100. The Entry Level Paradox: Breaking Into UX with Mitch Clements

It seems like every job requires experience, but you can’t get experience without a job.

If that’s the case, how do you break into the UX industry?

In this episode, I sit down with Mitch Clements, a senior product design manager at nCino, to unravel the paradox many aspiring UX designers face: needing experience to get a job but needing a job to get experience. Mitch, who has grown his design team from 2 to 30 members, shares what types of applicants grab his attention.

We dig into strategies for gaining experience outside of traditional employment, the power of networking, and how to craft a portfolio that catches a hiring manager’s eye. Mitch emphasizes the importance of curiosity, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial thinking in creating opportunities.

Whether you’re a career shifter or fresh out of a boot camp, this episode offers actionable advice on standing out in a sea of applicants and landing your first UX role. Don’t miss Mitch’s insider tips on what hiring managers really look for and how to avoid common pitfalls in your job search.

Topics:
• 08:00 – Mitch’s origin story
• 11:58 – Ignore the title for a minute and think about skills to learn
• 14:42 – How do you get experience without a job?
• 20:00 – Career shifters have a big advantage here
• 29:17 – Networking is invaluable
• 33:50 – Find Slack channels or Discord servers
• 38:58 – Referrals are powerful for hiring teams
• 41:55 – How Mitch decides who to interview after 100s of applicants
• 44:41 – Mitch’s red flags
• 52:59 – You may need to create your opportunities
• 56:59 – Avoid the fanciful, unrealistic solutions
• 58:19 – Take an entrepreneurial mindset

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Mitch on LinkedIn
• Don’t miss our LIVE Q&A on Friday Oct 25 @ 11 Eastern

Mitch Clements
Sr Product Design Manager @ nCino

About Mitch

Mitch is a Senior Product Design Manager at nCino where he’s built a design team from two to 30 designers and has helped the mortgage business unit grow from a startup to a 1.2 billion dollar industry leader. With a diverse career background as a developer, product manager and designer, Mitch brings a unique perspective and leadership to product vision, strategy, storytelling, and building design teams. Mitch is deeply passionate about fostering the design community and regularly makes appearances as a speaker at design conferences and shares his thoughts regularly on LinkedIn. Mitch enjoys speaking on a variety of topics, including helping designers level up in their careers, design leadership, and demonstrating the business value of design.

Connect with Mitch on LinkedIn

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