I recently came across a job posting that caught my eye. The product sounded exciting, the team structure looked solid, and the space (fintech) was one I’ve recently wanted to explore more deeply. But as I read the role description, I had a moment of pause. Some of what they were looking for was familiar, but some parts felt still green within me. No direct fintech work in my portfolio. No recent native mobile-first product case studies. They were also deep into integrating generative AI into their app. I hadn’t directly built anything like that either.
So what now? Close the tab and move on?
This is where a lot of designers hesitate. If your current or past roles don’t give you case studies in the exact domain you want to move into, what are you supposed to do? Go back to school? Hope your manager assigns you something relevant? Wait until you’re “ready”?
You’ll wait a long time.
The reality is, you can reposition your experience now. You just need to know how to frame it. This article breaks down how I approached that situation, how I moved forward in the process, and what I did to credibly bridge the gap between my experience and their expectations.
First: They’re hiring a thinker, not just a skill set
The role was focused on building a consumer-facing financial product. Think credit, transfers, budgeting, savings nudges, and fraud detection. A lot of it tied closely to mobile UX under regulatory constraints. Most of my past work had been in B2B, data platforms, and internal tools. But the foundation wasn’t irrelevant. I’ve worked on complex flows, high-stakes systems, and products where one mistake breaks user trust. That doesn’t show up unless you write it that way. So before applying, I adjusted how I framed my work. No bull-shit, just clearer signals.
How I positioned myself in the interview
Here are some themes I knew mattered to them, and how I made sure I could speak to them with credibility.
AI-driven personalisation and automation
Their product was actively exploring ways to use AI across design and development, including smart insights and automation.
In the interview:
- I shared where I’d already used AI tools (ChatGPT, Magician in Figma, Midjourney for visual thinking).
- I suggested ways their app could surface AI-generated nudges to help users make better spending decisions.
- I talked about working with data teams at Booking and how that gave me experience grounding design in real behavioural signals.
I didn’t pretend I’d built an AI product. I showed I’d thought about how I would.
Mobile-first UX in a regulated environment
Their app was the product. Every screen needed to meet accessibility and compliance requirements while staying responsive and usable.
In the interview:
- I explained how I led and established the foundation of accessibility work at Booking, including screen reader support and WCAG audits.
- I talked about redesigning checkout flows for Roots’ eCommerce platform years ago, simplifying dense interactions for mobile while preserving transparency and control.
- I considered offering a teardown of one of their onboarding or payment flows to show how I’d approach structure and clarity. But I’ve become cautious about giving direct feedback on an interviewer’s live product, I wrote more about why in a past article.
The lesson: You don’t have to have done the exact thing. But you do need to show how you’d think through it.
Designing with clarity and precision
I positioned myself as someone who:
- Knows why design is high-stakes, especially in transactional systems
- Reduces complexity without dumbing down
- Leverages AI and prototyping to test faster
- Cares about legal, ethical and accessible design
- Has worked on large design systems and can scale thinking across touchpoints
- That message came from reshaping how I spoke about my work, not changing the work itself.
How I reshaped my resume and portfolio
I didn’t start over. I reframed what I had and filled small gaps that mattered.
Mobile-first, consumer-facing design
My resume focused heavily on B2B. But I’d done consumer UX earlier in my career, Roots, Home-Depot, Aldo, even side projects, but I hadn’t surfaced that clearly.
What I did
- Added a “Selected projects” section to re-surface those early B2C highlights.
- Included 1–2 lines under my Roots experience that mentioned mobile-first design and responsive patterns.
- Mentioned a few personal usability tests I’d run on mobile patterns, even if they weren’t tied to a company.
That was enough to shift the perception.
Fintech and personal finance relevance
I hadn’t worked in financial services. But I had designed for high-security, transaction-sensitive environments.
What I did
- Added a bullet point under my Booking work around building UX for secure and auditable data actions.
- Made a note in my portfolio that if selected for interview, I’d be happy to sketch a case study for a fictional mobile budgeting app.
Showing initiative is the shortcut.
Using AI in design workflows
They were upfront about wanting candidates who had a mindset for exploring AI.
What I did
- Created a new bullet under my current role that mentioned where I’d used generative AI to support ideation and prototyping.
- Showcased a few upskilling resources:
- Practised writing clear AI prompts for research synthesis and UI copy support.
It’s not about being fluent. It’s about showing fluency is something you’re working on.
The angle that works
While prepping for this interview, I coincidentally connected with a local senior product manager on LinkedIn and came across a recent post they had shared. In their spare time, they had challenged themselves to build a lightweight app using GenAI prompts through V0.dev and Google’s API. The output wasn’t polished, but that wasn’t the point. What stood out was the curiosity, the effort and the intent. They were exploring accessibility issues in walking directions, and learning how product and GenAI workflows might come together in a practical way. That kind of project is worth just as much as formal work experience. Probably more. It shows interest, not just obligation. This is the main point. If you’re breaking into a new space, your portfolio doesn’t need to come from a job. It just needs to show how you think. That you’re already heading where they’re going.
Final thoughts
If you’re trying to move into something new (fintech, healthcare, AI, climate tech), you probably already have the skills. The hard part is figuring out how to position what you’ve done in a way that feels relevant. That comes down to reframing, not starting from scratch.
This reminds me of something Jim Collins wrote in Good to Great. He studied companies that made the leap from being good to industry-defining, and one of the things he found was that greatness didn’t come from hiring people with the perfect résumé or deep domain expertise. It came from hiring the right people first, people with the drive, the thinking, the character, and then figuring out where to take the company.
“They first got the right people on the bus… and then figured out where to drive it.”
That principle still holds. You don’t need to have worked in fintech or mobile AI to be the right designer. But you do need to show you’re already thinking like someone who does. If you’re pivoting right now and want to run your angle by someone, I’m always open to connecting. Reach out on LinkedIn or use the contact form on my site.