What skills are in demand for UX designers in 2021
Based on experience from other designers and from asking large companies with the larger design teams, designers who could be described as ‘unicorn designers’ are in high demand right now. A blend of research and design skills is also what the market is seeking.
According to an analysis of 68 job postings including companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon, the three top skills are methods, communication, and process management.
For UX Methods, the three subcategories that were most in demand were surveys (71%), usability testing (65%) and interviews (59%). The more methods you know, obviously the better.
Communication skills are second highest in demand. Not just in verbal delivery and being able to speak to people but the content you are communicating as well. Insights must be actionable and inspiring, so you should keep that in mind when explaining your designs and it’s impact on the business.
You could break communication into three categories
- Interpersonal communication (aka in-person discussions)
- Oral presentations
- Written reports
Process management is the third highest skill in demand and can also be broken down into three categories. End-to-end product ownership, simultaneous projects, and collaboration.
For, end to end product ownership, they are looking for a self motivated person who is going to take initiative and take action with minimal direction throughout the entire process of research to the solution.
A person who can manage multiple projects at the same time shows that they can prioritize tasks and manage their time effectively.
Collaboration is an important part of the process management equation simply because the role requires a lot of it. Whether it is collaboration with the cross-functional product teams, data engineers or other UX designers and researchers; hiring companies want to know that you can ideate and design together, facilitate collaborative design activities and provide feedback on the solutions.
If you are a new designer looking for your first role, it might seem that there are a plethora of things to focus on to be competitive in 2021. Hopefully knowing what companies are most looking for will help ease some of that preparation anxiety.
