From Resume-Focused to Builder: Revolutionize Your UX Design Career

A common mistake UX designers make: leading with a resume that goes like this: “Hi, I’m X, with Y years of experience at Fancy Company.”,This tells me nothing about what you’ve actually achieved!

👉 Instead your application should say:

“Hey! I designed and launched this app on the App Store. It's an AI agent that does this. Want me to do the same for you?”

Proof that you’re a builder, not just a title-holder! Proof that you understand today’s design. Proof that you’re ready to deliver value on Day 1.

Skip climbing the career ladder and gathering the trophies, folks! Become a builder.

👉 Builders don’t chase opportunities. They're busy building.

👉 Builders have to say NO to opportunities. There are just too many requests.

👉 Builders don’t need career ladders. They make their own.

Being a builder isn’t easy—it takes relentless focus, skill development, and experience. But when you prioritize creating over climbing, then recruiters knock on your door instead of the other way around.

The Paradigm Shift: From Resume Builders to True Builders

When you think of a UX designer's career progression, what springs to mind first? Probably an uptick in job titles, a thickening portfolio of well-branded companies, and a resume that looks fine-tuned over several job switches. As is the case in traditional career narratives, the spotlight is often thrown upon years of experience and positions held within the industry. However, there's an evident blind spot in this conversation that many UX designers overlook. Your resume can communicate your work history, but it doesn't necessarily reveal your experience as a builder––the one who sketches, erases, revises, designs, fails, learns, and eventually creates. This builder's experience is your strongest forte, and it's time for us to shift our focus towards it. Today, we are diving deep into this paradigm shift to understand why you ought to be known for your building experiences rather than just a resume—a transformation that could revolutionize your UX design career.

Understanding the Builder's Journey

The Builder, Not Just the Role Title

Titles are important; they denote position and supposedly, capabilities. However, they are a mere abstraction of what you can do. Instead of being a "UX Designer with five years of experience at Acme Co", why not introduce yourself as a "UX Designer who led the design and launch of XYZ app, steering it to reach a million downloads in three months while overcoming challenges A, B, and C?" This narrative not only describes your role but also brings forth your builder experience and highlights your value in delivering results.

• Shift from role titles to builder achievements to illustrate the depth of your capabilities.
• Emphasize your direct contributions and the tangible outcomes they produced.

Designing For Today, Not Just For Your Resume

As a UX designer, your worth is demonstrated through the products you build and the problems they solve. Modern-day design is no longer about creating pretty interfaces; it is about solving complex user needs with simplicity and elegance. A builder understands this and can showcase their real-world application of UX and design thinking beyond what they learned from textbooks.

Ready to Deliver Value from Day 1

For a UX designer to thrive in the fast-paced world of technology, they need to be capable of delivering results from the get-go. Hours spent honing skills, experimenting, and failing as a builder are what make you ready to add value on Day 1, rather than days spent on a fancy job at a fancy place. Hiring managers don't just buy your potential; they buy the certainty that you can deliver.

• Being prepared with a 'builder mindset' enhances your immediate value to teams.
• Practical, hands-on problem solving is highly prized over theoretical knowledge.

The Builder's Narrative: Opportunities, Ladder, and Say No

Builders, Busy Building

In the universe of design, opportunities can spring from structures and creations significantly more than shiny trophy representations. Builders are incessantly active, their fingers often dipped in diverse projects at once. Their energy is drawn towards building and creating value, leaving them short of time to chase opportunities. Indeed, opportunities seem to chase them instead.

Why Builders Decline More

We are living in an era where the demand for UX Designers is exponentially larger than the availability. For builders, having demonstrated their capabilities through their works, opportunities are so pervasive that they are often found declining the majority. Their unique positioning in the industry allows them to choose the opportunities they sincerely want to be a part of.

No Ladders, Just Paths

A career for a builder doesn't follow a prescribed ladder—it's self-made. They maneuver through roles based on what they can learn and create next. Their paths might be nonlinear and unusual but are immensely worth traversing for they lead to growth and mastery at each step.

The Tough Yet Rewarding Path of a Builder

The Road Not Taken

While being a builder possesses numerous salient advantages, it isn't an easy route. It requires relentless focus on skill development, gaining profound experience, and willingness to sail against the conventional career wind. However, if you can overcome these challenges, the rewards are immensely fulfilling.

Becoming the Highlight

As a builder, you don't need to chase opportunities; opportunities chase you. Your work, skill, and experience become the career milestone, not the companies you've worked for. This shift allows recruiters to knock on your door rather than you having to knock on theirs.

Fuel for Value Creation

As a builder, you don't just create products; you create value. This mindset is what sets builders apart. They focus on creating something valuable for users which ultimately lead to exceeding business goals and driving impactful change. Having such experiences and mindset is what winning organisations are keen to harness.

“Become a builder. It can be a challenging journey but it inevitably cultivates a relentless value-creator in you that attracts opportunities.”

Embracing the Builder’s Mindset: Steps to Get Started

Start Small but Start Now

The first step towards becoming a builder is to start creating. You can start with small projects to gradually gain experience in problem-solving, empathy, and other relevant skills. Remember, there's no such thing as a trivial project when it comes to sharpening your skills as a builder.

Progress Over Perfection

You don't need to craft a perfect design every time. What matters is that you constantly learn, iterate and improve your design thinking process. This continuous improvement and refinement are what distinguish builders from mere designers.

Leverage Digital Transformation

As technology advances, the canvas for a UX designer expands. By leveraging tools of digital transformation like AI and automation, designers can enhance the value they create. Adapting to these technologies helps them to be more efficient and innovative builders.

“Innovation is the clear distinction between a builder and a traditional designer. Embrace technology, solve problems, and create unprecedented value.”

The Game Changing Move: Transitioning to a Builder

We've explored the landscape of what it means to be a builder and how it impacts your career trajectory. But what's the big idea here? Why is being recognized as a builder so critical? In essence, the answer boils down to creating genuine value—value that doesn't just stem from your years of experience at a company but rather from solving real-world problems, pushing boundaries, and bringing meaningful innovation to the table. Your journey begins with a shift in perspective—from just being a part of your resume to becoming the builder of your career. This is where your growth, not the company's, becomes the benchmark of success. And believe me; there's no looking back from here. Remember, chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit. The ordered path might seem safer, but the chaotic path is where the heart of innovation lakeside resides. Be a builder. Route your journey. Be the answer to a problem and not just a part of it. After all, you're not just designing products, but you're essentially designing the future of user experience.