Are you hoping to land a UX design internship? If so, check out our comprehensive guide, complete with hands-on tips to ensure you find the right role and get your career off to the very best start.
A UX design internship is often the first step on the ladder of your professional UX design career. But how do you find one? What should you include in your resume and cover letter? And what do you need to prepare and ace that all-important interview? If you’re asking yourself these questions then you’re in the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ve got all the answers and advice you need to find and land a UX design internship that will set you off on the right path in UX design.
Here’s what we’ll be covering:
- Why pursue a UX design internship
- Questions to ask yourself before you start your search
- How to land a UX design internship
- How to crack the interview for a UX design internship
- FAQs
- Conclusion
Let’s dive in!
1. Why pursue a UX design internship
There are a number of advantages for recent graduates to taking on a UX design internship. One of the main benefits is the hands-on experience this opportunity provides. As part of a company’s UX design team, a UX design intern gets the chance to apply the theoretical skills they’ve acquired to a real-world setting. This is likely to include hard skills like wireframing and prototyping but also soft skills like project management and cross-team collaboration. In addition, interns can develop their proficiency with the latest design tools, witness the UX design process in action, and learn how to communicate in a professional environment.
Another major advantage of a UX design internship is the opportunity it provides for graduates to learn directly from industry professionals. These experts typically provide feedback, constructive criticism, and even mentorship to graduates, helping them improve their skills and become accomplished UX designers. A UX design internship also offers graduates the chance to showcase their work to senior designers who may be able to open doors to future job opportunities. It’s not uncommon for an organization to use internship programs as a recruitment strategy; if an intern performs well during their time in the UX design team, the company may offer them a permanent junior position.
2. Questions to ask yourself before you start your search
Before you begin your search for a UX design internship, you’ll want to ask yourself some questions to ensure you apply for organizations that align with your values and can meet your learning and professional needs.
i. What sort of company do you want to work for?
As the field of UX becomes increasingly valued in every sector, opportunities for UX designers are booming. This means that UX design internships are now available at a wide range of companies and organizations. Let’s take a look at what startups, corporations, and agencies have to offer UX design interns.
Startup
If you want to work in a fast-paced, innovative environment, consider applying to a startup for an internship. It’s likely you’ll get the chance to wear multiple hats and work on different aspects of a project, while the entrepreneurial mindset of startup employees can make it a good fit for those considering a freelance career or a business venture of their own.
Corporation
The advantage of doing a design internship at a large corporation is that you will typically get the chance to work on complex projects with substantial resources, contributing to high-impact products and services that reach large audiences. From a learning perspective, many corporations offer structured training programs and mentorship, as well as the potential for long-term career growth within the organization, making this choice a good match for those seeking career stability.
Design agency
If you’re looking to gain as much experience as possible during your internship with different clients, industries, and design challenges, then a design agency is likely to be a good match for you. A design agency is a creative and dynamic working environment that typically prioritizes adaptability, problem-solving, and the ability to meet the needs of different clients. Interns get the opportunity to enhance their versatility at a design agency, while honingtheir client-focused design skills.
ii. Are you looking for a paid or unpaid opportunity?
While some internships will come with a salary, others will be unpaid. This will depend on your country’s legislation regarding unpaid work and the company’s own ethos regarding internships. Before you begin applying for opportunities, you’ll need to consider which type of role best suits your current circumstances. The duration of the internship will also come into play here. You may be able to take on a short-term or part-time unpaid internship but a longer or full-time one might not be financially viable for you.
Be sure to read all of the details of the internship before applying, including the offered salary (if there is one), the number of hours per week, and the duration of the internship. It might also be worth enquiring if the company will be seeking to hire the intern in a paid junior position once the internship comes to an end.
iii. Are you hoping to learn about a particular specialization or work in a particular industry?
If you’re hoping to work in a particular specialization or industry, consider narrowing your internship search to companies that can provide the relevant experience. The more hands-on experience you have working in a particular industry before you apply for junior positions, the better your chances are at getting into a company that aligns with your career goals. Specializations you might want to consider include responsive design, UI design, interaction design, VR and AR design, and accessibility design, while industries you may want to work in include the tech industry, e-commerce, gaming, government, finance, and healthcare.
