Career Advice | Leo Vogel

// education

Education

Use this free tool to explore skill focus areas: Vy Alechnavicius UX Designer Roadmap - Essential Skills to Be Successful.
Consider taking the Udacity UX Design Nanodegree ($$$).
Consider taking the Google UX Design Certification and listing it as your first education item on LinkedIn so you have at least one portfolio project ($$).
For a free option, use Springboard.

Read Never Search Alone. Buy a copy or borrow it from your local library and consider signing up for the free Job Search Council program.
Track your job applications using either a Notion database or a tool like Simplify.
Write cover letters for roles you are especially interested in so you stand out and improve ATS scoring.
Build relationships with recruiters and keep a record of who you spoke with, when, and how to follow up.
Stop relying on LinkedIn Easy Apply whenever possible. Find the company careers page and apply directly.
Use the UX Maturity Evaluation framework to compare companies.

Profile photo and header

What story are you trying to tell? How do you want people to perceive you?

Add #OpenToWork to your About section and use the profile frame if you are actively looking.
Remove your resume from LinkedIn so recruiters contact you more directly.
Add your portfolio as a featured link and avoid descriptions on featured links so they open directly.
Improve your headline so it includes an "I help" pitch, job title, hard and soft skills, and measurable metrics. Test it with this tool.
Add a header image using this Figma template. Keep it simple, include a call to action, and stay on brand.
Use a clear professional profile photo with a plain background. You can also generate a professional profile photo with AI.
For experience descriptions, either tell the story of your top accomplishments or use resume-style bullet points.
Get to at least 500 connections and keep networking with other designers.
Join LinkedIn groups that support your career goals and connect with me.
Keep your skills current and ordered from most important to least important. Link each role or education item to 5-6 relevant skills max.
Read this post and this post.
Use remove.bg to clean up your profile image background and test your photo with PhotoFeeler.
Your banner image should communicate your brand, professional story, and a clear CTA.

Attend one of Design Buddies Feedback Friday sessions and listen for critiques that also apply to your work.
Read this free guide and this portfolio resource by Sarah Hogan.
Case studies on homepages need hover states and a consistent visual treatment.
Your nav bar should have your name on the left, with a personal logo before it if you have one.
Do not use an invisible nav bar. Read this article and follow standard navigation best practices.
Your homepage hero needs to be specific to you, not generic. Try to explain what makes you distinct in one or two sentences.
Change "Contact" to "Email" or "Email Me" in your main navigation and make it a mailto link. Remove contact forms when they add friction.
Put your resume content directly on the page instead of using screenshots so it is readable on mobile and indexable.
Buy and use a personal domain such as YourName.com or YourName.design.
Do not include your phone number and personal email to reduce spam. A jobs-focused email is better.
Make your resume a page on your site and provide a downloadable PDF version at the top.

Exceptional / standout portfolios:

Use a DOCX file or a PDF exported from Word. PDFs from design tools generally perform worse in ATS systems.
Ensure your resume is ATS optimized.
To create an ATS-friendly resume with AI writing help, use Rezi, the free upgrade thread, or a Jobscan template.
Use a single-column Word or Word-exported PDF when applying online. Do not apply with a resume made in Figma.
On your site you can show a more designed resume for humans, but do not use that version in ATS workflows.
Use this bullet formula: action verb + results / impact + skill or method + what happened / side benefits.
Keep the design clean and printable. Hiring managers and recruiters still print resumes.
Think through the resume user journey: if someone prints it, can they still find your portfolio and LinkedIn easily?
Keep a single-column version for online applications. These free templates are a good starting point.