How Writing on Medium Landed Me My Dream Job
Why You Should Start Writing Today—My Real Story
In 2018, my journey was anything but easy. I was an immigrant, trying to break into the design industry while working as an IT assistant at Georgia State University. Between assisting students and fixing network issues, I was also navigating an endless loop of job applications. Over the course of several months, I applied to roughly 600 companies. I faced rejection after rejection — not because of my skills, but due to my citizenship status. Like many others who come to the U.S. for their master’s degrees, I found myself stuck in this frustrating cycle. Out of the 600 applications, I managed to get to the final rounds of interviews for 25 positions, only to be rejected once they learned I wasn’t a U.S. citizen.
Despite these challenges, I remained determined. In early April, I applied to a digital company in Midtown Atlanta. To my surprise, just a couple of days later, their UX Director invited me to meet the team.
The Design Challenge That Sparked an Idea
After a great discussion with their team, I was given a design challenge: “Redesign any popular digital interface.” The challenge seemed straightforward, but I wanted to tackle something meaningful. After brainstorming for a while, I realized that the solution was right in front of me — LinkedIn. As someone who had been struggling to find a job, I knew firsthand the pain points of using LinkedIn for job applications and networking.
I started gathering feedback from friends and online communities about their struggles with LinkedIn’s interface, especially during job searches. Their insights validated my own frustrations. I decided to reimagine LinkedIn’s design, focusing on improving the user experience for job seekers like myself.
Discovering Medium as My Platform
I had my concept and research in place, but I wasn’t sure where to share it. A friend suggested I try Medium, and I instantly fell in love with its clean interface and ease of use. I knew it was the perfect platform to showcase my redesign.
I conducted further research by categorizing the issues into four broad categories:
- Job Search (LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor)
- Application Tracking (Lack of existing solutions)
- Interview Scheduling & Alerts (Reminders, notifications)
- Communication Channels (Email, phone calls, and more)
After mapping out the flaws and potential improvements, I jumped into the design process. I started sketching, created wireframes, and eventually built a clickable mobile prototype with detailed visual designs. I annotated each screen with insights and suggestions, validating my decisions through guerrilla testing with 30 students. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive—90% of them felt my redesign was far better than LinkedIn’s current interface.
(The actual article is below.)
The Power of Hitting Publish
With all this work behind me, I decided to publish the case study on Medium and share the link with the team at the company I applied to. Days passed, and I didn’t hear back from them. But something unexpected happened — my article started gaining traction on Medium. Readers resonated with my ideas, leaving comments and sharing the piece widely.
A few days later, I was shocked to receive a message on LinkedIn from the Head of Design at LinkedIn itself. He congratulated me on the case study and expressed how much he loved my approach. Although the summer internship spots had already been filled, his acknowledgment alone was a validation I had never expected. My case study even became the top result on Google for the search term “LinkedIn design case study.”
Writing Gave Me Confidence
Although this recognition didn’t immediately land me a job, it sparked something, within me. Until then, I had avoided writing because I feared being judged — English wasn’t my first language. But the response to my Medium article filled me with confidence. I decided to keep writing. Just a few weeks later, I published another piece focused on micro-interactions in design — a topic I was deeply passionate about. I discussed why micro-interactions matter, when to use them, and how they can elevate both mobile and web experiences.
When I returned to Medium after a few weeks, I was blown away by the response. The article had garnered over 40,000 views and 25,000 reads. My inbox was flooded with notifications — people clapping for the article, leaving comments, and sharing it across their networks.
The Breakthrough Moment
Then came the message that changed everything. The Head of Design at one of the largest banks in the USA reached out to me on LinkedIn. They were headquartered in Atlanta. He had read my article on micro-interactions and was impressed by my insights. We had a great conversation about design, which eventually led to an interview with the team. Two weeks later, I found myself sitting in on a four-hour interview at their offices. A week after that, I received an offer to join their growing teams as a senior UX designer.
Reflecting on the Journey
Two years have passed since that life-changing moment, and I’ve cherished every day of it. I’ve learned so much, both professionally and personally, while building meaningful relationships with an amazing team. Recently, I googled “micro-interactions” to gather inspiration for a project, and to my surprise, my article was the top result — ranked even above the Nielsen Norman Group. That was a humbling moment for me.
Why Medium Mattered
All of this was made possible because of Medium. Writing on this platform didn’t just help me land a job — it transformed me into a more confident designer and communicator. It gave me a voice, a platform, and most importantly, it reminded me that sharing your thoughts and ideas can open doors you never imagined.
If you’re holding back from writing because you think you’re not good enough, take it from me — sometimes all it takes is hitting “publish” to change your life.
