1. Referrals still beat applications
The most effective path into a company is someone who already works there vouching for you. That makes the future peer audience real — your about page matters more than your hero animation.
2. Centralized vs decentralized changes what you should show
Agency and studio formations (centralized) often hire for specialization. Embedded product teams (decentralized) want generalists who can own a surface end to end. Same designer, different portfolio emphasis.
3. Recruiters match keywords, not vibes
SEO-style keyword overlap between your materials and the job description is how ATS ranking works. Recruiters are running the same mental model.
4. “Business sense” is a positioning problem
Several candidates said they do strong work but cannot articulate the business frame. That is not a talent gap — it is a storytelling gap in case studies and résumé bullets.
5. NDA work in interviews
If you cannot show a project publicly, you can still walk through it in an interview context. Sign the NDA, explain the constraint, show the thinking. Hiding everything hurts more than redacting details.
