Interview structure: basically all of the companies I talked to went something like this:
- Recruiter phone screen (sometimes its team manager themselves)
- Design / Team manager screen (usually who would be your manager)
- Portfolio review (usually with other designers or team via video)
- Design challenge (many companies no longer do this, some replace portfolio review with this)
- Onsite (portfolio presentation followed by conversations with design, engineer, pm, manager, and design exercise / co-working session)
General Preparation
Time & Patience
Recruiting takes a lot of time, work, and patience. If you're scouted out from your current role or decides to follow a coworker/alumni to a new company then it's a different story. Otherwise the whole recruiting journey from cold apply, to phone screen, to portfolio review, to offer (or no offer), then to negotiation is an emotional roller coaster. There's really no right or wrong path, only your path. So take it as a learning opportunity and try to learn & grow as much as you can through it.
Design Podcasts & read books!
They say fake it till you make it, and one of the best ways I found in preparing myself was to submerge fully in the latest product design podcast, articles, and communities. It really helps to listen to how the leaders in the design industry talk about product, what they think the role of design is, and what they find challenging. These may be out dated now, but some resources I enjoyed are:
- High resolution (podcast, may be outdated now)
- Many great articles on medium; UX collective, Google Design, Julie Zhuo
- Figma design blog
Most Commonly Asked Questions During Interviews
Tell me about your self
By far the most asked question by anyone - recruiter, design manager, pm, fellow designers etc. I repeated my “story” at least 60 times since January and refined & improved it a little every time. Practice is so so important! Since I only have about 3.5 years of experience, I tell my entire professional history starting from college (internships). If your career is much longer (probably shouldn't take advice from me π) I imagine you can just talk about the most recent experiences.Try to anticipate what an employer might be curious about and weave that into your story. For example, I start off by explaining in a sentence or two how my undergrad degree in Fashion Design relates to my current career. Then talk about where I went, what I worked on, what I learned, and why I left (or if it's your only job, why are you leaving), and repeat for my second job. I end my story with what I'm looking for next. "Looking for next" part changes slightly depending on what company I'm talking to, you want them to tick off "yeah that's us" box in their mind. For example, it'd be a bad fit if you say you're looking for a strong design mentorship and you're interviewing to be the first designer at a startup. Your reasoning should make sense and give your interviewer context as to why you're here and why you're a fit.
What are you looking for next
If you didn't offer this part up during self-introduction, it's inevitably the next question your interviewer will ask. I think this part is very simple: if you're looking for a new role you must have a reason to so just be honest about it. It's never ok to lie! However, the truth can be told in many ways. I personally think it's acceptable to omit some details when you're talking to someone for the first time and want to paint yourself in the best light. For example, you can say you're looking for a more close-knit and passionate group of people to work with and learn from, but you should not say your previous co-workers are lazy and you have to pick up their slacks and strongly dislike them. Don't bash your previous company, co-workers, or say things that are too negative!Tell me a time when you convinced someone to change something
This kind of caught me off guard the first time I heard it π³and it was asked again in various ways in other interviews, so you should definitely prepare for this question. The question is usually "tell me a time when you persuaded someone of something" (work related), "changed the course of a project", or "influenced a decision made". The interviewer wants to see what you did in an event of a disagreement and access your skill in persuasion. Some tips better written here.My personal experience is a time when I successfully changed something (I'm vague in this post but you should not be vague!) and leaned into a designer's strength - talking about visual examples (show don't tell) and storyboarding scenarios etc., usually get people's head nodding π
What are some of your weaknesses
Your weakness should not be a personality trait that you cannot change, it should be a skill you can improve and are working towards. My approach #1 is focusing on hard skills. Through my first few rounds of interviews, I quickly realize a few skillsets people are looking for that I'm lacking (things like using data to back up your design decisions) and voluntarily brought this up as part of my weakness and state that I'm looking to improve this in my next job. It shows self-awareness and turns what would be [-1] point to [+1] point or at least neutral. You can always say things like "jack of all trades master of none" though it's a bit cliche, it's a very common trait among young designers new in their career.
Approach #2 is focusing on soft skills, things like public speaking, confidence, organization, communication etc. Following weaknesses, you can talk about how you want to address them or cope with them. Example: "I get nervous when presenting to a large group of people, public speaking doesn't come naturally to me so I always prepare more than others and makes sure I go over the material a few times until I know it inside out."
Please don't be a cop out! Don't disguise a strength as a weakness, it's super lazy and if you heard it as an interviewer you'd be annoyed too. Example: I'm a perfectionist π.
If you could build anything, what would you build
The goal of this question to find out what you are passionate about, where your interest are, and even your vision and goal for yourself. Obviously if you have a life long dream about what you want to build then definitely talk about that, otherwise some strategy can be:1) Something that align with the mission of the interviewing company if possible. Example maybe for Rent the Runway you can say "build something that ultimately reduce human's carbon footprint and lead to a greener earth." It's not so obviously related to the company that it sounds fake, and it shows your interest in sustinability.
2) Something less tech/product-y that showcase you as an interested person. Example may be "build a non-profit dog haven that takes in all unwanted stray dogs", or "build a restaurant chain empire", or "build a house from scratch for my parents because it's their life long dream"
What you definitely don't want to do is call out an actual company or an existing product on the market, not only would it feel like a cop out answer, it'd feel like you lack vision and ambition. Especially if you named something that your interviewing company does not do or support, they'd naturally question why you're here.
What are some products that you think are well designed
This one should be easy, start with your mostly used apps, website, or services - what do you use it for? why do you use it compare to competitors? what do you like about it? "Well designed" doesn't have to be a visual trait, it can be a product positioning or set of features. Example: you might say Figma's live collaboration feature makes it a really compelling & well designed product. You can also think about an example of non-tech product that you think is well designed, example might be you like how Southwest airline utilize open seating based on check-in time, which result in fairness and quicker boarding (just an example, in case you actually hate it π). I think for this question, if you feel strongly you could talk about competitors in the same industry, but you should have an especially good rationale in this case.
Lastly
About sponsorship...
For my international friends... I'll admit I'm extremely lucky to not have to worry about H1B or visa sponsorship. But I'm also delighted to report that many companies did not ask for my status until they're preparing the offer letter! I personally think, from experience, that the tech sector is much more willing to hire foreign talents and give them that sponsorship. It might be a little harder to get a call back in the first place (since many applications ask for it) but I think some recruiters barely look at that section... Don't be deterred, apply to as many places as you can, do a killer interview / onsite / exercise and something will work out in your favor!
