Mastering product design interviews

Demystifying the design job search process

Interviewing for design can be tough. You’ve made your portfolio. You’ve applied to jobs. You hope for the best but no one calls back. Worse yet, you don’t even know what’s happening on the other end. Is the job still available? Did they already pass on me? What’s happening?

Interviewing for UX design is a journey of many steps

Getting a job doesn’t have to be this difficult. I’d like to share a process so that you can position your best self forward. This isn’t about getting a job in UX with no skills or faking your way in. Rather, it’s an opportunity to set the right context for your skills so that you have a good chance of finding a job that fits your skills and sets you up for success.

Who is this for?

If you’re a user experience designer, product designer, interaction designer looking for your next (or first!) role — this series is for you. Over the last decade I’ve worked with various companies—from large corporations, lean agencies, to small and mid-size startups. As a designer I’ve been responsible for evaluating new talent and sat in on countless whiteboard interviews, app critiques, portfolio presentations and peer interviews.

Companies struggle finding the right candidate too. Finding an excellent designer who is a great cultural fit can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s hard to gauge fit through an online portfolio alone which is why there’s an exhaustive (and at times exhausting) design interview process.

Knowing what companies expect from designers will give you a better idea of how to prepare and what to present at critical moments.