Design is the heart of any product. The design of a product reflects the company’s philosophy and the people who work for it. A bad design will always reflect poorly on a company, no matter how good the product is. This is why having a good UI/UX designer on your team is so important.
The freelance work force continues to grow, with the percentage of freelancers in the U.S. expected to rise from 36% in 2020 to 50% by 2029.
UI/UX designers are responsible for the look and feel of a product. They make sure that the product is easy to use and visually appealing. They work with developers and engineers to create a user-friendly experience for the end user.
Why do you need a UI/UX designer in the team?
1. The first impression is the last impression. A bad design will always reflect poorly on a company, no matter how good the product is. This is why having a good UI/UX designer on your team is so important.
2. UI/UX designers are responsible for the look and feel of a product. They make sure that the product is easy to use and visually appealing.
They work with developers and engineers to create a user-friendly experience for the end user.
3. Good UI/UX design is often what differentiates one product or service from another in a crowded market.
4. UI/UX designers are responsible for the look and feel of a product. They make sure that the product is easy to use and visually appealing.
5. They work with the developers and engineers to create a user-friendly experience for the end user
Hiring a UI/UX designer can be a daunting task. There are dozens of designers, all claiming to be the best. How do you know which one is right for your company?
This article will walk you through hiring a UI/UX designer.
Identify your target applicant pool
The first step in hiring a UI/UX designer is to figure out who you want to hire.
You first need to come up with an idea of what type of UI designer you are looking for.
What are you looking for in UI/UX designers before hiring?
You will want to hire a UI/UX designer with experience designing mobile applications.
If you are looking for an expert in this field, the applicant pool will be smaller than if you were looking for someone with experience with web development or desktop applications.
According to Indeed.com, there are over 14,000 UX designer jobs posted in the US alone. This number is growing every year and will continue to grow as more companies realize the importance of user experience.
But what exactly does a UX designer do?
Understand what UX designers do and how
Before you hire a designer, you should first understand what users are like or what makes them irritated with the product.
- Their goal is to make the product easier to use and have a pleasant user experience.
- Most products will have a norm or standardizing he/ she should strive for.
- Based on the standard form, designers will build the style of a product.
- Designers create prototypes and establish an image of what the final solution will appear like.
- They take full details of problems and create a solution within the available constraints.
- The basic requirements are that the designer must meet our UX experience and be able to listen to the client.
Decide on your job offer for UI/UX designer
Before reaching out to a designer, you need to focus on the offer. Depending on the company’s requirements, you may be offered a full-time or contract job.
Therefore, let’s discuss a couple of common design positions.
Full-Time Designers: If you want to hire a full-time designer, it is important to have clear expectations and ensure that they are compatible with the needs of each other. It would help if you created a job description based on your company’s needs and expectations. This will help the candidate clearly understand what they will do if they accept this position.
Freelancers: If you need a freelancer, it is important to mention the requirements and expectations of your company so that they can offer their services. You should also ensure that you are clear about what type of work will be done, how much time and money you have for this project, etc.
As per an Invision survey, 80% of hiring managers are looking for candidates with coding skills.
What are the soft and hard skills UI/ UX designers should have?
The two most important soft skills that a UI/UX designer should have are:
1. The ability to listen carefully and take notes during client meetings.
2. An ability to communicate with your team members and other stakeholders at all levels in an organization.
The two most important hard skills that a UI/UX designer should have are:
1. The ability to apply technical knowledge and write clean, efficient code is essential.
2. The ability to create wireframes and prototypes of the product or service based on the specifications given by the client.
Outline the selection, interview, and reference review process
The selection process for a UI/UX designer is similar to that of any other position. You will want to ensure that you have a clearly defined job description and requirements before starting the selection process.
The interview should consist of questions about previous experience, skillsets, knowledge, and some whiteboarding tests.
This can help you determine whether a candidate is a good fit for your company. You will also want to conduct reference checks with previous employers and in-person interviews with other people who have worked with the candidate.
The most important part of the process is to ensure that you are hiring someone who will be a good fit for your company. The interview should consist of questions about previous experience, skillsets, knowledge, and some whiteboarding tests. This can help you determine whether a candidate is a good fit for your company.
Use pre-assessment tools for screening your candidates
While it can be time-consuming and frustrating to assess a candidate through the interview process, it is one of the most important steps in the hiring process.
Interviewing isn’t necessarily a good measure of whether or not the candidate will be hired for the job. In fact, many companies actually have to conduct two interviews to have a guarantee that they’ve hired the right person.
These screening tools will take about five out of a person’s seven days, and they’ll help you narrow your pool of mock interviewers. This saves you time as well as money and those precious candidate nerves.
Give them a test project
You’ll need to give them a test project. This is where you can see what your designer’s work looks like. You want it to be simple but show off your brand. Don’t worry about the cost or time investment—this should be small and quick for them, so don’t give them too much time or money for this project (unless you’re feeling generous).
Make sure not to be too picky here—just see how they do with a little bit of guidance from you regarding restrictions on colours and fonts, etc., but otherwise, let them run wild with their creativity!
See how they handle critiques
Critique is a part of the process and should be used to improve work. You can ask your applicants to critique each other’s designs, or you can have them design a new feature or view that incorporates feedback from previous designs.
Bringing up critiques earlier in the interview will help you get an idea of their attitude toward criticism and see how they handle themselves when faced with negative feedback. You may find that some candidates become defensive if their work is criticized too harshly, which could affect their performance later on in the process (or even during a real project).
Where does Testlify fit in this process?
Testlify gives you a great insight into the candidate’s personality and ability to perform on the job. The platform offers pre-assessment tools that will help you eliminate candidates unsuitable for your company. This saves time, money and energy because you won’t have to spend time interviewing bad candidates again.
The platform also gives you a report of the candidate’s performance after they complete their tests. The reports include:
- The candidate’s score
- How the candidate performed against other candidates in the same test
- The candidate’s previous experience and skillset
Make an accurate hiring decision
Hiring the wrong person is one of the most common mistakes made during the hiring process. Most employers hire candidates based on their credentials, not on how well they will fit into the company culture. This can result in wasted time and money spent on training new hires who don’t end up working out. To avoid this, hire wisely:
- Hire someone you can work with
- Hire someone with the right skills
- Hire someone who gets things done
- Hire someone who will fit into your team and company culture
Final thoughts
When hiring the right candidate, technology is more than just a tool—it’s an essential part of the hiring process. Using pre-assessments can save time and money while reducing the risk of making a bad hire.
Screening candidates with an effective platform will help you find the right person for your job and track their progress.
As a result, you can hire only candidates with the right skills and experience.Sign up with Testlify for free.
