3+ years UX experience, months of job search, barely any callswhere am I going wrong?
Hi everyone, I'm 26M, UI/UX Designer with 3+ years of experience across fintech, edtech, e-commerce, and SaaS. Looking for full-time UX/UI roles, remote, open to hybrid too.
It's been months of active searching. I've sent 15+ applications in a single day at points, revised my resume multiple times, customized it per role, and still the response rate is low. Recently rejected from three processes back to back (one after an assessment round). I know part of the problem: my portfolio shows final screens but not the research/thinking process behind them, and I'm actively fixing that now.
A bit about my experience:
• End-to-end UX for fintech and e-commerce/D2C platforms (10+ brands)
• Learner dashboards and admin reporting tools (adopted by enterprise clients)
• Heatmap-driven UX research (MS Clarity) across multiple brands
Where I think I'm going wrong, and where I'd love feedback:
• Is cold-applying to large MNCs just a dead end without a referral?
• Portfolio: is Figma-only okay or does it need to be a hosted site with custom domain?
• Am I better off broadening to adjacent roles (ops, business analyst) short-term while I keep applying to design roles?
• Best way to convert LinkedIn/cold outreach into actual replies, not just views?
If you've hired UX designers recently or made a similar jump, I'd genuinely appreciate any direction. Not looking for sympathy, looking for what's actually working right now.
Thanks in advance.