Meta in gaming terminology refers to the dominant strategies, skills, and trends driving success in a particular area. By understanding and adapting to the meta, you can improve your chances of success.
Examples of players adapting to the meta:
Chess: Learning and practicing popular openings and common tactics
League of Legends: Capitalizing on champion balance changes and shifts in gameplay strategy
Social Media: Optimizing for the latest algorithm changes, popular trends, and new content formats
So, what is the meta for UX designer job applications?
I came across a LinkedIn post by Hang Xu, where he talks about this. According to Hang, hiring managers are no longer prioritizing research or product strategy. Instead, they now focus on beautiful UI design skills, the ability to tackle complexity and ambiguity, and the ability to take a product from zero to one and beyond.
I don't agree with everything Hang writes, as he may be writing more from a Silicon Valley or startup perspective. However, in my experience, research has been less emphasized, and there's a higher importance placed on UI skills and navigating uncertainty.
Why this change?
B2B unicorns like Slack and Notion became successful through usability and delight
Books like Zero to One (2015), Lean UX (2016), and Blitzscaling (2018) changed how products are developed and how design keeps up with it
Companies hiring more UX researchers, UI design being included in UX design curriculums, and visual designers pivoting to product design
Knowing this, what should we do?
If you want to cover your bases, you should identify any gaps you have according to the meta. If you find gaps, you could seek out work that allows you to fill them. For example, if you are weak in UI design, you could see if you can move to a team that would allow you to develop UI design skills. Alternatively, you can switch companies altogether or work on UI design projects in your spare time.
Hang writes this as advice for his past self:
"I would spend 3 years working in an early-stage consumer mobile app startup as a first or second designer, and also spend 2 years working in a mature, highly complex B2B organization to get my bases covered."
But that advice won’t work forever.
And what about the future of the meta?
The meta will inevitably change again; so, to stay ahead, you should take note of:
Companies that are considered successful and that other companies want to emulate
Books that are gaining traction among startups and product managers
Changes in the skill set of designers
It's difficult to make a prediction about the future meta, but looking at the current tech trend, my bet would be that AI tools will gain prominence at companies. This will lead to a shift towards companies hiring fewer designers because those who are hired will utilize generative AI to maintain the same output as before. So, it would be a good idea to explore how you can use AI to produce more.
Do svidaniya,
Dan