Unlocking The Product Design Job Market In 2025
The software-powered intercom system in my condo building broke down. Through a series of yak-shaving events, this led me to learn more about keys than I thought existed, which in turn gave me some new perspective on the current job market.
Yes, keys. The little brass doohickeys you use to unlock locked stuff.
Take a look at the keyhole on a lock. A "high-security" key cylinder will have a funny little zig-zag shape that only allows specific keys to fit into. That's called warding. The "wards" are the protrusions into the keyhole that fit into grooves along the sides of the key, and "ward off" keys that should not fit into the cylinder.
Keys have different grooves along their "blade" that match the shape of the keyhole so only that brand & model of key can fit into the lock. All keys from the same lock make & model have the same warding.
You've probably noticed the jagged teeth running along the top edge (and sometimes side) of the key. These teeth are formed by "bitting cuts" (two Ts, not 'biting') in the key blade. The shape of that ridgeline fits the "bits" inside the lock that block the latching mechanism. Each individual lock requires a unique shape of bitting cuts.
If you take a closer look at the edge, you'll see that the shape is not random. It's a steady pattern of peaks and valleys that align to bits, or pins, inside the locking mechanism. The bits form a gate that prevents the key from turning the latch. If the shape of the key cuts don't match the shape gate, the key won't turn, and the latch stays locked. Most locks have 4 - 8 bits with set lengths ranging from 0 - 7 increments. The sequence of bits and lengths forms a code, eg. 167530, that helps locksmiths cut a key that will match the lock bits.
Keys are simple but complicated. An arbitrary shape of metal that fits through and around an inversely shaped chunk of metal. That shape is what makes the key unique, just like designers.
You can probably already predict where this is going and how it relates to product design.
As a designer you also have a specific shape of skills and capabilities. Visual design, user research, strategy, etc. are just a few of these skills. You also have knowledge accrued from the kinds of work you've done. Maybe you've worked in fintech startups, or you've designed a lot of e-commerce storefronts. That domain experience is also part of your "design key" and possibly more important than hard skills.
Many design teams have some version of a Career Framework as part of their design operations practice. It's a foundational element in hiring, performance management, and org design. A typical framework defines the skills that the team values in supporting the organizational mission. Department leaders evaluate candidates and team members on these skills to understand how they can grow, or fit into an existing team.
Sometimes the evaluation is informal, but a common rubric for evaluating skills is the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, expert. You could visualize a designer's skill profile using these levels mapped to a career framework:
| Product Designer | UX Researcher |
|---|---|
 |  |
| Design Systems Designer | Generalist Designer |
|---|---|
 |  |
This can be incredibly useful as a design leader trying to build a high-performing team. A common attribute of strong teams is diversity - yes, in general, but specifically in ability. A team with complementary skills might look like this:
Deep cut for my fellow Gen-X people. Here's an idealized team skill profile visualization:
You're not a key. You're a human being with a richly nuanced set of life experiences that can be over-simplified in a radar chart. In fact, those life experiences are often more important than the hard skills described above. Domain knowledge is the most valuable asset to many hiring managers.
Companies in e-commerce are hiring designers with e-commerce on their resumé. Finance companies are looking for fintech candidates. Same for healthcare, SAAS, and social media. A hiring manager is hiring because they have a specific problem to solve. They're looking for the person who will solve that problem most efficiently. If you’re hiring a doctor to look at a skin issue or earache, or sprained muscle, you will seek out a doctor who specializes in that area of medicine. One question a good hiring manager asks is, “How might this person make our team stronger?” Existing domain knowledge is an easy attribute that is defensible to leadership (at the expense of diversity, sadly).
Most candidates will have comparable qualifications: foundational training, business acumen, leadership presence, etc. The difference maker is usually experience with the specific problem space that the hiring manager is tasked with. Not all companies are like this. Some of them straight up don’t know how to hire designers, or have preconceived notions about what Design is, but those are exceptions to the rule.
If you're a designer looking for a new role, there are a few clear takeaways:
- Cut your key
You need to be crystal clear on what your “design superpower” is. What design skills and domain knowledge do you have that others may not? Collect feedback from past colleagues, do some serious introspection, and map the industry to help clarify what you do better than most. Write, revise, and refine your personal value proposition based on the expertise you offer. The unique shape of your skill profile is the “warding” and “biting” of your key. Build your resume and portfolio around your service offering.
- Find your lock
Once you know what you have to offer, you can start looking for companies, both those with and without open roles, that need your particular expertise. Your resume and profile won’t open the other doors. Every hiring manager is looking for a specific shape of individual with the right mix of skills, knowledge, and personality to solve their problem.
Focusing your pitch to a more specific field of practice could feel like it's closing doors of opportunity. It is, but many of those doors were never open in the first place.
I'm still confident that there's a lock out there that needs my shape of design key. I'll continue to refine my unique mix of innovative yet pragmatic UX design until I find it.
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