How to Hire Top Designers Without Breaking the Bank: 5 Proven Strategies

Hiring top-tier designers can feel like an expensive challenge, especially for startups and small businesses with limited budgets. But the truth is, you don’t need a massive salary offer to attract world-class design talent. You just need a smarter hiring strategy.

Here are five proven strategies to hire top designers without stretching your budget.

1. Make Your Job Post Stand Out

Most job descriptions are dry, generic, and uninspiring. But designers are visual thinkers — they respond to creativity, not just words on a page.

Instead of a dull job post, make yours visually engaging and unique:

• Use images and videos to showcase your company culture and design challenges.
• Describe real projects they’ll work on, not just generic responsibilities.
• Highlight their impact, showing how their work will shape your product and brand.

The more engaging and specific your job post, the more likely you’ll attract top designers.

2. Offer Career Growth Opportunities

Great designers aren’t just looking for a paycheck; they want to grow their skills and advance in their careers. If you can’t offer a high salary, compensate with opportunities for learning and development:

• Provide mentorship from senior designers or industry leaders.
• Offer conference stipends or online course reimbursements.
• Create a clear path to leadership, showing how they can grow with your company.

When designers see long-term potential, they’ll value your offer beyond just the salary.

3. Tap Into Design Networks

Most companies rely solely on job boards, but the best designers often aren’t actively looking there. Instead, they engage in online design communities.

To find top talent, you need to be where they are:

• Design Twitter — Follow and engage with designers discussing industry trends.
• LinkedIn Groups — Join and participate in design-focused groups.
• Slack & Discord communities — Many top designers network in private design channels.

By building relationships in these spaces, you’ll attract higher-quality candidates than through traditional job posts.

4. Sell Your Mission, Not Just the Salary

Designers want to create work that matters. If your startup is solving a real problem, highlight that in your hiring process.

• Share your company’s vision and impact.
• Show them how their design work will make a difference.
• Tell compelling stories about real users your product has helped.

When designers connect with your mission, they’re more likely to join — even if the salary isn’t the highest on the market.

5. Leverage Designer Referrals

The best designers know other great designers. A warm referral from a trusted contact is far more effective than cold job posts.

Here’s how to get designer referrals:

• Ask your existing network if they know talented designers open to new opportunities.
• If you don’t have a designer in your network, reach out to one and offer an incentive for referrals.
• Engage with designers on social media and ask for introductions.

A designer’s recommendation carries weight and increases your chances of hiring the right fit.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need deep pockets to hire top designers — just a smarter approach. By making your job post engaging, offering career growth, tapping into design networks, selling your mission, and leveraging referrals, you’ll attract top-tier talent without overspending.

Carl is a Talent Sourcer Building Design, Product & Engineering Teams at Meta. Carl is also a Mentor at Mento Design Academy. Before recruiting, he was a product designer working with many tech startups to design mobile apps. Carl is also the co-founder of a Meetup called Global UXD where he helps connect designers with each other and create new opportunities. Having completed Thinkful and DesignLab bootcamps before becoming a recruiter, he’s an expert at helping designers land their first design roles. Find Carl on carlwheatly.com and LinkedIn.