UX design is one of the most sophisticated spheres in online business today. Its definition is unique, while a job description presupposes a lot of different responsibilities. Some people don’t fully understand the meaning of the UX design term itself.
However, any Internet user sees the products of UX designers almost every day. People and computers have become inseparable parts of our daily life. So questions of usability and convenience are fundamental when we talk about modern technologies. One can hardly find a company that doesn’t use UX design in their business activities. Still, hiring UX designer is not an easy task.
Even if you’ve found the right person, you still need to persuade them to join your company. UX design is a rather broad definition that has plenty of peculiarities. Many UX designers work either officially or as freelancers. Still, both full-timers and freelancers appreciate their time very much. They don’t rush to work for the first company they see in a job ad.
UX designers know that their work is widespread, and many employees want to get them in their company. Hiring UX designer requires several stages, such as evaluating designers and convincing them to join your company if you have found a talented candidate.
If you are not familiar with this article’s topic at all, we are here to give you several tips on how to recruit a true UX professional into your crew.
UX designers are no longer a rarity
Times when UX designers were a rarity, have become a thing of the past. When this skillset was emerging, new UX experts were tough to find and even tougher to hire. Today, there are many UX designers who work as freelancers or offer their services on a full-time basis.
If you choose to recruit a designer to your team then it will pay to prepare. Here are some interview questions to ask while hiring a UX designer. Some prefer hiring UX designers on a regular payroll. Others choose freelance services using them from time to time.
You need to assess what route is right for your company. However, each of those approaches to working with a UX designer has trade-offs. We have put together some of the pros and cons of the different types of professional engagement for you to think about.
Using freelance UX designers
Freelance UX designers are widely available these days. For startups and companies that need to save fixed budget outgoings, working with a freelancer can make sense. It’s also a common situation when UX design is not needed on a daily basis. Many designers work to the job rather than to time, so freelancing can be an excellent fit for this type of work. Such relationships are standard today. Still, the practice of using freelance UX designers has its pros and cons.
Pros:
Price is the first advantage. In comparison to full-time employees, freelancers only charge for the hours that they are working to task. So you don’t need to pay for coffee breaks and chit-chat.
You also don’t need to pay for holiday and sick pay. And if their work falls short of the standard you need, then it isn’t usually difficult to dispense with a freelancer. But bear in mind that the freelancer will charge a higher hourly or daily rate to take into account that they are responsible for their own overheads. and security.
Another good thing is that UX design is not limited to a particular country as a part of the world. You can have your company in Norway and hire a freelancer from Japan or the USA, for example. This fact exposes you to a wide range of people to choose from. Also, remember that each freelancer is unique and thinks in terms of native culture. So, you can choose a professional from any part of the world and use this cultural variety for your benefit.
Next, freelance UX designers can be useful even when you have a full-time specialist on board. UX design includes many different aspects and requires various skills. Perhaps, there is no such UX specialist that can do everything. So, one day you may need help with some specific branch of UX design that your employee is not experienced with.
The best choice here is to hire a freelancer to perform this particular part of your project and save time and money without introducing a new crew member to your company.
Freelance UX designers are known for their speed in performing the orders they get. They need to do their work as fast and responsibly as possible because the quicker they finish, the sooner they will get paid. Also, in a vortex of various tasks, freelancers can switch from one project to another, thus gaining more experience and creativity. So, their attitude to deadlines and the quality of their work is impressive. If, of course, you deal with a top-notch freelancer.
Cons:
Even though the majority of freelancers are dedicated to what they do, you can still make an unlucky hire. A freelancer may take time to get up to speed and may have conflicting loyalties with other clients. Sometimes freelancers go missing and do not deliver on their promises (both when it comes to quality and deadlines). In those situations, you have little leverage to hold them to account. They have no limitations or responsibilities if they fail to do their job correctly. All they have to lose is payment.
Also, considering the regional diversity of various UX freelancers, it is sometimes hard to contact them. Bad connections, time zones, or anything else can be a massive problem for some people. While Skype and other online tools offering video calls can solve communication issues, different time zones can lead to delays and negatively affect your overall workflow.
Working with a full-time UX designer
Many companies prefer hiring full-time UX designers to work for them on a steady basis. This option is perfect for those employers who are able to offer a decent level of salary. But, of course, working with full-time designers also has its pros and cons.
Pros:
If a UX designer works for one company over a long period, it is easier for such an expert to master all the tiniest aspects of their job. You may be sure that this person won’t let you down and keep on working as a reliable part of your enterprise’s whole mechanism.
What is more, if you pay your crew well, full-time members will try to do their best to keep their job for as long as possible. They get used to what they do, and years of experience turn them into true professionals in the sphere of UX design.
Cons:
The main drawback of hiring full-time UX designers is that you will have to pay them regularly, regardless of current tasks and business priorities. Even if your employees have nothing to do, there is still an obligation to pay them.
On the other hand, you will constantly have a specialist who is ready to handle the job; on the other hand, this is not reasonable from your company’s economic perspective. Unless, of course, you run a full-scale software development company. In that case, a full-time UX designer is a must-have asset.
How to find a UX designer
So, if you have checked all the tips above and have decided that you need a UX designer within your crew, it is time to discuss how to find a reliable expert. SignalHire is a browser extension aimed at finding real emails and phones of UX designers who work online.
SignalHire LinkedIn email finder tool can be very useful when browsing this global professional network. A handy browser extension can pull virtually anyone’s contact details in a click. As a result, you will get valid email addresses, phone numbers, and even backlinks to other social media accounts whenever applicable. So, instead of writing potential employees over LinkedIn messaging, you will get a chance to contact them directly. This significantly boosts your chances of getting noticed.
Getting used to Signalhire extension is quite an easy task, regardless of your tech skills. The first step is visiting Signalhire website and filling in a registration form there. Your first name, last name, email, and working phone – these are the only items you have to provide SignalHire administration with.
After you filled in all the information, check out the Credit Plan section. SignalHire credit plans differ by their price and term of usage. It is essential to clarify that pricing for using Signalhire extension is relatively low compared to other similar services. Almost any user can afford this software for a relatively small amount of money.
Finally, the SignalHire extension works smoothly with Chrome and Firefox browsers. It integrates into your current browser and creates a special icon, which you can activate whenever you want. There is no reason to switch between tabs while using the Signalhire extension. Everything is designed for the convenient and effective recruiting of UX designers online.