🧘 UX Career Tip #8: Focus on what you control and don't stress about the rest.
The most skilled designer is not necessarily the one who will get hired.
Not everything depends on you. Sometimes (or perhaps often), no matter what you do, you won't get this job.
Until I experienced hiring from the inside, I hadn't realized how many different circumstances can influence the final hiring decision. Many times it felt unfair for a perfectly qualified candidate. Most often than not there were valid reasons in that specific situation.
Some examples (fair and unfair) of when the company decides to go with another candidate:
✅ They had worked at a competitor and have more inside knowledge that they hope to learn from.
✅ They had launched a project that has a similar feature to an upcoming project that's on the roadmap.
✅ During the interview, they cracked a joke that clicked with the interviewer.
✅ They just seemed nicer during conversations and left a better impression on the interviewer.
✅ Their uncle is related to one of the co-founders.
+ dozens of more reasons.
Humans are flawed and often interviewers make decisions not just based on merit and the candidate's skills and abilities. This is the reality and frankly, it's not something you can directly control.
Don't beat yourself up for not getting that job and don't rush to the conclusion that you are not worthy. Get your shit together and be your best self on the next one.
Focus on the things that you can control - skills, presentation, confidence, personal brand.