Without trial and error: getting your design job in industry-leading companies
Advice from a recruitment consultant on getting into companies with highly competitive hiring processes.
Getting hired at top-tier companies—let’s acknowledge that this is a broad and subjective term that varies by industry—can feel like a complex process. Many of these companies have multi-stage interviews, a strong reputation, and a high level of performance, attracting applicants from around the world. They typically look for candidates with relevant experience and strong portfolios while also considering cultural fit as a key factor in their decision-making. Think of companies like Apple, Airbnb, Pentagram, or IDEO—each known for its design-driven approach and industry influence.
Instead of guessing what these employers are looking for, you can gain insights from those who’ve been on the hiring side. Below, Alla Pavlova shares practical tips from her 10 years of experience in recruiting, sourcing, and team coaching to help you navigate the process with confidence.
Meet the speaker:
Alla Pavlova, who for the past 10 years has been working as an external consultant, stepping in whenever a company needed help with hiring, sourcing, team coaching, or structuring its recruitment process. She spent some time at Slack and Miro and, for the past three years, has worked with Riot Games on building APAC studios.
Please note that in this article, Alla Pavlova speaks solely for herself and not on behalf of Riot Games.
Job search: put yourself out and keep track
Landing a job that fits your skills and salary expectations will take time. Even for experienced candidates, the process can take months. Some reports suggest that it takes around 500 applications before securing a role in a top-tier company. That might sound overwhelming, but if you’re aiming for top companies with exciting projects, expect a lot of competition. Many of them prioritize hiring seniors, so middle roles are harder to find. But the key takeaway is that the right opportunity will come, it just takes patience.
Ask future peers for advice. Senior designers, art directors, and hiring managers are often open to giving advice and mentorship. So, connect with people in your target companies on LinkedIn. You don’t have to send recruiters messages—we get too many to reply to them all—but reaching out to someone in the team could be much more effective. A simple message like, “Hey, I love your work for the company. Could you please give some feedback on my portfolio?” can go a long way.
Network. I know networking isn’t every designer’s favorite thing, but it’s important. If you don’t like reaching out to people directly, there are AI tools that can help craft messages for you. Or you can simply stay visible—post your work, reshare interesting content, and tag companies you admire. The more active you are, the more likely you are to be noticed by the right people.
Write open applications. It’s a good practice to write to a dream company that might not have open positions at the time and show them what you can bring to the table. If they see the match, they might create a role for you.
Motivation letter: show why you care
A+ companies have structured hiring processes—everything from interview training to onboarding and documentation is carefully set up. Their interviews aren’t just about filling a position; they’re about finding the right fit for both parties. The process is focused on understanding what the candidate wants, what excites them, and whether the role is truly a match. That’s why experience and motivation are key.
Even if a company doesn’t require a cover letter, I advise you to still include it in your application—many companies, especially mission-driven ones, do want to know why you’re interested in the role. A cover letter isn’t about repeating your experience. It should answer two questions: why are you applying to this company, and why do you fit?
CV: Tweak and check twice
Your CV might not be as important as your portfolio, but it’s an entry point to every job opening—a first impression you make and a first source of information to collate your experience with the job scope. Here’s what you can do to elevate your profile:
Keep designs simple. Designers are often trying too hard to impress with their CVs, which can actually work against them. My biggest tip is to keep it simple. The first person reviewing your application might not be a designer, so make it easy for them to understand your experience. At the end of the day, recruiters don’t need to be wowed by design; they need to understand what your skills are and if they’re relevant to the job you’re applying to.
Send CVs as PDFs. Most big companies use applicant tracking systems to manage applications, and these systems don’t always process fancy layouts well. To avoid being filtered out, make sure your CV is formatted in a way that applicant tracking systems can process correctly. In other words, always send your CV as a PDF. Otherwise, files might not open properly or formatting can break. As a recruiter, I find it frustrating when I can’t fully see a candidate’s profile simply because their CV is unreadable. Ideally, a recruiter would reach out and ask for a resubmission, but in reality, that’s not always possible.
