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Hey and welcome back to a new week! 👋 

In this issue:

• Spot Those 🚩🚩🚩: Yes, you want that first role but not at all costs. Learn what to avoid or be cautious with in today’s article.

• The Best Way to Write Case Studies: Frankie Kastenbaum’s new book on writing case studies is an absolute gem - don’t miss out on it and save 10% exclusive to Open Doors’ subscribers!

• Diana’s Portfolio: Check Diana’s portfolio which is so full of personality and great work.

• Today’s Question: How To Approach Networking?

🤝 TODAY’S PARTNER

Are you tired of being called a Checklist Designer?

Many junior designers feel the urge to include every single deliverable from a project in their case study.

While it may seem thorough, this often leads to an endless scroll and a case study that’s less engaging and doesn’t tell a cohesive story.

To move beyond this checklist approach, it is important to recognize that two distinct stories are at play. Grab your copy of The Portfolio Sandwich Method to learn how to craft a compelling, professional case study that:

• Creates a seamless narrative that connects one deliverable to the next

• Helps avoid a checklist-style case study

• Organizes and prioritizes deliverables through the provided questions

Ready to serve up a polished portfolio? Build your sandwich and purchase your copy today with 10% off discount code OPEN_DOORS

✨ Top Jobs This Week

UX/UI Designer @ OnHires (Multiple 🌍 Remote)

Product Designer @ Penchecks Inc (US 🇺🇸 Remote)

Associate Designer @ Blizzard Entertainment (Irvine, US 🇺🇸)

User Experience Designer @ California State University (Fresno, US 🇺🇸)

Product Designer @ Scope Markets (London, UK 🇬🇧)

Not Every Job Is Worth Taking: Red Flags to Watch for in Your First Design Role 🚩

Landing your first design job is hard, and in today’s market, it’s tempting to take whatever opportunity comes your way. I’ve been there—I know what it’s like to just want a foot in the door. But after mentoring countless juniors, I’ve seen firsthand how rushing into the wrong job can lead to frustration, burnout, and sometimes even giving up on design altogether.

The reality is that we’re in an employer-dominated market right now, meaning companies are getting away with more demands than ever. While competition is fierce, that doesn’t mean you should ignore major red flags just to secure a role. Some jobs will end up hurting your career more than helping it.

Recently, I wrote about acing your first interview and using it as an opportunity to assess potential red flags yourself. But before you even get to that point, you need to know what signs to look out for in job descriptions and company culture.

Let’s get into it.

Know Your Own Green & Red Flags First

Before I dive into warning signs in companies, it’s important to identify what YOU personally want in a job. Not all red flags are universal—what’s a dealbreaker for one designer might be a great opportunity for another.

Try this quick exercise:

• Visualize your ideal job: What type of work do you want to do? What kind of environment helps you thrive?

• Reflect on past experiences: Even if you’re new to design, past jobs, internships, or projects can tell you a lot about what you like and dislike in a workplace.

Once you do this, note your top two green flags (what makes a company ideal) and your top three red flags (what would make you quit). These are your personal non-negotiables and should help guide your job search.

Red Flags to Watch For in Job Descriptions & Companies

Even if you’re eager to land a job, some opportunities come with massive risks. These are the red flags that I’ve seen cause major issues for juniors—roles that drain confidence, provide no real experience, or set designers up for failure.

1. ‘Ninja,’ ‘Rockstar,’ or ‘Superhero’ Job Titles

Companies that describe designers this way often expect one person to do the job of multiple people—for a single paycheck. If a company truly understands design, they won’t be looking for a "superhuman" who does UI, UX, research, animation, and marketing graphics all at once.

These job listings tend to be vague, overly enthusiastic, and packed with buzzwords but lack real details on what you’d actually do. Be wary.

2. A Heavy Focus on ‘Fast-Paced Environments’

Look, some companies are fast-paced because they move quickly, make decisions fast, and have ambitious goals. Others say "fast-paced" when they actually mean disorganized, understaffed, and unsustainable.

If a job description heavily emphasizes "thriving under pressure," "juggling multiple projects," or "adapting to constant change"—without any mention of support, mentorship, or team structure—it’s a red flag that you might be overworked and under-supported.

How to check? Ask during your first interview:

3. Job Descriptions Asking for ‘All of the Above’

If a listing asks for UI design, UX research, motion graphics, 3D modeling, AND front-end development, it’s a sign they don’t understand design as a discipline.

Startups sometimes need generalists, but a reasonable job description will make it clear where the primary focus lies. If everything is a "must-have," that’s a red flag.

Exception: Some hybrid roles are legitimate! If a company asks for UX + UI or Motion + Product Design, that can make sense. But research-heavy roles that also require visual design mastery? That’s an unrealistic ask.

4. Unpaid Internships That ‘Might’ Lead to a Job

Unpaid work should never be a requirement to get a full-time role. If a company has the budget to hire someone after a free internship, they should be paying that person from the start.

Even if they promise a paid position after three months, that’s never a guarantee. You could do all the work, prove yourself, and still not get hired.

If they aren’t willing to invest in you now, why assume they will later?

5. Reporting into a Non-Design Function

In startups, it's common to report to the CEO, CTO, or Head of Product. That’s not necessarily bad if you’re their first design hire.

But if you’re reporting into a Marketing Director, Engineer, or Product Manager in an established company, that’s a big red flag. It signals that design is not respected as its own discipline and that you’ll be treated as a support function rather than a strategic partner.

