Hey designer! Are you making this mistake? Here’s why you’re not getting hired

Struggling to land a job or advance in your career? You might be making a crucial mistake—focusing too much on tools and not enough on what really matters.

Many believe that mastering Figma, Sketch, or any other design tool is the key to getting hired. A polished portfolio, slick animations, and a well-structured component library might seem like the ultimate differentiator, right?

Wrong.

Design is a multidisciplinary field, and relying solely on technical proficiency won’t set you apart in the job market. Companies don’t just want designers who know the tools—they want problem solvers who understand user behavior and how design impacts business outcomes.

The tool trap

Mastering design tools is important, but it can’t be your only focus. Tools evolve and change. What truly matters is how you think, analyze, and solve problems.

I've interviewed designers with over 10 Figma certifications, experts in every feature of the tool. But when asked:

• How would you improve our onboarding?

• What’s the biggest pain point in our checkout?

• How does this design impact the company’s revenue?

They froze. They knew how to use the tool—but not how to design for users and business outcomes.

As Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things, puts it: design isn’t just about aesthetics, but how people interact with the world.

Steve Krug, in Don’t Make Me Think, reinforces that great UX isn’t about impressing—it’s about making sure users find what they need effortlessly. No tool alone can teach that.

What do designers need to know beyond tools?

The best designers I know have a multidisciplinary mindset and a commitment to continuous learning. To truly stand out, here are the key areas every designer should master:

• User Psychology – How do people make decisions? What influences their behavior? Understanding cognitive psychology helps create intuitive experiences. Books like 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About Peopleby Susan Weinschenk are must-reads.

• Research & Data Analysis – Great design is driven by data, not guesswork. Knowing how to analyze metrics, run usability tests, and interpret user feedback makes a huge difference.

• Business Strategy – Design directly impacts conversion, retention, and engagement. Jared Spool emphasizes how investing in UX leads to higher ROI for businesses.

• Real-World Testing & Validation – Prototyping and user testing are crucial to ensure a solution works before implementation.

Mastering these areas makes you a well-rounded designer, adaptable to any market shift, and capable of using any tool strategically.

How the best designers work

The most successful designers structure their time strategically:

• 80% understanding the problem – They talk to users, analyze metrics, identify behavior patterns, and diagnose friction points in the experience.

• 15% sketching solutions – Before opening Figma, they test ideas on paper, validate concepts with the team, and refine hypotheses before committing to an interface.

• 5% in Figma – The visual work is the final step, once a validated and well-founded direction is in place.

Many beginners reverse this process, jumping straight into Figma and trying to fix problems later. But this approach is inefficient and lacks strategy.

How to avoid this mistake and get hired

If you want to stand out in the market and land a great job as a UX/UI designer, here are some key tips:

• Invest time in understanding user behavior and the principles of user experience.

• Learn to read and interpret product metrics to make data-driven design decisions.

• Develop business awareness and understand how design impacts a company’s financial results.

• Participate in research, user interviews, and usability testing to validate your solutions.

• Use Figma (or any other tool) as a means to execute your ideas, not as an end in itself.

If you have strong technical skills but still struggle to stand out in the market, it might be time to expand your knowledge beyond Figma. Design is a field of continuous, multidisciplinary learning—those who embrace this mindset grow much faster in their careers.

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References

- Don Norman – The design of everyday things

- Steve Krug – Don't make me think

- Susan Weinschenk – 100 things every designer needs to know about people*

- Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, fast and slow

- Jared Spool – Artigos sobre UX strategy e ROI do design