There was a time when having solid work was enough.

That time is over.

Hiring decisions today are made under pressure: more candidates, less time, and far less tolerance for ambiguity.

Strong work is still essential.
It’s just no longer sufficient.

If hiring managers can’t quickly tell:

• what kind of designer you are
• what you can be trusted with
• whether you’re operating at a senior level

we move on, even when the work itself is solid.

Not because you're unqualified, but because their story didn’t click fast enough.

The pattern I keep seeing

Designers with solid experience and real impact often present work like a detailed record instead of a clear argument.

That shows up as:

• Case studies that explain everything but emphasize nothing
• Resumes that read like records, not an argument to be hired
• Too many artifacts competing against each other
• Process descriptions without visible constraints or trade-offs

None of this is “wrong.”

But the story isn’t clear.

And when your story isn’t clear, hiring managers move on.

Why this is worse now than it was two years ago

In every cohort, I hear some version of:

“This used to work. I got interviews with this resume before.”

That’s true. Things were different.

Your experience didn’t change.
Hiring teams’ tolerance for ambiguity did.

Hiring teams today are:

• Reviewing more candidates per role
• Spending less time per application
• Less willing to infer seniority, contributions, or decision-making
• Optimizing for clarity over completeness

Unlike before, your materials need to convey your positioning almost immediately.

Why adding more artifacts backfires

This is where generic advice fails.

“Add metrics.”
“Improve your summary.”

Those are surface moves.

The real issue is decision compression:

• What gets removed so the story sharpens
• Which constraints actually matter
• Which trade-offs demonstrate judgment
• What explanations don’t support your argument

Strong candidates move forward by showing fewer, clearer decisions.

What we do differently inside Level^Up

We don’t polish.

We subtract.

Inside the cohort, we:

• Identify what actually moves the needle
• Remove content that weakens the story
• Re-prioritize projects to clearly indicate seniority
• Tighten case studies so they click with minimal explanation
• Reframe resumes as decision narratives, not records

The goal is clarity at a glance, so experience and ability don’t have to be inferred.

Feel familiar?

If you’ve thought:

• “I have strong work, but I’m not getting interviews.”
• "I don’t know what to cut without losing something important.”
• “I’m explaining a lot, and it’s still not landing.”

That’s exactly what Level^Up was built to address.

The next cohort starts Monday, February 16, and it’s capped at 5 spots.

View cohort details here​

David Campana​
Founder, Level^Up
Head of UX | Ex-Apple, WeWork, Verizon

P.S. This isn’t about doing better work. It’s about making your decisions visible enough that hiring managers don’t have to guess.