Use keywords from the job opening. The first person reviewing your application is usually a recruiter, and recruiters rely on keywords from the job description. If your CV lacks those keywords, it might not even get to the hiring manager. So, a key tip: use the same terminology as the job posting. If a job requires a Lead Designer and your title has never been a “Lead,” you might get filtered out because you don’t have the necessary level to meet the requirements. You can read more about levels and titles at websites like Levels.fyi.
In сases where you’ve been at a company and, for instance, didn’t get the title of a senior designer but did get the senior designer job, use the senior designer title. Why? Because you actually did the job. Internal company titles don’t always reflect your actual experience.
Tweak your CV for each company. If you’re applying for a leadership role, highlight team management. If it’s a hands-on design role, emphasize your design work. Recruiters don’t know your full story until you tell it.
Always include a link to your portfolio. Quite often, people get rejected because they haven’t included a link to their portfolios—not seeing an example of work makes it hard to assess an application.
Portfolio: be creative and showcase relevant projects
Again, the recruiter is the first person who reviews your portfolio. Well-known companies also offer recruiters special training to help them become more knowledgeable about design, but it’s not always possible.
What works great at the initial screening stage? Review your basic portfolio, remove irrelevant projects, and add projects for a similar type of product. If you haven’t worked in a similar industry, you can mix your best work with some art or sketches, or even add your pet projects.
The interesting thing about a portfolio is that you can make it as long and interactive as you want to because it’s usually hosted on the website. I personally enjoy it when a portfolio is interactive, and I can click here and there or even play a small game so I don’t get tired or bored.
If recruiters are impressed with your portfolio and see that your experience and skills match the opening, they’ll ask someone more on the design side to review your portfolio after them and give an expert opinion.
Interview and tests: get prepared and ask questions
After your CV, motivation letter, and portfolio are reviewed, you’ll have a screening interview with a recruiter—and you should definitely be prepared for it.
Review the job description, learn more about the company, and be ready to explain why you’re interested in the role. There’s a ton of information online about how interviews work—YouTube, Glassdoor, and even GitHub have plenty of real interview questions you can check out.
If the recruiter moves you forward, the next step is often a conversation with a peer or more senior designer. This is where they’ll dive into your work and process and, most likely, give you a short test task. Here are a few things to keep in mind about these assignments:
They require a time commitment. Ask how much time they expect you to spend on the task. While some companies keep things reasonable, others might not realize they’re asking for too much. A standard request is about one workday—8 hours. Don’t be afraid to ask how much time they expect you to spend on the task.
Some companies may reserve the right to use your test assignment in the work pipeline. Most companies only use these tasks for evaluation, but it’s good to be aware that others might not be as careful. You can also ask if you can use this test assignment in your portfolio in the future or if the company plans to use it themselves.
You won’t always get feedback. Many companies don’t provide feedback, even after you’ve spent hours on a task. That can be frustrating, so ask upfront if they’ll give you any feedback. However, you can reach out to mentors to look into your test and give their opinions or brainstorm with another designer about what could be done differently.
Salary: think about it in advance and discuss
It’s completely fine to discuss compensation early, even in the first conversation. It’s not something to be afraid of—knowing your worth and what you’re comfortable with is an important part of the hiring process. If a recruiter doesn’t mention the salary but keeps moving forward, don’t wait until the last stage to ask—that only leads to disappointment. The best time is to ask after one or two interviews. By then, both sides have invested some time, and it makes sense to check if expectations align.
When discussing salary, it’s best to give a range rather than a fixed number. Instead of saying, “60K would be nice,” say, “I’m looking at something between 60K and 70K.” This gives the company flexibility while making sure you’re still within a comfortable range. A good company won’t pay you less just because you asked for less. Established organizations have structured salary bands and performance reviews to determine pay based on skills and experience rather than just what a candidate asks for.
Don’t give up on applying
If you get rejected, don’t be discouraged—reapply. It’s a normal practice. Don’t do it immediately, as that won’t help and might even annoy the hiring team. Instead, give yourself some time before trying again. And when you do, highlight what’s changed: “Hey, I applied before, but since then, I’ve improved my skills in this or that area, and I’m still really interested in your company.” That shows growth and persistence in a positive way.
People who end up working at their dream companies recall that it took them 10 attempts and sometimes more to get where they want to be. They all say they never took rejections personally but only considered them as opportunities to develop new skills.