I'll be sharing my unique experience of how I found my first Junior Interaction Designer job at the Ministry of Justice.
Design Journey
The thought of working in the design & tech industry had never struck me until I took a summer internship at a graphic design company. I researched “what is UX/UI design?” as this was something I’ve never heard of before.
I began to learn what a UX/UI designer does and became fascinated with the way they commit to the end-to-end process. Starting in the design industry, I got hands-on experience at a startup company - working on commercial projects that allowed me to put what I’ve learnt into practice.
Finding the role
Given the current economic climate, finding a junior-level job was challenging to say the least. Luckily, I stumbled across a tweet from Stevey, a Senior Interaction Designer, saying the design team at the MoJ were looking for a junior designer.
I instinctively applied on that same day writing my cover letter on my phone with the handy Google Docs app. I knew applying to such an enormous organisation like the MoJ was a longshot but I had nothing to lose. I messaged Stevey anyway thanking him for sharing the vacancy…little did I know that within a month, I would receive a reply inviting me for an interview!
Onboarding experience
Starting my new role during a pandemic meant that I had to meet my new colleagues virtually which was a different experience for sure but I had no reason to be nervous.
During my first week, I was invited to attend the annual Justice Services conference. This was a great opportunity for me to meet new people across departments as well as their furry friends. I was warmly welcomed by my manager Rob King who made my onboarding experience ever so great. I’m still adjusting to working from home, however, what I learned from my first few weeks is how hard-working and social everyone is - which is amazing to see from such a large team.
I recently joined a design sprint call that focused on what I had done during my design task for my interview - I was genuinely impressed. It's inspiring to see how passionate these designers were when discussing their ideas. There’s empathy for the design behind every idea - seeing this level of design maturity only encourages me to learn and grow.
I am excited to see what this year brings!
If you are looking for a new career opportunity, why not take a look at the D&T careers website
4 comments
Comment by Saima posted on
Very inspiring, love to see raw content like this. Especially finding the light around the pandemic, keep it up and hope to hear more about the experiences in your new found journey, good luck.
Comment by Madeha Akther posted on
An absolutely amazing inspiration!! Keep up the hard work because you have a bright future ahead of you ! Good Luck.
Comment by Nikola posted on
Love this! It's so great to have you on the team.
Comment by Zaibaa posted on
As a junior UX/UI designer, looking for their first role, it is highly inspiring seeing you (someone who looks like me) land this amazing opportunity. I am hoping to one day work for MoJ as I aspire to create efficient and accessible digital products that create positive change, within an inclusive environment. Well done again on your acheivement!