Michael Adamitey

Everyone’s hiring Staff Product Designers right now. 🔥 It's easily the most in-demand level across the market—and that means it’s competitive. If you're trying to bring in top-tier talent, especially those with B2B experience or deep systems thinking, here’s what will help you stand out: 💡 Clear scope: Define what “Staff” means at your org. ⏳ Keep your process tight: The best candidates move fast. 🎯 Sell the vision early: Don’t wait until the offer stage to inspire them. 🧭 Involve design leadership: Senior designers care who they'll learn from. Small details matter. The teams getting the best people right now are the ones treating recruitment like a design challenge: thoughtful, fast, and intentional. If you’re hiring and want advice—I’m always happy to chat. 👋 #productdesignhiring #uxjobs #B2Bdesign

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Hey Designers, If you happen to be using and/or playing around with Cursor. I've got some news for you. If you have not heard of an MCP server you should go check them out. Here is why they're important. Cursor with Claude agent doesn't have memory and context from different chats = 50 first dates. You start over explaining everything again, and again. But, you can use an MCP server that will now give Claude memory and context from each chat. Whoo Hoo! Want to import a Figma design directly into Cursor? Yup, there's a MCP server for that as well. You can be selective on what you want to import as well. Want to connect to a database so you can see real data in the design that is being pulled from a server. Yup, you can do that as well pretty easily now. Figured I would share just a little something from this weekends finds as I work on my project. #ux #cursor #uxengineering #uxdesigner

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I’ve worked with hundreds of great UX Designers over the years, and I can say with certainty that the role is quickly evolving. It’s now more of a blend of several different roles.  I'm not sure about title changes, but I don't want to get stuck on that. There are Product Designers, UX/UI Designers, and more, but they all have one thing in common: they're changing. UX’ers went from knowing how to prototype using Figma to having to understand how AI integrates into the process, not only for the design process but also for the business. They’re not being replaced, they’re becoming AI curators. Tools handle layout suggestions and basic research analysis while they focus on validation, refinement, and high-level problem-solving. Qualitative research now pairs with quantitative analysis. They’re interpreting conversion rates, engagement metrics, and A/B test results to inform design decisions. Understanding analytics isn't nice-to-have anymore; it's expected. You have to be comfortable designing across various touchpoints. Voice interfaces like Alexa, AR experiences for retail, IoT device interactions, etc.  Each medium demands new prototyping methods and user testing approaches. UX’ers are now getting more embedded with data scientists, AI engineers, and business strategists. The most successful designers understand not only design but technology and the business as well. The role is evolving from "making things pretty" to driving measured business outcomes using new technologies that are rapidly evolving. The future belongs to UX’ers who embrace continuous learning and outcome-focused thinking, and this is really just the beginning. We recently did a project where we were able to create several UI comps to modernize a client's website and were able to generate four variations in a fraction of the time this would have taken just last year. Additionally, we were able to transition to front-end code. If you're not working on learning how AI integrates into your workstream, you'll fall behind. #ux #productdesign

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UX costs nothing—until it costs everything. Every ignored friction point eventually resurfaces as support tickets, dropped leads, stalled onboarding, or lost renewals. We've seen this consistently across B2B platforms, member portals, and internal tools: → Poor navigation floods help desks → Inconsistent UI slows adoption and erodes trust → Bloated workflows quietly push users toward competitors Organizations often think they're avoiding UX costs, unaware they're already paying—through wasted time, constant patches, and staff burnout. High-performing teams don't see UX as a line-item luxury. They treat it as preventive ops. They measure it. Fund it. Protect it. Because solving root problems always costs less than endlessly triaging symptoms. If your support team is swamped or onboarding is stalled, it's probably not just a content issue. It's a UX issue—and you're already footing the bill.

