Mastering Product Design Interviews
So you didn’t get your dream design job, what’s next?
Turn failure into success with these tips.
You’ve wrapped up your product design interviews and are now waiting to hear back. Maybe you’ve nailed that portfolio presentation or had a promising phone screen. But a few days later you get that dreaded reply thanking you for your application but it’s not a good fit at this time.
What happened?
It’s easy to blame yourself and feel terrible as your thoughts race to think of what you did wrong. Before you get caught up I would encourage you to take a deep breath and step back.
You can choose your reaction. If your friend went through a similar situation, how would you talk to them about it? Approach yourself the same way — self compassion helps you take the learning in and bounce back stronger.
In this article I’ll cover why candidates get rejected. Think of failure as a stepping stone, use it to improve your chances of success next time. By the way, rejection along your interviewing journey isn’t a bad thing, it means you’re pushing yourself and not settling down—good on you!
First step — ask for feedback
So let’s say you got an email similar to the one above. Now’s a good time to follow-up with the hiring manager or recruiter or both and ask for feedback (thus demonstrating self awareness and a growth mindset in the process).
Here’s a general template you can follow (be sure to customize it based on your experience and include specific examples):
- Thank them for taking their time.
- Mention how you’re interested in the role and would like to be kept on the radar even if now’s not the right time.
- Ask for feedback. You’d like to improve and it would be helpful to know about your growth areas so that you can be an even stronger candidate the next time around.
- Close by thanking them again for the opportunity.
Companies are hesitant to share feedback. In short, it might expose them to litigation if the candidate feels they’ve been rejected unjustly due to discrimination. Unfortunately this incentivizes most companies to avoid feedback altogether.
Most of the times you might get a carefully worded response mentioning an area of concern in no specific terms. You’ll need to read between the lines here. For example if the recruiter said your soft skills need work — think of how you presented yourself or how you came across. It may be beneficial to cross reference this feedback by asking a current or former colleague for their (radically honest) assessment.
So yes, the granularity of feedback will vary from non-existent to vague but even then I would still encourage you to ask for it as it may uncover your blind spots—mistakes that you’re completely unaware of.
Framework for working through feedback
Over time you’ll accumulate different and potentially conflicting feedback. This is why it always helps to have a career roadmap for your next step in the journey. Some feedback will be relevant—some won’t be. A roadmap helps your prioritize.
Another way to prioritize is looking at feedback through a dual lens of effort and control. Obviously high leverage actions should be done first but on the flip side, let go of things that you can’t control—no need to stress out about things that can’t be changed.
Reasons for rejection
Although a company really wants to fill that vacant design role — the cost of a bad hire is high. Companies hire conservatively. So even though they need help (and they stretch existing employees to fill the gap), many choose to wait longer to find a perfect match. That’s why it’s important to leave a strong impression and convince your interviewers that you’re the right designer for the job.
To be clear, “a perfect match” doesn’t actually exist. Don’t eliminate yourself by not applying to roles where you meet 70% of the requirements. If you have the skills — you can pick up the other 30%. What’s important is to communicate to your interviewers that in addition to your know-how you have the ability to adapt and learn fast.
Is there anything that I said or didn’t say that would make me not an ideal fit for this role?
You can ensure you and your interviewers are on the same page by asking them point blank, “is there anything that I said or didn’t say that would make me not an ideal fit for this role”? This question usually breaks the wall and allows the interviewer to communicate what they’ve seen so far. Now you act on this feedback immediately and set the right impression.
Let’s look at a couple more factors that are in your control that you can use to your advantage.
Interview performance
Even after having prepared and practiced ahead of time — you will still make some mistakes during interviews. That’s ok. Things don’t go according to book so it’s important to take the new learning in. If you haven’t already done the post-interview retro, I recommend you start there.
Continue reading a refreshed version of this article to learn all about how you can improve your interview performance via a personal retro.
Looking to learn more?
Land Your Dream Design Job is a comprehensive book about landing a product design role in a startup, agency, or tech company. It covers the entire design interview process from beginning to end, and will arm you with techniques and strategies to navigate the (at times) turbulent waters of job searching with confidence. This book will help guide you to a role that plays to your strengths while providing enough support for professional growth.
You’ll learn:
- What skills are expected of designers
- How to demonstrate those skills throughout the job search process
- How to identify your next opportunity
- How to target your job search process to stand out
- How to build a stand-out portfolio and tailor it to your dream opportunity
- The ins and outs out of various design interview types from portfolio presentations, whiteboard challenges, app critiques, to take home design exercises and many others.
You’ll also find in-depth advice on how to apply beyond the job boards, and how to conduct due diligence, negotiate compensation, and accelerate onboarding to your new role.
