2021 v1.0
Senior Designer:
What companies are
looking for
If you want to know how to create a perfect design resume, you have to know what companies are looking for in their job descriptions. On this page, you can find what companies are looking for when they hire a Senior Designer.
We analyzed around 100 job descriptions on LinkedIn from different companies in North America and Europe. Let's dive deeper, and see what you have to learn during the transition into a senior role.
Most popular
design tools
We will begin with a list of the most mentioned design tools in job descriptions for a Senior Designer role. This list includes 10 most popular tools that designers use almost every day. It will definitely surprise you!
1
18.96%
Figma
The first place in the list of the most mentioned design tools goes to Figma. In the last couple of years, Figma has gained a lot of attention, and many companies have switched from the Sketch app.
2
18.39%
Adobe Suite
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud
Good old Adobe Suite still appears quite often on job descriptions for any design-related positions. As a senior designer, it’s considered a must-have to know how to work with tools like Photoshop, Illustrator or Adobe XD.
3
16.09%
Sketch
In the last couple of years, Sketch has lost some of its users to Figma. Despite this fact, Sketch is still in top 3 tools in Product Designer job descriptions.
5
8.62%
InVision
InVision is a tool for prototyping that was popular before Figma and before Sketch developed advanced prototyping. Unfortunately, even the creation of InVision Studio did not help this tool to keep its popularity.
6
8.05%
HTML
It feels like HTML along with CSS is always somewhere in the middle of the tools list. Still, there is a good bunch of companies that make HTML one of the "nice-to-have" skills in their job descriptions.
7
7.85%
CSS
CSS always goes along with HTML because these two are inseparable. For a designer, it's very beneficial to know CSS, making sure you are speaking “the same language” with developers in a team.
8
5.75%
JavaScript
Nowadays, JavaScript is getting less and less attention in designers' job descriptions. JavaScript is a fairly complex language that needs a lot of practice, but at the end of the day, designers do not focus on dev work.
9
4.05%
Framer
Framer is a code-based design tool that can improve your prototyping by 10x but you must have basic knowledge of JavaScript to use it successfully. It uses a simple version of JS called CoffeeScript.
10
2.2%
Axure
Axure PR is an ancient prototyping tool that has been made around 2002. Surprisingly it's still around and somehow made its way to the Top 10 tools mentioned in job descriptions.
Position requirements
When it comes to position requirements, there are many small things that a company may be looking for in a potential candidate for a designer role. Also, there are must-have skills like wireframing and research or nice-have skills like understanding of JavaScript/CSS.
How many years of experience do you need for the Senior Product Designer role
This is probably one of the most important requirements that you can find in a Senior Designer job description. 90% of applications mention how
many years of experience you need to get the job. Interesting fact: quite a few companies are willing to go with 3+ years of experience for a senior designer role.
Design requirements
Usually, overall design requirements for the design position are pretty similar. Companies are asking to have a standard set of skills like delivering wireframes, prototypes, user flows, mockups and collaborate with stakeholders across the company, etc.
88% of all applications
Mobile
Design for mobile is an important skill, especially when 56% of all web traffic comes through smartphones. Stay updated on the latest technologies and learn how people interact with the websites on their phones.
60% of all applications
Accessibility
Recently, “accessibility” becomes a very popular word in job descriptions. Companies are looking for people who have worked with accessibility standards in the past and can implement them.
32% of all applications
iOS
Not every company can afford to have a dedicated team for a native iOS application so having it in every third job description still makes it pretty popular. It's always beneficial to know the design specifications for this platform.
16% of all applications
Android
Android is twice less popular as iOS in job descriptions. Even though there are more than a billion devices out there that work on Android, companies rarely ask for this specific platform.
10% of all applications
Native
The word "Native" usually applies to companies that build native applications for platforms like iOS or Android. Even if they don't mention it in their JD, they will make sure you are familiar with the guidelines.