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If I was a mid-level UX designer today, I don’t think I’d get hired. Not because I wasn’t good but because the market’s shifted. One senior designer with dev skills can now do the work of a whole product team. And increasingly, that’s what companies are hiring for. Fewer people, more output. Efficiency over everything. When I was mid-level, I survived by learning a skill no one had told me was even a thing: facilitation. I’d started running workshops mostly out of frustration. I was tired of getting half-baked briefs and chasing clarity after the fact. So I got people in a room and asked better questions. It was rough at first but the results spoke for themselves. We moved faster. We made better decisions. And suddenly, I wasn’t just “the designer.” I was helping shape direction. That one shift from doing the work to facilitating the work changed my career. It’s how I landed the senior role at the BBC. Not by having the best portfolio. But by being the person who could bring clarity to chaos. Now, I look at the state of UX and think: if I was job hunting, struggling to get noticed, or worried about being made redundant - I’d be doubling down on this. UX facilitation is real. And the market needs it more than ever. If you can lead the room, you won’t just be invited to the meeting. You’ll be the reason it happens. See my link in the comments for something I’m putting together to help you on this.

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As a seasoned UX and PD recruiter in what is frankly the toughest market I’ve seen in 15 years, here are a few simple things that genuinely make a difference when replying to a LinkedIn job post, - If the brief clearly asks for eCommerce or booking–flow experience, call that out, even better, share a portfolio link that shows it, - Don’t just comment “interested” and talk about your great experience without attaching a CV or portfolio, when there are dozens of responses, chasing documents slows everything down and often becomes a blocker, - CV layout matters, especially if you work in PD or UX, it doesn’t need to be fancy, just clean, easy to scan, clear summary, recent roles, key projects, and ideally some metrics, - Please hyperlink your portfolio on your CV, a non-clickable URL in a PDF I have to re-type is painful, These things sound basic, but when a single post gets 50 plus responses, you need to make it as easy as possible for someone to quickly understand your relevance, I always try to reply to everyone, but sometimes it just isn’t commercially viable, as much as I’d love to give everyone feedback. I know the market is brutal right now and there are loads of talented designers looking, these basics won't fix everything, but they really will help you stand out, Also I do feel the market is better than it was a few months ago, I'm definitely seeing a lot more roles out there so let's hope this continues. Over and out! :) Ben

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Mistakes are human. So why do so many interfaces treat them like crimes? User clicked the wrong thing? Page reload. User typed the wrong email? Start over. User pressed back? Data lost. This isn’t UX. This is user punishment. Here’s what great UX does instead: 1. Catches errors early 2. Highlights the fix clearly 3. Saves input progress 4. Lets you undo, retry, recover Design isn’t just about “happy paths.” It’s about handling human ones, too. User errors are part of real use. Design accordingly. (Repost if you believe UX should forgive, not punish ♻️) P.S. What product gives you the safest-feeling error experience?

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I’ve been saying this for years — the UX job market is wildly overrated right now. Everyone’s competing with FAANG-level talent, and 2-month bootcamp grads are being thrown into the same pile. Over 2000 applications for a single role… and most don’t even get looked at. Now with AI evolving fast, a huge chunk of the basic work is automated. The game has changed. This isn’t to discourage anyone — but let’s be real. UX isn’t a guaranteed ticket anymore. Be scrappy. Focus on surviving first — career moves can follow. #UXDesign #JobMarket #AIinDesign #CareerReality #RealTalk #DesignLeadership

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If you're applying to design roles (or honestly, 𝘢𝘯𝘺 role), here are a few tips I wanted to share to ensure your application moves forward... ...and you don't wast your time. 🔹 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗧𝗦 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀. Assume a recruiter will scan the top third of your resume in under 3 seconds. Make it effortless to find your LinkedIn, portfolio, personal website, and relevant experience 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. At the same time make sure that an automatic tracking system can still decipher your resume. Use tools like Jobscan to align your application with important keywords. 🔹 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. If your site isn’t clickable in the PDF—or worse, if it’s broken—your best work may never get seen. Spell out full URLs (e.g., 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚗.𝚌𝚘𝚖/𝚒𝚗/𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎) and always triple-check before submitting. 🔹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁. Because it might. I’m seeing AI-generated templates with filler text, formatting glitches, or inconsistent details that show a lack of care. That’s an easy pass. 🔹 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲. I’m hiring for 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 and 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭 design roles. If your experience is in UX or merchandising, this role probably isn’t the fit—and applying anyway doesn’t help you or me. 🔹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲. Every misaligned application is 10 minutes you could’ve spent building your portfolio, networking, or applying to a job that aligns with your skills and goals. I know the job market is tough. But a little attention to detail goes a long way. In 2018, I applied to over 150 jobs, and did not hear back from a single company. No even a 'No thanks'. My resume looked great. But ATS systems put Adobe Photoshop as my first name. My links looked great but didn't work with some systems. My resume was entirely focused on my experience. I had no clue about keywords and their importance. It wasn't until I hired a career counselor who showed me why my 'highly designed' resume was anything but good design. It simply didn't work. They don't really teach you these things in college, and the standards are always changing, which is why I figured I'd share this experience to help you. Happy to answer questions or help where I can—drop a comment or DM if you’re navigating the search.

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Hot take: Figma sites isn’t the win we think it is. It might look like progress with the ability for designers to go from idea to fully published website, all without writing code or handing it off. But to me, this signals something deeper and more damaging. The quiet erasure of collaboration. We’re already in a space where designers are expected to juggle more than ever; strategy, research, content, visual design, motion, accessibility, and sometimes even dev. These no code tools just add another layer as now you’re the builder, too. It removes the need for developers in the final stages and with that, removes a natural point of collaboration. And I get it, faster shipping sounds great. But doing it all alone? That’s not innovation, that’s a recipe for burnout. And it raises a bigger question, where do we draw the line? At what point does empowering a designer actually start to overload them? 👉 All-in-one tools are trending. But just because a designer can do it all doesn’t mean they should. We lose quality when we isolate disciplines. We lose perspective. And we lose sustainable careers when we expect people to carry the load of an entire product team. I think we should be talking more about: What does a healthy handoff look like today? What kind of collaboration should we be protecting and not replacing? How do we build tools that support designers without isolating them? This isn’t about resisting change. It’s about protecting people. Am I alone in this?

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Creating Personal Design Principles. It’s a challenging time in tech to say the least. Take a moment to record what you stand for and how you approach the work you do. Me: - Don’t waste peoples time - Don’t leave people out - Content first, always - Know the cost of growth - Be the voice of the user

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I help designers stop being pixel pushers, Here are some key things you should know: —  I just wrapped up my largest cohort of students yet. Based on the feedback I got about how their perspectives have changed and what they’re doing differently, here are some insights. — • Become a facilitator Instead of solo contributors doing your own work, bring stakeholders together and build alignment. Understand where there's clarity, where there's confusion, where opinions differ, and what outcomes different stakeholders are looking for. • Adapt your language When you understand the different expertise and goals of stakeholders, you can adapt your language to each situation. It’s not enough to do the work; you need to be able to talk about the why behind it and the value it creates. • Don't wait to get lucky There are frameworks for finding opportunities, working on the right problems and avoiding dead-end projects. Don’t leave it all to a PM; if they’re missing or incompetent, your career stalls. Every quarter, you should be building a potential case study. • Frame problems, not just solutions Ensuring you work on the right projects and can show impact starts with how clearly you can define problems, why they matter, and what success looks like. • Stop waiting for permission Nobody is going to give you permission to do meaningful work and investigate problems; you have to take the lead on your career growth. • Show your impact, grow your career  Whether it's growing within your company or finding new roles, learning to connect your work to the impact stakeholders care about and sharing success stories is key to your career success. • Use data like a product person Know what success looks like before you design. Track leading indicators. Know which metrics matter and why. Even if you don’t have access to the data, you should know what you would track if you did, because otherwise, you don’t know what behaviour change you’re designing for or what to observe. • Think in systems Strategic designers zoom out. They map the relationships between features, teams, goals, and users. When you can see the system, you can influence it. If this sounds interesting, I have a self-paced version of my course available. More details here https://lnkd.in/d-TNkH6c or learn more by joining a Q&A with me and Christopher Nguyen next week: https://lnkd.in/dKB22BN5

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