Applying for a Design Role at Float

At Float, we receive a lot of applications for our open roles, and while we make sure every application gets reviewed, here are some tips for putting your best foot forward.

‘Hell-yes’ applications stand out. These folks highlight what makes them unique, showcase their skills, and present their experience in a way that captures our interest. A ‘hell-yes’ application goes beyond just showing your qualifications and enthusiasm for the role. It tells us something about you personally, helping us to see if this is a hell-yes match both ways.

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Here are 10 hot tips for ensuring your application hits the mark for a design role at Float.

1. Spend the time to make sure the role is a good fit

This might sound obvious, but it’s essential to thoroughly read the job description to understand the responsibilities and skills required for the role. We give a lot of time and energy to make our JDs as sharp as possible. We’re upfront about the asks and expectations of the role—so you can decide if we’re a good fit for you! Yes, we want you to assess us too.

If it’s a hell-yes and you want to apply, organize your portfolio to show us your capabilities and how they align with the role.

2. Answer the application questions like it’s your fast-track cover letter.

We don’t ask for long, generic cover letters, but we do ask a couple of specific questions to understand how you think and communicate asynchronously (a necessity for remote work). This is your chance to show your attention to detail and your communication skills.

We know that applying for jobs can be time-consuming and that it’s a difficult job market. We do read every single application though and therefore place an emphasis on strong, thoughtful applications. In other words, giving two-word answers or skipping questions altogether, well, the skipping is likely to go both ways 😉

3. Sell us on the sizzle, then reel us in for the detail

Your portfolio is your chance to shine, grab our attention, and show us what you can do. Captivating portfolios have an arc—a story of how they came to be. Often, we see portfolios shared in a simple start-to-finish linear format. These look like early sketches at the top of the page (or worse, sticky notes on a wall 🫣), then a journey through wireframes to a final design. It doesn’t tell us anything.

We want you to sell us your blockbuster work! What better place to look than Hollywood for inspiration on how to hype? When releasing a hit, studios give you a trailer to reel you in and some big-ticket moments to get you excited before rolling out the main event. The story build-up has an impact. Start your work with the trailer, sell us on the sizzle, and get us excited to dive into the details of how it came to be.

4. Show your problem-solving skills with a story, not an explanation

The story arc of your work should explain your process: the what and why of where it all started, the challenges you faced, how you overcame them, the processes you used, and the decisions you made along the way. The climactic wins and losses are as important and interesting as the outcomes of the journey.

Hot tip: use the STARR method to set the stage and tell the story.

5. Be selective and intentional with your portfolio

Remember that part in the intro about tailoring your portfolio for the role? Now’s where we get to see that. Focus on showcasing a few, like three to five, high-quality projects. Any more than that becomes overwhelming and more often than not, begins to lose relevance. Your best guide is the job description. For some roles, we’ll ask for just one best example work.

Show us work that best demonstrates your skills, creativity, and the impact of your design. Quality always trumps quantity, and a few well-executed projects can leave a stronger impression. Your portfolio is only as strong as its weakest piece.

6. Paint us the whole picture in your application

Keep the bar high on all touch points of your application—not just your portfolio. Your CV should be clear, concise, and easy to read.

Hint: An easy-to-navigate CV spread across two pages is preferred over a one-pager that’s crammed in!

We value that the application questions (see tip #2), combined with your CV and portfolio, help us learn more about you. This combination highlights your attention to detail across the board and shows you off throughout the application process.

7. Be human, we can tell

Let your personality shine through in your application. Be genuine and authentic in your communication—we want to get to know the real you. We all love “crafting digital experiences that do this and that”, it’s why we do what we do. To stand out, we need to see some realness. Over the many moons and people we’ve interviewed, the ones that stood out had a hook.

I’ll never forget the pharmacist whose scientific methodology led them to product design, the UX researcher who ranked 9th in the world in Premier League fantasy football, and the designer who was also a semi-professional opera singer. These are the ones that stand out. Everyone has a unique career story in design. Yours might not be as extreme, but it’s still unique because it’s yours.

8. Cold outreach won’t skip the queue

We put thought and care into our recruitment process and we are real people behind it, taking the time to look at everyone. Understand that the application process is designed to be fair and thorough. We review all applications carefully, so please trust our process and talented talent team! Networking and personal connections can sometimes help, so if you know someone, reach out for advice. But do know that cold-calling someone on the team for a recommendation won’t skip the queue. Learn more about referrals at Float here.

9. Be prepared for next steps

‍Once you’ve submitted your application, be ready for the next steps as outlined on the job description. This might include interviews, design tests, and further discussions. Make sure you are available and prepared to move forward in the process. Being responsive and prepared demonstrates your eagerness to move along in the process and for us both to get to know each other.

10. Make sure we’re a fit too. We love the problem.

It’s not just lip service when we say that you’re interviewing us as much as we are interviewing you. It’s important to us that our company and the role are a good fit for you too.

Do your research on our culture, values, and how we work. We try to spell them out clearly and share them with the world to help candidates evaluate if we’re a fit for them. We know that work is a part of people’s lives, and we spend a lot of time (even if it’s async) with the people we work with. It’s important that we all really love the problem we are solving for our customers. That’s what keeps us motivated to keep showing up for our team.

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To see our open roles, visit float.com/careers. If you’re applying for a design role, make sure to check this list—we, too, want to see your application shine!