Without proper design leadership, you might struggle to:

• Get buy-in for research or user testing

• Push back on unrealistic deadlines

• Advocate for proper design processes

Before accepting an offer, ask: "Who will I be reporting to, and how does design fit within the company?"

Yellow Flags (Not Always a Dealbreaker, But Proceed With Caution)

Some roles aren’t immediate red flags but should be approached carefully. Here are a few:

Early-stage startups hiring their first designer

Can be an amazing experience, but also risky if they have no idea how to integrate design into their process. Ask how they plan to support you.

Roles with no senior designers or mentors

If you’re the only designer, who will help you grow? Make sure you’re comfortable with self-learning or that the company offers development support.

Low salaries with high expectations

We all start somewhere, but if a company wants senior-level work at junior pay, it’s likely they’ll undervalue you in other ways, too.

Final Thoughts

You’re not just looking for any job—you’re looking for the right first step in your design career. Your first job will shape your skills, confidence, and future opportunities, so choose wisely.

Yes, the market is tough. And yes, sometimes you’ll have to make compromises. But don’t entertain offers that set you up for burnout, underpayment, or lack of growth. It’s better to hold out for a role that aligns with your career goals than to accept one that makes you question your choice to become a designer in the first place.

Stay sharp, stay patient, and trust that the right opportunity will come.

💼 More Jobs

UX Designer @ Lucid Software (US 🇺🇸 Remote)

Associate Product Designer @ Alphasights (New York, US 🇺🇸)

Associate Product Designer @ Mochi Health (San Francisco, US 🇺🇸)

UX Designer @ Axos Bank (San Diego, US 🇺🇸)

User Experience Designer @ Westinghouse Electric Company Llc (Richmond / Cayce, US 🇺🇸)

UX Associate @ Assa Abloy Group (New Haven / Phoenix, US 🇺🇸)

Assoc Content Designer @ Spectrum (Stamford, US 🇺🇸)

Product Designer @ Manulife (Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦)

Junior Motion Designer - The Heist @ Thinkingbox (Vancouver, Canada 🇨🇦)

User Experience Designer (12 Month Contract) @ TVO Media Education Group (Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦)

Junior UI UX Designer @ myCicero (Senigallia, Italy 🇮🇹)

Part-time Junior UX Designer (Figma) @ Prodly (Cyprus 🇨🇾 Remote)

Product Designer @ Microsoft (Hyderabad, India 🇮🇳)

⁉️ Q&A

Today’s Question
How To Approach Networking?

👀 Portfolio Showcase

Today: Diana Lu

This one is special in many ways. It might be the quirkiest portfolio you’ve seen and will see in a while. And I’m all here for it because I think it’s perfectly executed. Diana is an Interaction Designer based in Los Angeles and she is treating us to her exhibition.

Diana doesn’t care too much about “the rules” and you will notice that a lot of the stuff I often tell you to include are nowhere to find here. Let’s take a look why that is perfectly fine in this case.

The Good:

• Show Over Tell: As an interaction designer Diana’s work happens mostly in prototyping tools. Based on her playground Diana predominantly seems to use Origami. Most of her work would not be conveyable through static images and written descriptions. So her portfolio is all about big, crisp and engaging videos that showcase her work in action. In her more traditional case studies like the one about her work for Hyper Online she is still nailing to storytelling and process bits through visual storytelling and succinct rationales. I would never suggest this for more process-oriented UX Designers or researchers unless you bring additional great visual skills but for Interaction Designers or visually-focussed Product Designers this is a perfect way to showcase your work.

• Personality Matters: Diana’s portfolio is probably the most personality-filled portfolio I’ve seen in a while and she doesn’t even have an about page. Only a link to a Notion doc about her rabbit which is very cute. Yet I feel like I get her vibe and it perfectly matches the type of work she is doing. I can tell based on her work that she will not work at Salesforce but rather at TikTok (which is actually true since she interned there), Snap or some super fresh startup that is building the next app that Gen Z will hype. A lot of that are the doodles appearing across her portfolio but also the way her texts are written. This is something hiring managers can immediately connect to if it’s done well and in an authentic way. Beware of being superficial with this though—it will actually have the opposite effect.

Since Diana’s portfolio doesn’t fit the mold at all and her work is incredibly well executed, there is little I can criticize honestly. Yet there is one thing I definitely would have noted no matter what so let’s take a look at that.

The Potential:

• Abrupt Endings: Diana’s case studies and projects are engaging and definitely keep me scrolling. In a pile of applications I’m sure recruiters and hiring managers will actually take more time reviewing her portfolio than they usually do. However whilst scrolling I felt that the stops in most case studies were unnecessarily hard. The Hyper Online case study ends on a section titled “Marketing Videos” with two linked Twitter posts including the video she did. But..that’s it? No talk about the work she shipped, no reflections or anything. With interaction design I don’t necessarily expect business impact. It’s hard to measure and often depends on other factors controlled by other roles on the project hence it’s not necessarily something I’d expect here but I’d definitely love to hear something that concludes and closes the case study.

Diana’s portfolio is an incredible example of good work well presented and even if you are not opting for Interaction Design you will be able to find tons of inspiration in her portfolio. Definitely go and check it!

That’s it for this week—thanks so much for the support! ♥️

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If you need more tailored help on your journey into design here is how I can help you further:

• Book a portfolio or resume review with me

• Book a mentoring session with me

• Book a quick 15 min chat to ask a question or get to know me

Keep kicking doors open and see you next week!
- Florian