3. Steps for graduates to take to land a UX design internship
Once you’ve narrowed down the industry and area of specialization that interests you as well as the type of company you might like to work for, you’re in a strong position to start the process of finding and applying for your first UX design internship. Let’s take a look at the steps you need to follow.
i. Develop your skills
As a graduate of a UX design course or degree, you’ll have learnt numerous skills such as user research, wireframing, prototyping, and testing. Now’s the time to develop these skills further. A great way to do this is to take on a redesign of a well-known brand and see how you can improve the UX design of their app or website. Go through each stage of the UX design process and document your learnings and improvements as you go along. You’ll not only develop your UX design skills but also have a tangible project to show in your internship interviews.
ii. Work on your own projects
Working on your own projects is one of the best ways to enhance your UX design skills and apply the theory you’ve learnt to real-world design challenges. Consider designing an app or a website for a product or service idea. You can interview potential users, analyze your competition, sketch wireframes, and build dynamic prototypes. Once your prototypes are built, test them with family or friends and make notes of what could be improved. As you go along, try to gain as much experience as you can with the tools you’ll be expected to work with once you’re part of a design team. For reference, you can take a look at this UI UX Project by AND Learner Aromal Jose Baby.
iii. Volunteer with local organizations, and projects for friends and family
In addition to working on an established brand’s digital redesign and designing apps and websites for your own product ideas, a valuable use of your time is to volunteer your skills with local organizations, friends, and family. You could approach a local school and offer to design their website free of charge or redesign the app of a charity or church on a limited budget. You could also offer your skills to family members and friends with businesses that would benefit from app or website redesigns. Remember, the more opportunities you get to employ your UX design skills, the stronger your position will be once you start applying for internships.
iv. Attend networking events
Networking events are a great way to meet UX design professionals and find out about potential job and internship opportunities. Check out panel discussions and design hackathons in your area; many of these will include networking opportunities as part of the event. Although it can be nerve wracking to introduce yourself to new groups of people, remember that everyone is in the same boat. Be yourself, ask questions, and show interest in the topics raised. Even if you don’t find the perfect internship through networking events, by making a good impression within the community it’s likely that you’ll be the first to know when a great internship opportunity does open up. You’ll also get to learn more about the industry and what the role of the UX designer really entails.
v. Build online networks
In addition to building your network in person through events, it’s important that you cultivate your online presence too. You can do this by connecting with UX design professionals on design-focused social networks such as Dribbble and Behance as well as more generally on LinkedIn. Employers will be impressed if you can demonstrate a large following on sites such as Instagram too, so consider posting your work, documenting your projects, and connecting with other professionals there as well. Building online networks can take time, so be patient and always be authentic. Demonstrate design challenges that you have overcome, repost the work of designers that you particularly admire (and tag them!), and try to start conversations that offer value to those who follow you.
vi. Publish a design portfolio of your work
Once you’ve completed some projects you are proud of, the next step is to create a design portfolio that you can share with potential employers. The benefits of putting together a portfolio of your work are numerous. Not only can you showcase your projects, but by documenting your work thoroughly you can demonstrate your skills and work process, too. An effective way of doing this is through the inclusion of case studies, wireframes, prototypes, and user personas. If possible, try to demonstrate your adaptability and range of experience, and keep your portfolio fresh by regularly updating and refining your work samples as you learn and develop as a UX designer. Check out the following portfolio website builders: Squarespace, Foleon, UXfolio, Notion, Webflow, Wix, and Wordpress.
vii. Keep a blog
Keeping a blog serves a number of purposes for the UX design graduate: it demonstrates a passion for the field, it supports personal branding by making you more memorable within the UX design community, it showcases growth and learning through lessons learned and shared insights, and, through SEO, it can increase your online visibility. Finally, keeping a blog can support your professional networking as it encourages relevant thematic discussions and conversations with other industry professionals. We would recommend including your blog as part of your design portfolio website so that potential employers can see your work and read your insights in tandem.
viii. Apply to advertised internships on job boards and company websites
With a few projects under your belt and a portfolio ready, you're in a great position to start applying for advertised internships on job boards and company websites. Here are our top tips for writing your application.
- Research the company thoroughly before putting pen to paper. Be sure to include your knowledge of its product and services in your cover letter to demonstrate genuine interest in the company.
- Tailor your UI UX designer resume and cover letter to fit the company and position, articulating clearly why that particular role is a good fit for you and your skills.
