I'm not sure how embedded you were as a consultant but collaboration skills play a huge part in these decisions. I've met some incredibly talented consultants who have worked with TT clients but have no experience problem solving with others. This is a red flag for me in terms of team dynamic which can greatly impact the success of the work. Especially in enterprise companies where you might be interfacing with multiple teams or people from various altitudes on a given day. But also because being a strong team player speaks to your ability to listen and empathize. Hope that's helpful. These things take a long time so don't give up just yet! Use each interview as an opportunity to learn and iterate. Goodluck in your search!