I recently heard terrible advice about getting hired in this tough UX job market: “Years of experience beats everything.”

While time in a role matters, it implies that if you're not working, you're already falling behind.

What matters more is how much you practice design in public.

I didn’t have enough ‘years of experience’ to go from Junior to Senior Designer in 3 years, but writing weekly design articles got me noticed by recruiters.

Your portfolio doesn’t have to be tied to big projects with organizations. Freelance work, Figma plugins, YouTube videos, or design articles are ways of showcasing you actually have Design knowledge, and can accelerate your career.