- Highlight your UX design skills and be sure to emphasize any previous experience.
- Include the course you have studied and any relevant certification you have received. Don’t forget to mention any specializations or interest in particular areas of UX design, when relevant to the application.
- Share links to your professional social media handles and your online UX design portfolio.
- Try to incorporate keywords from the job description in your cover letter where relevant.
- Finally, show passion! Communicate your enthusiasm for the particular company you are applying to and for the field of UX design in general. It may be relevant here to touch upon your desire to build a career in the field and convey why you are excited to start your journey with this particular organization.
ix. Send prospective emails to companies you want to work for
In addition to applying for internships on job boards and company websites, also consider writing directly to companies you are interested in working for and simply asking about current internship opportunities. Sending prospective emails demonstrates a candidate’s initiative as well as a genuine desire to work for a specific company, which is looked upon favorably by employers. Draw up a list of companies you’d be interested in interning with and, as with your cover letters, tailor each prospective email to the company. Be specific about why you’d like to work for them and what you particularly admire about their UX design output.
x. Ask your network
Thanks to the online and in-person networking you’ve been doing within the UX design community, you now have a great resource to ask about internship opportunities. Don’t be afraid to put feelers out across your network asking about internships; it demonstrates your initiative, an enthusiasm to learn more, and a passion for the field. You might consider putting together a social media post or story, or you might prefer to ask specific contacts with whom you’ve already had authentic conversations. However you decide to approach this, be polite and sincere and you can’t go wrong.
4. How to crack the interview for a UX design internship
Interviews are nerve-wracking at the best of times. When it’s your first interview for an internship in a new field, this is even more true. Here are our tips for ensuring a successful UX design internship interview.
- Do your research: before the interview be sure to have in-depth knowledge of the company, its products, and its approach to design.
- Be prepared to walk prospective employers through your portfolio: emphasize the design challenges you overcame, and the projects you are proud of, and discuss your design process.
- Brush up on UX methodologies such as user research, wireframes, and usability testing, and be prepared to answer questions about how you used them in your own work.
- Highlight your collaboration skills: have in mind a few occasions when you’ve worked closely with other teams and what you learned from that.
- Be prepared to tackle hypothetical design challenges during the interview: you may be expected to demonstrate your creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
- Have some questions ready: it’s likely you’ll be asked at the end of the interview if you have any questions. Consider asking about the company’s design team and its structure, the company’s design ethos, cross-team collaboration, and any upcoming design projects.
5. Frequently Asked Questions about UX Design Internships
What is the goal of a UX design internship?
A UX design internship is an opportunity to develop and hone UX design skills in a real-world environment. Interns can learn from industry professionals, help resolve design challenges, and contribute to company projects. This hands-on experience enables them to apply UX design theory, but it also teaches them how a typical UX design team works together on a day-to-day basis.
What does a UX design intern do?
The role that a UX design intern takes on varies from company to company, depending on the needs of the business, the size of the team, and the resources available. However, generally, a UX design intern will collaborate with the rest of the design team to contribute to a user-centered design process. This might include taking on user research, creating wireframes and prototypes, or assisting with usability testing with the goal of improving the user’s experience with digital products and services.
Is UX design a safe/happy career path?
If you enjoy problem-solving, being creative, and working to build good experiences for users, then UX design can be a hugely fulfilling and rewarding career path. Individual experiences will of course vary, and factors such as workplace culture, industry demand, and personal preferences will affect each person’s sense of both job security and happiness in this industry. The good news, however, is that demand for UX designers is continuing to increase globally. With so many opportunities opening up across a wide range of sectors, there is a very high chance that you will find a UX design position that offers both a secure employment package and personal satisfaction.
6. Conclusion
In this article, we’ve taken you through the steps a UX design graduate needs to take to prepare for and succeed in a design internship. From working on your own projects and keeping a blog, to sending prospective emails and reaching out to your network, these tips and tricks will ensure that you find a UX design internship that suits your personal interests and professional goals in no time.
If you’d like to find out more about UX design, check out AND Academy’s blog, for more useful UX design resources and insights.
Here are some additional resources to help you learn more about UX UI Design:
- Watch this session by Shiva Viswanathan, Design Head of Ogilvy Pennywise, and Naman Singh, Product Experience Designer at RED.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our UX UI Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of the scholarship and funding options that come with our courses to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
