Why you are getting rejected even before the Interview - A Why Design Guide on Getting Hired

What if the CV you keep polishing for the fourth time is the reason you're not getting hired?

Eight guests: from a Brompton CEO to a first-time founder, all landed their roles a different way than the job board suggests. Not one of them talks about the perfect CV. They talk about the novice's mindset that got them in the door, the adjacent title they applied for anyway, the portfolio habit that decides a candidate's fate before anyone reads a word, and the ten-year-old question that tells you whether you're even chasing the right career.

This short compilation strips out all the usual advice about formatting your CV and keyword-matching a job spec, and replaces it with eight much harder, much more useful questions to ask yourself instead.

Got a hiring story of your own, on either side of the table? Follow Why Design and tell us which guest's advice you needed to hear this week.

This episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.

What You'll Learn

📄 Why the perfect CV can be a warning sign, not a strength🎯 How to widen your job search beyond the exact title advertised👀 What hiring managers actually look at first in a portfolio✏️ Why sketching still beats software when you need to communicate fast🌱 What it takes to be noticed as a junior in a consultancy🙋 Why taking the role nobody else wants can pay off🧭 How to know your own working style before you choose a path🔁 Why career breaks and non-linear starts are not a disadvantage

Memorable Quotes

“We're all a bit fricking weird. Great. Come on board.” (Will Butler-Adams OBE, Brompton)

“I am a stereotypical industrial designer in the fact that I will look at the portfolio first and I will read absolutely none of it at first.” (Tylan Tschopp, Westinghouse)

“I would encourage people to... apply for jobs that are adjacent... because sometimes you're looking for someone who has a little bit of a superpower that's outside of the job description.” (Rich Thrush, Guitar Center)

“Apply to everything, go to as many interviews as you possibly can physically fit in, just to actually see how other companies