Design interviews are usually done by two types of people at a company:
- Recruiters, who will ask you general questions about your work history and tell you basic facts about the company.
- Designers or Design Managers, who want to ensure proficiency and if you’re a good cultural fit, so they’ll ask you questions about your portfolio and design experiences, and tell you about the team and work.
- Product or Marketing Managers who are adjacent team members you would work under or with often. They will want to do a similar assessment with you as Designers or Design Managers.
Below are some key steps you can take to prepare for a design interview.
- Do your research about the company. Be able to talk clearly about why you want to work there.
- Have your site/portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn open in front of you and be ready to discuss/reference.
- Be prepared to discuss one to two of your strongest case studies.
- Have your calendar open, in case they want to schedule a follow-up phone call or interview on the spot.
- For in-person interviews, take a laptop or iPad with your portfolio already loaded and give the “director’s cut” version of cases studies as additional context. In addition have a few copies of your business cards and resume to hand out, if needed, as they may want to have a few other people at the company look at your online portfolio
- Use this Design project presentation rubric to prepare and practice in advance.
Likely Interview Questions
Truth be told, there’s no way to predict what each company is going to ask you in an interview. Each company will differ by position, location, interviewer, etc.
That being said, there are many ways to prepare for what you say about yourself as how to describe your experiences as a designer. There are a few types of questions you can expect to be asked in an interview. It’s important to prepare some answers for them now, so you don’t freeze up on the spot.
Here is a run down of those categories, and some typical questions for each:
General questions
- Why do you want to work there?
- How did you find out about the role?
- What are you looking to contribute to the company?
Your background and interest in design
- What got your interested in a design career?
- What resources or designers in the industry do you follow?
- Why did you attend Designation/Flatiron School?
- What did you think UX/UI was about before you started?
Your current style, processes, and methods
- What’s your working process?
- What are your preferred design tools and why?
- How do you plan/structure your day?
- How do you build relationships with teammates?
Emotional and contextual experiences at Designation/Flatiron School
- Describe a time when you worked under unavoidable constraints. How did you deal with them?
- Describe a time when you had difficulty working with a team. How did you get past it?
- Describe a time when your project changed significantly. How did you navigate that?
While there will be other questions you can’t predict, if you use analysis and synthesis you’ll be much more prepared for a stronger interview performance. And just like your elevator pitch, your answers must be tailored for every new interview.
And last but not least, always send a thoughtful, customized thank you after every interview, to every person you meet. Check out our Sending Thank You’s After an Interview lesson for helpful tips, templates, and more.
Here are some additional resources on where to find design specific interview questions: