How to succeed as a first design hire?

Roughly half of my professional experience originates from my time as a first designer at a startup or a scaleup.

I have eight pieces of advice on how to succeed in your role as the first (and only) design hire.

1. Don't come unprepared.

Give the product a spin during the hiring process. This will be noticed by the hiring manager¹. Be curious and genuinely intrigued by how it works. Keep an eye out for things that could be improved. Make notes. This will ensure you make the most of your onboarding period once you get hired.

2. Roll up your sleeves and get to it.

Once hired, understand ongoing initiatives. Join dailies. Ask questions. Focus on low hanging fruit. Get your first win while getting up to speed.

3. Amplify your productivity.

You will wear many hats. You need to move fast.

Starting a research repo? Reuse a ready template. Analyzing tons of customer feedback? Use AI to categorize pain points. Starting with design components in Figma? Reuse parts from your previous projects. Planning research sessions? Let participants pick their slots in Calendly.

4. Adapt and try different things.

You'll hit a wall many times. Don't give in.

Research participants didn't show up? Rewrite the message and give it another shot. Have an improvement task rot in the backlog? Bring it up when there's nearby develompent work in progress.

5. Set the standard through action.

Don't preach UX process. Focus on doing. Adjust your process to the constraints you're facing. Grab some wins and then start improving it.

6. Team up.

Especially with engineers². Speak their language. Stay curious. Start helping where real development happens.

Share your research findings and designs frequently in Slack. Let other notice your work and gather feedback. Show inititiative and use high-fidelity rapid prototyping to shape discussions.

7. Grasp the broader view.

Familiarize yourself with your company's vision, strategy. Understand market shape and different use cases. Join sales & operations Slack channels. Consider how your current design fits into the larger scheme. Do your design choices still hold up?

8. Lay groundwork for bold concepts.

As you gain confidence, start considering more ambitious ideas. Employ visual storytelling to illustrate the potential shape and value of the transformed product. Seek feedback and support through one-on-one conversations and iterate as needed.