We examined a few different paths designers can take in their careers. Developing your soft skills—and gaining confidence in them—is essential in transitioning to the professional world of design. But when you have no work experience under your belt, how do you show employers you’d be a great design hire?

The answer to this question, which I learned while recruiting designers at Dropbox, is to demonstrate an explosive trajectory. This lesson covers four characteristics that signal to employers you have tremendous potential—and make it easy for them to say, “Yes!”\

You will most likely ask yourself this question when starting to look for your first job.

The application process for a design job is unique from traditional fields like sales or customer service. For these types of jobs, a resume can sufficiently communicate your work experience to recruiters. However, candidates for design jobs will most likely hit a wall if they do not have a portfolio ready to show off their work.

Recruiters can often be flooded with applications, making it difficult for any candidate to stand out. Your portfolio is a collection of your work that showcases your skills, design knowledge and creative personality. Hiring managers and recruiters want to see your approach to solving problems, your thought process throughout and the outcomes to your projects. You’ll have a much better chance of being interviewed for positions once you have a portfolio ready, even without formal work experience on your resume

So how did you approach building your portfolio if you didn’t have any projects to show?

When I created my first portfolio, I was starting to learn the fundamentals of graphic design, but the approaches that I took to get projects can be applied to other design disciplines as well. I was able to gain “experience” while continuing to build up my skills using design tools, such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.

1. Redesign

Redesign projects can be applied to more than just logos, including brand identities, websites or apps. They are a great way to stretch your creativity and think outside the box. Recreate a poster with a different visual style or suggest UX improvements to an outdated website. It’s a start to building your first portfolio.

2. Volunteer

As I gained more confidence in my skills, I joined several student clubs and non-profit organizations as a volunteer on their design team. This was a great way to gain a steady flow of projects and work on briefs for other people. I learned to follow brand guidelines and iterate based on client feedback. Since most of the work was event-based, I was able to receive work on a monthly basis, which gave me a lot of practice to develop my skills.

Volunteering provides a safe way to gain experience, since there isn’t any money invested in your work. It can also be a fun way to network and meet potential clients down the road.

3. Freelance

After volunteering for a while, I noticed that people were willing to pay money for similar projects, so then I tried my hand at freelancing. I had become more confident in working through the design process with a client. Since the client’s money was being invested into the project, I was more careful with my design decisions in order to produce more professional-looking work and meet their business requirements. Being able to understand the business side of design can be beneficial to show in your portfolio, as it demonstrates to recruiters that you know how to add value to a business.

4. Hackathons

Hackathons are often sponsored by tech or consulting firms, from industry leaders to growing startups. These competitions are scoped down to just a few days of work. Due to the short timeframe, you may not be able to get in-depth with research or testing, but having the opportunity to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team can provide valuable experience. Recruiters want to see that you are able to work effectively with others as teamwork is key to being a successful designer in a company.

5. Personal projects

If you are struggling to find work in other ways, consider starting a personal project. It can be difficult to stay motivated, especially when there is no one waiting on you to deliver the designs, so I prefer to pick a topic that I’m passionate about. You can create a fake client to deliver the designs to, but treat the project as if it were real by creating a list of requirements for your solution. Setting milestone deadlines can also help keep yourself on track and accountable.

Define and articulate your design process

Design interviews often require you to talk through your process or complete an exercise on the spot. Being able to speak precisely and passionately about your intent will show potential employers who you are as a designer—and who you have the capacity become.

The foundation of a great process is asking the right questions, which will often illuminate the right solutions. This article discusses questions to consider during each stage of the design process. As you begin your next project, ask yourself: Who is this for? What do they want from it, and how can I emphasize those things?

Show your work

Before we arrive at a finished design, we often discard concepts, prototypes, and sketches that helped us get to the final product. Capturing and sharing that work can show our design thinking and build a narrative around what we create.

Practice relentlessly for the interview

The designer developed and rehearsed it over six months. The talk was Wilson Miner’s “When We Build”, which I’ve included as an example of the power of relentless practice.

Every design interview is configured differently—there may be critique, collaboration, or a presentation—so ask what to expect and come outrageously prepared. Put more effort into nailing it than anyone would reasonably expect. When you’re just starting out, that’s the only way to make it look easy.