Networking

Don't be weird and/or annoying

This is at the very top for a reason. Please do not be that person.

If you wouldn't do or say it to your boss's boss, don't do it during networking.

Don't stalk people on their personal accounts.

Twitter & Bluesky are normal for things like networking within the industry, but trying to follow someone's private Instagram is not.

Don't repeatedly send messages, emails, or anything else to someone who has ignored you.

Don't ask for referrals if you barely know them.

This includes asking for referrals as your first message, or writing a really generic first message and then immediately asking for a referral after they respond.

Don't spam your LinkedIn, portfolio, or resume in public chats.

I've noticed that there's a trend where people start spamming their links in virtual Zoom conference chats. I don't think anyone actually wants to click on those links. It also devalues your brand. There's a line you have to walk between being proactive & driven and coming off as desperate.

Make a list of 5 companies you would enjoy working at

Make sure you can give a reason as to why you’d want to work there that doesn't include pay.

Do they have really compelling or innovative designs?

Do they have a good product?

Do they have a mature design culture?

Do their designers do cool stuff for side projects?

Find content from designers at those companies

These are usually interviews, podcasts, or articles.

Unless you're looking at a super duper niche industry or company, there's likely some kind of paper trail out there.

You're looking to understand more about their working culture, what their day to day looks like, and any other common or generic questions.

You should be able to get deeper insight this way; there's more to think about and talk about beyond the basic questions that a lot of people ask as their opening line to try and network.

I'd recommend taking notes on both things that resonate with you, and things that you don't agree so much with. These are good conversation starters (although it goes without saying that you shouldn't be rude).

Personalise your LinkedIn connection requests

Designers at well-known companies get barraged with LinkedIn connection requests every single day.

The average LinkedIn connection request doesn't have any text attached to it. It makes it a lot easier to decline.

I've gotten a long way by making sure that I always add a note with my requests — but not just some random note saying "Let's connect" or something equally generic and annoying.

You need to be specific, but not too much that it's weird. (I realise that I'm repeating "don't be weird" a lot.)

Keep it light, friendly, and honest.

Don't claim that their work has changed the course of your life, and if it has, phrase it in a way that is genuine.

Avoid being overly serious or formal; you want to keep it chill, like how you'd address a coworker.

Mention something you've learned from the content.

If you've done your research as above, you should have some kind of interesting thing they said before.

This helps build toward the point below: people love hearing their own accomplishments and thoughts reflected by others.

Give them a reason why they should connect with you.

This is why the vast majority of connection requests fail.

People generally want to network up rather than down, so find a reason why they might be interested in chatting with you.

Do you know any mutuals who could help introduce you?

Did you maybe work at a company adjacent to theirs?

Have you produced any designs or work inspired by them?

Are you part of any notable organisations?

Have you done something in your spare time that is also linked to their interests?

Find events to attend

The big one for UX designers is Figma's Config, which is hosted online as well as in person.

The online ticket is free and all the talks are uploaded on YouTube afterwards — there's no reason to not attend virtually if you (understandably) can't afford to go physically.

Depending on your specific industry, there are other major events: for me in the gaming industry, GDC is the defining conference. There's also the Game UX Summit, which also has previous talks on YouTube.

There are usually networking events held at all of these, but I find that they don't really prove to be super beneficial unless you're looking for an accountability buddy to do job apps together (which is actually a real strategy, and one that I encourage!).

It's far more fruitful to take notes during a talk and then follow up with that speaker afterwards with genuinely thoughtful opinions or questions based on what they were talking about.

It helps to actually pay attention and demonstrate that you're capable of critical thinking and pushing back on certain ideas if you don't fully agree.