In this conversational video, Andres Gonzalez and a guest speaker address the frustration many aspiring UX designers feel when applying for jobs without response. They argue that breaking into UX design requires strategic, actionable steps rather than passive learning. The core advice centers on choosing a niche that aligns with personal interests, then consistently showcasing niche‑focused work on Dribbble and optimizing a LinkedIn profile (headline and URL) to attract recruiters. They present a three‑step formula: (1) post 1‑3 Dribbble shots per week with a LinkedIn link, (2) update the LinkedIn headline to reflect the niche, and (3) link Dribbble to LinkedIn while joining relevant communities. The speakers share concrete success stories—a $25,000 client, a $95,000 full‑time role at Paramount+, a $15,600 freelance gig, and a co‑founded design studio that generated $37,000 in revenue—demonstrating the financial impact of these tactics. Networking is framed as “your network is your net worth,” with a recommended daily one‑hour LinkedIn engagement routine focused on genuine relationship building rather than immediate job asks. Community involvement (e.g., Latinx Who Design Slack, job‑opportunity channels) is highlighted as a source of leads. The video concludes with a call‑to‑action to watch a linked video that details how the host landed his first UX client without prior experience or a portfolio.
Chapters
Are you tired of applying to a UX designer job to another UX designer job and never hearing anything back? Are you tired of watching video after video on how to become a UX designer and just feeling really lost? Are you starting to lose hope that maybe UX design isn't for you? Well, don't lose hope because you're right here. That initial excitement you felt when you wanted to become a UX designer has finally worn off and reality has now set in. You're realizing now that breaking into this industry is going to take a lot. Of work. See, the good news is that there's some simple things you can do now that will get you more interviews and more opportunities for UX design work. And some of these things actually landed me a $25,000 client and landed one of my good friends Jacob a full-time role at Paramount Plus. And that first simple thing that you can do is choose a niche.
Yes, something as simple as choosing a niche led to 30 recruiters reaching out to me on LinkedIn, 15 interviews, and 3 job offers. So before I even knew about the powers down, I actually saw the benefits of it myself. I was creating sports app designs on Dribbble because that's what I was interested in. This attracted a company that would then lead to a full-time job paying $95,000 a year that was also founded by one of my childhood heroes, New York Yankee and MLB champion Derek Jeter. So then I thought, I'm going to start designing products based upon what I'm interested in and I'm going to roll with it. One day I was watching Hulu and I noticed this homepage is was a little bit, eh. And then I had the epiphany. I could actually design for a streaming platform like Hulu. I knew this was gonna be my bread and butter to get into a streaming platform like Hulu, Paramount+, and Apple TV. Then I watched a video one night by Sarah Doody that talked about optimizing your LinkedIn headline to land your dream job. So that night I spent hours working on optimizing my LinkedIn, my Dribbble portfolio. I went to bed, I woke up 8 hours later, and actually had an interview request from Paramount+. So I can just say it, choosing a niche really works.
And he's actually growing his YouTube channel and he's going to be posting some really, really amazing content. So if you're trying to learn UX design, you know, he's going to be someone that you definitely want to keep on your radar. So check out his channel too.
If you would like results like this, then follow my formula in these 3 steps. 1, post 1 to 3 dribble shots per week focused around your niche and make sure to include your LinkedIn URL in the post. 2. Update your LinkedIn headline to reflect your niche. After that, you're going to link your Dribbble to your LinkedIn profile. And then the next thing you can do is join communities and network.
Have you ever heard of the saying your network is your net worth? Well, it's super true. And I'm a clear example of this. You see, I started becoming more active on LinkedIn, commenting on posts, messaging other designers, and one day I met a very special person, Jordan Galverón. He was the founder of a marketing agency called StratEv, and at first he actually messaged me selling me his marketing services over and over again, which I ignored. Then he sends me this message: Andres, been trying to reach you for so long that the custom shirts came in, your soon-to-be project manager was just too excited about the opportunity to work with you. And this was really, really clever. I've never seen someone with this sort of messaging strategy, putting my company logo on someone else's shirt as a way to get my attention. And I respected that and it worked. We ended up realizing during the sales call that, you know, we weren't a good fit for his marketing services. However, I told him at the end of the call that I'd love to stay in touch and maybe even become friends. Not even like 7 days go by and one day he gives me a call for a UX design project and then another one and another one after that. And eventually I earned $30,257.14 with this one relationship. And in 2022, we actually decided to start a company together called Rethink Design, where we would actually make $37,050.82 in total revenue. Oh, is it hot in here? And during that same year, I actually joined a Slack community called Latinx Who Design, and I found these guys on YouTube. And once I joined the Slack community again, I just interacted with other designers, messaged them, and learned more about their stories. And they had a Slack channel called Job Opportunities. And one day someone was asking for a UX design freelancer to work on a project. I responded, I shared my portfolio, and I ended up getting the job, which was worth $15,600. It's not just about the case studies and the portfolio that you have. It's also about the connections that you make. Your network is your net worth. If you want to reap the benefits of growing your network, then here's what I want you to do. For 1 hour every single day, I want you to engage and message other designers on LinkedIn. And eventually, when you start engaging with their content, then I want you to message them and ask them, hey, I really loved your post. I really loved your content. You know, I'd love to set up a 15-minute chat with you to learn a more about your design story. Would this be something that you're open to? And little by little, as you engage with their posts and message these designers, you'll actually start building those relationships. For the most part, your default should be, I just want to be your friend and that's it. Okay, I want to make this very clear. You shouldn't be asking for a job. You shouldn't be asking for a referral within the first couple of times that you meet with this person. You have to genuinely care about building these sort of relationships. And as counterintuitive as it is, not wanting anything from the person that you're connecting with and simply trying to support them will actually give you the most amount of benefit. And if you want to learn exactly how I was able to get my first UX design client with no experience and no portfolio, then I want you to watch this video right here.
