Stop Losing UX Jobs to Resume Mistakes
Identify and fix the critical errors that keep your UX Designer resume from landing interviews.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Chances
Each mistake includes why it hurts, how to fix it, and before/after examples
- Recruiters can’t gauge your impact
- ATS scores keywords but rewards quantifiable results
- Hiring managers skim for numbers that prove value
- Replace "improved user experience" with "increased task completion rate by 22%"
- Add specific metrics: time saved, conversion lift, satisfaction scores
- Use action verbs followed by quantifiable results
Led redesign of the dashboard, improving user experience.
Led redesign of the dashboard, boosting task completion rate by 22% and reducing average session time by 1.3 minutes.
- Creates visual clutter
- ATS may not recognize tool names as skills
- Hiring managers can’t see how you applied each tool
- Group tools under a "Design Tools" heading
- Mention tools only when tied to a project outcome
- Prioritize the tools most relevant to the target role
Tools: Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma, InVision, Axure, Balsamiq, Photoshop, Illustrator, Zeplin, Marvel.
Design Tools: Figma (prototyping high‑fidelity flows), Sketch (wireframing), InVision (user testing).
- Leaves gaps in your methodology
- ATS keywords like "user research" or "usability testing" are missed
- Recruiters can’t assess your end‑to‑end thinking
- Add a concise bullet for each phase: research, ideation, design, testing, iteration
- Embed relevant keywords in each bullet
Created wireframes and prototypes for a mobile app.
Conducted user research (interviews, surveys), defined personas, sketched wireframes, built high‑fidelity prototypes in Figma, conducted usability testing, iterated based on findings.
- Recruiters spend <6 seconds on a resume
- ATS may misread sections if formatting is inconsistent
- A cluttered design distracts from content
- Use clear headings with consistent font sizes
- Add white space between sections
- Limit bullet points to 4‑5 per role
Experience Company A – UX Designer Jan 2020 – Present - Conducted research - Designed UI - Tested prototypes - Collaborated with devs - Presented findings - Managed stakeholders
Experience Company A – UX Designer (Jan 2020 – Present) • Conducted user research (30+ interviews) → identified 5 pain points • Designed UI wireframes and high‑fidelity prototypes in Figma • Ran usability tests, achieving a 15% increase in task success • Collaborated with developers to ensure design fidelity • Presented findings to senior leadership
- Employers value inclusive design and may filter for it
- ATS keywords like "accessibility" are ignored if not present
- Shows a gap in modern UX best practices
- Add a bullet highlighting accessibility audits or WCAG compliance
- Include a link to an accessible portfolio with alt‑text descriptions
Portfolio: www.janedoe.com
Portfolio: www.janedoe.com (includes WCAG‑AA compliant redesign of e‑commerce checkout)
- Use a professional email address
- Include a headline with "UX Designer" and years of experience
- Add a one‑sentence summary with key metrics
- List core UX skills in a dedicated section
- Showcase 3–4 most relevant projects with process and results
- Quantify achievements for every role
- Incorporate at least 8 job‑specific keywords
- Save as PDF with searchable text
- Proofread for spelling and grammar
- Replace generic verbs with action verbs
- Add quantified results to each bullet
- Standardize tool list with context
- Insert UX process steps for each project
- Optimize whitespace and headings
