How to interview for a (product) design role without burning out
Whether the role was titled product designer, UX designer, UX/UI designer, experience designer, service designer (rarer to come by), or visual designer—I applied.
I applied to 33 jobs and interviewed for 3.5 months. Here, I share what I learned in the interview process, and then self-care tips that helped keep my spirits up while I was knee deep in the interviewee slush.
1️⃣ It’s about who you know. That’s why referrals bonuses are so high. You don’t have to have friends in high places, you just need a foot in the door. Did you go to school with ANYONE that currently works there? Can a friend introduce you to ANYONE on the team? Attend a talk the company is giving so you can network with ANYONE who works there afterwards.
2️⃣ There is design work to be done. If a position has opened up, then there must be a laundry list of work that is going by the wayside, and so they are sussing out if you’d be able to tackle that design backlog. And of course, if they see you meshing well with the team.
💔 It’s such a crapshoot for both sides. The current interviewing process is skewed and broken. You write “personalized” cover letters and upload resumes into these career page abysses and usually get a return email saying something along the lines of:
We have taken the time to review your background and qualifications for this role. We truly appreciate your interest in [insert company name without vowels]. We are sorry to say that we have decided to move forward with other candidates at this time.
No wonder why our design management professor Karen McGrane told us to forgo these types of job applications completely. Because more times than not, it’s a waste of time.
🙈 So, if you really like a company and can’t get ahold of anyone you remotely know there, go ahead and apply blindly, but don’t bother with a cover letter—just upload your resume into the black hole of company career portals because you want to maximize your effort elsewhere.
I started to keep track of every company I reached out to and at what stage of the process I was with them, as well as the source of the gig.
Out of the 33 companies I applied to, more than half were referrals. And by that I mean I had a introduction to SOMEONE on the team. It can be ANYONE, as long as it’s a human being and not a career portal.
I went through six final round interviews, in the longest one I went into the office 3x and had 2 remote meetings. Out of the six, I completed 4 design challenges, tons of 1on1s that I’ve lost count, and some form of a portfolio presentation.
Overall, the interview cycle feels longer than it is because before all of that, you usually meet with the head of [design, product, UX, experience, something or other] casually to gauge what the company’s about and what the role entails. So that’s usually over coffee or a phone call and this preliminary meeting isn’t even part of the interview cycle (oy vey)!
First interview:
Your first official meeting with the company is most likely with the recruiter. Think of them as the bouncer at a club. They are there to check your ID and mark things off their checklist, for example here are some real-life questions they might ask:
- Tell me about your background.
- How passionate are you about the work you’ve done/are doing/do on the side?
- What are you looking for in your next role?
- Why are you looking to leave your current job?
- Describe your current team structure.
- How do you work with your team? What is the product teams dynamic?
- What is your relationship with engineers and/or PMs?
- How is your current work valued within the product? How is what you do pushing the product forward?
- What are your strengths aka superpowers?
- Can you design on all platforms (mobile, desktop, etc.)?
(Recruiter questions courtesy of Emily Lee @MileIQ)
Don’t let these questions deter you. You just want to make sure you pass so you can get into the club, to meet with the designers who you will be working with on a daily basis.
Sometimes you’ll get those questions that begin with “Tell me a time when…” especially during 1on1s with non-designers (recruiters & PMs, I’m looking at you 😬).
Portfolio presentation:
What type of work should you show at the presentation? How many projects? One startup’s answer when I asked before coming in:
In general more product work (UI/UX). It would be great to see 2–3 projects (product-related) you worked on, the challenges you faced, how you solved or overcame them, your process along the way and then the solution and final product.
They don’t want to only see the finished product. They want to hear the thinking behind the “finished” product. And typically you won’t get through more than 3 projects, so don’t try to cram a bunch of projects into a deck. Know your audience and how much time you have. Curate your presentation to the company.
I like to use the Keynote app on my phone as a remote while presenting so I’m not tied to my seat or my laptop (but feel out the room first). And spend some time practicing your presentation with someone you trust. Practice in front of a mirror. I like to practice the gist of what I want to say for each project because I don’t want to sound too robotic.
You vs. them:
🔪 This might sound cutthroat, but remember that everyone you are meeting is judging you. Don’t let that deter you, just keep it in mind. No matter how nice they are, how cool the office tour is, at the end of the day, each party is judging the other. You are trying to read if this is a place you can see yourself working at. They are trying to tease out if you can deliver and if you’d make a good fit for the team.
It’s a big risk on both sides. Companies need to do the upfront work in hiring because it’s a lot harder to let someone go, once they are in. And you might think this is your dream job, but you won’t really know until you accept and start. ◼️
Prevent burnout with self-care:
💚 I always try to do something nice for myself after a meeting, especially if it felt grueling. I would whip up a tasty lunch or grab a fancy cup of coffee somewhere.
💙 Do something completely unrelated to design. For instance, I walked my roommate’s dog to get my mind off of things. I signed up for a library card and visited my local brand when I needed a break. And I finally got around to constructing a bench—a DIY idea that was floating in my head for so long.
Inevitably, I would replay how a interview went, over and over again in my head, but I tried to curb that by throwing myself wholeheartedly into something else for a little bit.
❤️ Don’t let rejection be a reflection of you and your abilities. Interviewing can be disheartening, and some days it really took a toll on my self-confidence, but I realized I didn’t need to diminish my work (aka myself).
One particular memory during a final interview cycle reinforced that for me: I gave a presentation to the entire startup team and it went swimmingly. When we got to the end, for the Q&A, 1 of 2 males in the room asked why I chose a certain design treatment. I don’t remember what I said, but during the 1on1 afterwards with the hiring manager, a female lead said “Can I give you some advice? When [blank] asked you that question, you answered ‘Oh, I just picked it because…’ Don’t diminish your design decisions. We [females] tend to do that. I know from my own experience being in the industry for so long.” ◼️
I thought I would be writing this with a job already. So I could be someone’s fairy godmother that passes along her wisdom. That hasn’t happened yet, but I’ve gotten really good at knowing right off the bat if a company wants to proceed with the next round of interviews. It’s gotten easier to pick up red flags and not get my feelings hurt (as much).
⚾️ Keep at it. Something will stick. At a design talk years ago, I remember hearing Michael Bierut tell a baseball analogy, about how he doesn’t actually consider himself to be that great of a designer (ha!), but he always shows up to bat. Because if you keep coming up to bat, then you’ll eventually hit a ball. And I let that sustain me as I keep chugging along.
This story has sat in my drafts for more than a year. Since then, a lot has already been written up about this topic, from what questions you’ll be ask to what the other side is looking for, even talks about how to get into the heads of hiring managers. Currently, I work as a product designer at MileIQ within Microsoft, and sitting on the other end of the hiring process is new to me.
