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Get hired · Lesson 54 of 99 · 1 h 5 min video, then about 2 hours of practice
Getting real work before anyone hires you
After this you have at least one route to design work with a real stakeholder, deadline and constraint.
Why it matters
The strongest thing a junior can add is a project where someone else's outcome depended on the work. Routes: a charity or community group, a small business with an obviously broken site, an open-source project needing UI, a paid micro-freelance job, or an internal tool at your current employer if you have one. Real stakeholders teach you the things self-directed projects cannot: scope negotiation, unreasonable constraints, feedback you cannot dismiss. Trap: unpaid work with no deadline and no stakeholder, which turns into another self-directed project wearing a costume.
How to use this resource
A panel of concrete routes rather than one person's story, which means several options will fit your situation. An hour; skip to the routes that apply.