What to include in your UX research portfolio
Impact, mixed methods, and passion can be keys to success
You’ve found the perfect role — the perfect one! — and you passed the phone screen. The hiring manager asked you to prepare your research portfolio for the onsite interview.
But what exactly does the hiring team wish to see? Which UX research projects should you select to impress the team to secure the position? As a researcher myself, I would be remiss not to say “it depends” because each company is unique.
There are, however, common strategies for selecting portfolio pieces I share with aspiring researchers and those hoping to transition to another company:
- Include a case study that had impact on a product.
- Include a case study that used mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) or a multi-methods (typically all qualitative) approach.
- Include a case study that you are passionate about.
Let’s dig in to why.
Impact
A key thing I look for during UX research interviews is impact. Researchers are not typically the same people who are pushing pixels (design), committing code (dev), or directing the ship (PM) — so they need to take additional steps to show how their work influenced the product.
Showing how research shaped the product is an excellent proxy for how influential a researcher’s work is within their team. Who wouldn’t want to hire for that?
Mixed methods / multi-methods
The next thing I look for is the researcher’s facility with a variety of methods. Bonus points if these are a mix of quantitative and qualitative! Many researchers rely on only a handful of methods, and as such need to show that these methods were chosen because they will collect the best data from which to make decisions.
Great portfolio decks show the breadth of research methods the researcher has applied to triangulate findings that ultimately result in stronger recommendations based on the synthesis of data from multiple sources.
Passion
The final thing I look for is something the researcher is passionate about. Through our work, we invariably come across a topic or audience we serve that is deeply meaningful to us.
During other portions of the interview outside of the portfolio review, I’ll dig into why someone is interested in my company. Marrying the passion you are capable of, as seen during the portfolio review, with your interest in the company and/or team shows potential for the kind of work you could contribute.
What to avoid including
Before making the final selection of projects you’d like to share, carefully consider what you should avoid including in your portfolio deck. Here a common list of things to watch out for:
- Don’t share research protected under NDA. Just as the company you are interviewing with may wish to keep their proprietary work secret, so too do the companies you have worked for in the past.
- Don’t share pre-release work. If you have a project that is not yet live, respect that and wait until it is released to share. This protects the company from unwanted leaks.
- Don’t share research participant P.I.I. (personally identifiable information). Even if you have the best video clip in the world, that can contain the participant’s face, voice, or name. As researchers ourselves, we all recognize the importance of protecting participants’ information; do them the same courtesy during your interview as well.
When all else fails — go with your gut. Use the information you have gathered about the hiring manager, team and company to help drive which portfolio pieces you select for the best chance at landing the job.
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