The designers who don't know they're senior yet

Good to be back!

I took four weeks away from this newsletter to recharge, and I came back with something I can’t stop thinking about.

Over the past few months, I’ve worked with several designers who were counting themselves out of senior roles before they even applied.

Their work was strong.
Their experience was stronger than they realized.
But they weren’t counting the right things.

The graphic designer who didn't think her past counted

One designer I worked with had spent several years as a graphic designer before transitioning into UX. She’d done solid work on real projects, with ownership, stakeholder feedback, deadlines, and judgment calls.

But when we looked at her experience, she wasn’t counting any of it.

In her mind, her career started when she became a UX designer. Everything before that felt irrelevant.

It wasn’t.

They were foundational. She had spent years solving visual communication problems, working with stakeholders, navigating feedback, hitting deadlines, and developing judgment. That's not a different career. That's the same career with a different tool set.

That absolutely counts.

The years of experience question is the wrong question

Here's what the job market won't tell you clearly: there is no universal definition of senior.

Job postings ask for anywhere from 3 to 12 of experience for the same title. At startups and mid-size companies the range is typically 4 to 8 years. At larger tech firms it can be 6 to 12 or more. The same role at two different companies can have completely different expectations.

This means the number of years you have isn't the real question.

The real question is what you can demonstrate.

What hiring managers are actually evaluating

When I was hiring designers, I wasn’t counting years. I was looking for evidence of senior-level behavior:

Ownership: Did you lead the work, or support it?
Autonomy: Could you define the problem yourself?
Cross-functional influence: Did you work well with PMs, engineers, and stakeholders?
Impact: Can you connect your decisions to outcomes?
Multiplying others: Did you mentor, give feedback, or raise the bar around you?

If you can show those things across any combination of roles or titles, you may already have senior-level experience.

The title on your last job doesn't define your level

Seniority is a set of behaviors and capabilities, often without formal recognition.

The graphic designer who owned projects, presented to clients, and mentored junior colleagues may already be operating at a senior level. The UX designer who only executed wireframes handed to them may not be, even if their title says otherwise.

The market is full of senior roles right now. If you’ve been doing senior-level work, count it.

Three questions worth thinking about with this week

Before you pass on a senior role, ask yourself:

Have I owned a project from problem definition to shipped solution?
Have I influenced decisions beyond design?
Have I helped someone else get better at their work?

If the answer to any of those is yes, that’s worth counting.

Put it in your portfolio. Put it in your resume. Apply for the role.

The worst they can say is no.

If you want help figuring out what level you’re really operating at and how to position yourself for the roles that match, that’s exactly the conversation I have in 1:1 strategy sessions.

→ Book a 1:1 Career Strategy Session — $175
"The most clarity I've had in my career in years."

Good to be back.

Anthony

P.S. If the portfolio is the more immediate problem, like making sure it actually communicates your level clearly then the Mid-Level Case Study Playbook covers exactly that. $39, instant access.