User research is essential to design and develop a product and achieve your business goal. Likewise, it will help you understand the user’s pain point and create an effective solution to provide the user with an impeccable experience. But wait, did you hire a product designer? Hiring a project designer is as important as conducting user research. So, let’s go ahead and find out how to hire a product designer for your business.

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What is a Product Designer?

A product designer is a person who handles the product design or the improvement of an existing one. Some functions include brainstorming solutions to user pain points and seeking stakeholder input. A product designer also liaises between researchers, engineers, and designers and helps create mock-ups through wireframes and prototypes. In addition, a product designer must understand the bigger goals of the product while overseeing the details needed to achieve them. 

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Things to Consider Before Hiring a Product Designer

You must consider these critical factors to attract and hire top product designers. 

Product design needs

In general, product designers enhance customers’ interactions with your product. However, some designers may be more effective in certain design stages or product types. In this case, you should clearly define your needs before you hire a designer, such as: 

  • Product Type 
  • Product development stage 
  • Current design challenges like marketing feedback and attracting a new user segment
  • Required design skills, such as UX/UI, web, or mobile design skills
  • Knowledge of software needed and experience

Compensation

Product designers are highly skilled and in high demand. Therefore, it’s essential to match or surpass the average market compensation for specific levels of expertise. This is crucial not only for attracting talented applicants but also for retaining them. Here’s how to find the ideal compensation range:

  • Use job boards such as Indeed to understand competitors’ compensation packages for product designers. Some platforms, like LinkedIn, also provide average salaries for specific roles.
  • Explore compensation levels from alternative career paths, like coding or consulting, to attract professionals looking to switch careers. For instance, you can research job advertisements for business analysts in your industry.
  • Adapt the market figures to your company’s size, growth stage, and the role’s seniority level and responsibilities. Larger companies and more senior roles should offer more competitive salaries. For example, if a direct competitor has a smaller workforce and revenue, consider offering a 10-30 percent higher salary for a similar position.
  • If you can’t meet or exceed market salary figures, enhance the benefits package. This might include a health care allowance or additional paid time off (PTO).

Remote and hybrid work setup

While product designers can benefit from on-site collaboration but perform well in a remote or hybrid setting, it is worth offering work-from-home benefits on a case-by-case basis. This strategy will widen your applicant pool with skilled professionals wanting more flexibility. Moreover, you will attract talent from outside your geographic area, making it a great option if your offices are outside a central urban tech hub.

Skills and Qualifications of a Product Designer 

Product designers use many skills in other industry roles, such as project management, marketing, and sales. Some of the skills and qualifications include:

  • Wireframing 
  • Prototyping
  • Journey Map Development
  • Knowledge of design principles such as typography and color theory
  • Knowledge of UX principles and best practices
  • Proficiency with digital design software and tools
  • Proficiency in computer-aided design (CAD)
  • Project Management
  • Data analysis
  • Negotiation
  • Ability to work independently and within a team
  • Problem-Solving Skills
  • Attention to Detail
  • Verbal and Written Communication
  • Time Management

Where to Find Skilled Product Designers

You can find skilled product designers on traditional job boards like LinkedIn. But, these platforms cater to a broader audience, which makes it challenging to find specialized design candidates. Below are some ways to find prospective product designers.

  • Post on designer job boards. Platforms like Design Jobs Board allow you to post job ads for product designers. You can also use job boards like ZipRecruiter or Hired, which have large audiences of product design jobseekers.
  • Connect with design and freelancing communities. Visit portfolio platforms like Dribbble and Behance to choose designers whose skills and experience match your needs. Freelancer websites like Upwork, Toptal, and Freelancer.com also provide access to candidates actively looking for opportunities.

Organize design-focused hackathons. Hackathons are short events where teams develop new products and present them. Participants demonstrate various skills like research, collaboration, and pitching. Although expensive, hackathons can reveal talented individuals who might not apply otherwise.  

Host design workshops and boot camps. Training opportunities, like design workshops and boot camps, are especially beneficial for discovering entry-level product designers. These candidates typically include recent college graduates with relevant degrees, self-taught entrepreneurs, or individuals passionate about design who are transitioning from other careers.

Attend product and design conferences. Send your head hunters or hiring managers to significant events across the United States, like Mind the Product and User Experience Conference, where they can meet product design prospects while listening to speakers or organizers. 

How to Hire A Product Designer

Here are our expert tips for evaluating product designer skills at every step of the hiring process. 

Utilize Skills Assessments

Employing skills assessments offers a rapid, impartial method to evaluate candidates based on their abilities, traits, and skills. For example, TestGorilla provides over 300 tests covering cognitive, job-specific, personality, and cultural fit assessments.

Create a product design assessment by selecting relevant tests from our collection, such as communication, product management, UX/UI design, market research, and software proficiency. These assessments can streamline the identification of top candidates, resulting in more efficient interviews and better-suited hires.

Request Portfolios

Reviewing portfolios of past designs, including webpages and mobile interfaces, allows you to gauge applicants’ skill levels and provides a foundation for interview discussions. For instance, inquire about their approach to previous designs and the challenges they encountered.

Implement a Structured Interview Process

Structured interviews involve posing standardized questions and evaluating candidates based on predefined role-related criteria. Assess technical and interpersonal skills, ranging from design proficiency and problem-solving to communication and receptiveness to feedback.

For example, inquire about UX-related topics such as “Describe three UX design methods you’ve utilized in your work,” and pay attention to the specificity of their responses.

Incorporate Practical Case Studies

In interview case studies, present a scenario and ask candidates to devise a solution step by step. These exercises are more detailed than scenario-based questions and involve practical tasks.

Case studies are essential for assessing a product designer’s ability to handle real-world scenarios. For example, you might task them with designing the interface for a mobile app aiming to attract its initial 1,000 users.

Also, critical skills such as prototyping and user-centered design should be looked for, and the evaluation should be made of whether candidates ask follow-up questions and share their design process.

Conclusion

Product designers take responsibility for the entire creation process of a new product. This guide will help you find the right talent for your business. If you need web or mobile app design or another design-related project, don’t hesitate to connect with professional designers here at Penji.

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