I recently sat down with the Head of Design at a large internet company for a really interesting conversation around design, hiring, AI, workplace culture, and how quickly the industry is changing.
One thing that stood out immediately was just how much product design has shifted over the last few years, and especially in the last few months. They mentioned this could genuinely be the biggest shift in the profession since the iPhone changed the way we interact with technology.
Years ago, websites were all about size and space. Bigger pages, bigger experiences, more “real estate”. Now, the way people interact with products is completely different. Mobile-first thinking, AI, gesture-based interaction, GPS, fluid experiences across devices, all of it has changed what users expect from digital products.
A lot of businesses in the space have struggled because they stayed too attached to the way things used to work. What was interesting hearing them speak about, was that within their organisation, change isn’t treated as disruption, it’s just part of how they operate.
Over the last year especially, the team has been preparing for AI-first ways of working and adjusting roles around emerging technology. We spoke about commerce tools, AI integration, and how expectations around product teams are changing in real time.
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation for me was how this mindset impacts hiring.
Instead of repeatedly hiring the same type of person, the focus is much more around identifying gaps in the team. What’s missing? What perspective or skillset could someone bring that doesn’t already exist there?
This has led to major changes internally. They spoke about situations where multiple vacancies were open and the business completely restructured the roles before continuing recruitment because the original brief no longer reflected what the company needed.
As a recruiter, it’s honestly refreshing hearing businesses speak like that.
Too often, companies stay rigid with hiring requirements even when something clearly isn’t working. Sometimes the market changes. Sometimes the role itself needs adjusted. Sometimes expectations simply aren’t realistic anymore. The companies getting the best results right now are usually the ones willing to step back, reassess properly, and take advice when needed rather than forcing a process that isn’t delivering.
Another interesting point was around years of experience.
Depending on the role, the business had become far more open-minded about this. In some cases, someone earlier in their career but naturally fluent in AI tools and emerging workflows could bring more value than someone with ten years of experience doing things the traditional way.
At the same time, experienced designers still bring huge value through critical thinking, product maturity, stakeholder management, and problem-solving depth.
The balance between the two is what seems to matter most. The result is a team where people are constantly learning from each other instead of everyone thinking the same way.
Another thing that stood out was how intentionally they review the way the organisation operates. Every January, the team reassesses meetings, processes, priorities, everything. Questions like:
Do we still need this meeting?
Does this process still serve a purpose?
What’s changed in the last 12 months?
Are we spending time on the right things?
It sounds simple, but a lot of businesses don’t do this often enough. There was a real emphasis on quality over performative work. Meetings shouldn’t exist purely for the sake of it. Processes shouldn’t continue just because “that’s how it’s always been done.”
We also discussed neurodiversity in the workplace, which I thought was an especially important part of the conversation. They spoke about how much people value clarity, structure, and transparency in their work, particularly neurodiverse employees.
One example was a kind of “Football Manager style” progression system for designers. Clear goals, visual progression, structured development tracking. It sounds straightforward, but creating visibility around expectations can make a huge difference to how supported people feel.
Another interesting part of the discussion was the realism around retention.
There was a very honest acknowledgment that not every hire is going to stay forever anymore, and that’s okay. Some people will build long careers in one business; others may stay a few years before moving on. The important thing is creating an environment where people are engaged while they’re there and ensuring the business continues planning ahead rather than reacting too late.
We also spoke about what stands out in candidates today.
A few practical points mentioned for designers applying for roles:
Put your portfolio link clearly at the top of your CV
If work is password protected, include the password immediately
Make information easy to access and easy to paste
Include your location and relocation plans clearly
Show adaptability and awareness of modern tools
Think beyond static visuals, flow and interaction matter more than ever
One recruitment approach they found particularly useful was simply having candidates hold a conversation with another designer. Not a rehearsed presentation, just an actual design discussion. Apparently, it became one of the quickest ways to identify strong candidates and equally, rule out people who weren’t the right fit.
Something else that really stood out throughout the conversation was the importance of alignment between recruiters and hiring managers. If businesses aren’t fully clear internally on what they’re looking for, recruitment becomes unnecessarily difficult.
One line that summed it up perfectly was:
“How can you recognise the needle in the haystack if you haven’t defined what the needle actually looks like?”
That probably captures a huge amount of modern hiring challenges right now.
Overall, one of the biggest takeaways from the conversation was that hiring today isn’t just about filling vacancies anymore. It’s about building teams that can adapt, evolve, and continue learning as industries change around them, and in design especially, change is happening fast.
AI is changing expectations. User behaviour is shifting. Teams are restructuring. Hiring priorities are evolving constantly.
At this point, change itself probably isn’t even the disruption anymore, it’s just the standard.