68% of all applications
Web
The web is the most popular medium for designers. As job descriptions show, there is a 68% chance that you will be dealing with web apps in your next position, and you must understand its limitations and differences from native apps.
2 times per application
Research
Word "Research" is on the second place in popularity after the word "Design." It is mentioned around 2 times per application, emphasizing the importance of research in designers' work.
54% of all applications
Prototyping
Prototyping is a must skill for a Senior Designer. That's why it's being mentioned in every second job description. 4 out of 10 apps from the top list of the most mentioned design apps are exclusively focused on prototyping.
22% of all applications
Sketches/Sketching
Everybody knows how to sketch. Some people can make it more beautiful than others, but this is not the point of sketching. This step is just a high-level exploration of the idea.
Other requirements
There are 45 (90% of applications) applications that mention how many years of experience you need in order to get a job at a company. There are several companies that are willing to go for a senior experience starting with 3+ years
22% of all applications
Design Thinking
Design thinking is a buzzword that became very annoying to designers. Everybody was trying to add this word to their vocabulary. In the last year or two, designers have begun to avoid this word, that's why it has only 22%.
78% of all applications
Business
Business usually goes in word pairs like "Business needs" and "Business requirements". Funny enough, this word is mentioned more times than "Design Thinking," "Wireframing," "Responsive," and "User Flow."
76% of all applications
Feedback
Collecting feedback is one of the essential parts of our day-to-day work. Improvements to the implemented design can be made only in case you've collected the feedback and iterated on it.
24% of all applications
Advocate
A design advocate is a person who would promote the design within the company and would be part of your day-to-day work. This is a proactive position in educating others about the importance of design.
What do companies provide?
We all know that a job description is all about the requirements for a candidate, but sometimes companies mention some things they provide for candidates. Usually, it's about "Competitive salary," "Vacation," or other "Benefits." When it comes to what a company can provide to a potential employee, often they don't say much
15% of all applications
Vacation
Every company must provide vacation time by law, but only 15% mention it in their job description. Usually, vacation is mentioned when it is a bit more extended than a regular 2 weeks.
10% of all applications
Dental
Today, different startups and big tech companies are proud of their extended benefits, and a dental package is definitely one of them. Unfortunately, it's mentioned only in 10% of all analyzed JD.
10% of all applications
Unlim. Sick Days
Companies rarely provide unlimited sick days. It's a costly thing for startups that are trying to kickstart their business. Even more rarely you can find unlimited sick days in the job description of big tech companies.
32% of all applications
Benefits
Companies can provide many more benefits: an extended health package or some additional money for education. These are just several options that startups mention in their job description.
32% of all applications
Stock Option
It was surprising to see that "Stock option" is mentioned almost the same amount of times as "Vacation," "Dental," and "Unlimited sick days" together combined. If a company provides it, they will make sure to mention it.
Other fun stats
Check out other interesting words that appear on job descriptions that can help you understand what companies are looking for in a potential candidate for the Senior Designer role.
14 times per application
Design
Yes, yes, yes, it's all about design. On average, it's mentioned around 14 times per application. The most popular word that you can find inside the Senior Product Designer job description.
76% of all applications
Design System
In the last 2-3 years ability to build and manage design systems has become one of the key qualifications of a designer. It grew to 76% and appears in 3 out of 4 job descriptions in 2021.
24% of all applications
Pixel-Perfect
Pixel-perfect was a trendy word back in the day. It was everywhere, including portfolios and Twitter profiles. Probably it was on the same level as the word "Design system" today. Now, it's barely making it into every fourth job description.
80% of all applications
Data
Data is in the top-3 list of words that have been mentioned the most. Research is always based on data, and data is on second place in this list. So we can clearly see the correlation between different requirements.
38% of all applications
Degree
More and more companies are moving away from requesting degrees as part of the hiring process in recent years. Despite this fact, the word "Degree" is still heavily mentioned in job descriptions for Senior Designer.
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