how to ace the ux design interview (handout)

3/8/2016

Copyright 2016 UX Design Edge. All rights reserved. 1

HOW TO ACE THE UX DESIGN JOB INTERVIEW Lessons learned from a UX job interviewer and candidate

Everett McKay UX Design Edge uxdesignedge.com, freeuxwebinars.com @uxdesignedge

Webinar, March 2016

Why we are here

Copyright 2016 UX Design Edge. All rights reserved.

Getting the dream UX job requires interviewing for the dream UX job

We can always improve our interviewing skills, especially when it comes to answering design questions

A quick clarification


A more accurate title for today’s talk:

How to Ace the UX Design Interview…if you were being interviewed by me

This is based on my personal experience, not survey data or industry analysis

Today’s agenda


Interviewing basics

Portfolio reviews

Questions you should expect in a UX design interview

An example design exercise and my analysis of the results

The UX design skills ladder

Tips on how to do your best

Square one

Interviewing basics


Gauge the design skills of the interviewer


Not everybody in your interview loop is going to be an experienced designer—or even design savvy

If the interviewer isn’t design savvy, be sure to explain things more carefully

Remember: Great design doesn’t sell itself

…especially to people without strong design skills

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Be clear on your skills


If you are dealing with non-designers, don’t assume they understand what you do or how you do it

Too many believe that all UX pros are visual designers who make things pretty after the real work has been done by the technical team

Handling routine interview questions


You will face the routine screener questions Tell me about yourself

What is your greatest strength?

What is your greatest weakness?

Describe a conflict and how you dealt with it

Describe your dream job

Why should we hire you?

Don’t game this: don’t say you care too much!

My advice: expect them and have good answers in advance

Annoying basic UX design questions


What is design?

What exactly is a user interface?

What is the difference between UI and UX?

How would you explain what you do to a child?

What makes a good design good?

What does user-centered design mean to you?

How do you make innovative designs?

Be prepared for these too

Your most significant accomplishment


Lou Adler is highly respected in the recruiting field

His favorite interview question: What single project or task would you consider your most

significant accomplishment in your career to date?

A common variation What do you consider your worst failure and what did you learn

from it?

Have strong answers for both and expect follow up questions--sure thing you will be asked these

BTW: I hate these questions

Showing your stuff!

Portfolio reviews


The Portfolio Review


Visual designers will be expected to present a portfolio

Other types of designers might be

People are emotional and react emotionally to beautiful things

You want a beautiful portfolio to get that emotional reaction

I will have that emotional reaction too, for about 30 seconds—you will then have to explain the designs

BTW: Make sure you have permission to show

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Likely Portfolio Review questions


Explain the project, target users, stakeholders, team, your specific contribution

Explain the design challenges for the project

Explain what this design artifact accomplished Helping us visualize is a weak answer

Explain how the design evolved Show rough design work too, sketches, iterations of

wireframes

Rough designs are just as important as beautiful mockups

Be able to justify everything


I want to hear strong justifications

Great design requires great communication

I want you to convince me

Worst justifications: subjective personal opinion

If you don’t remember, refresh your memory or remove

Example: Dashboard

What if you are a new designer?


Present examples of professional quality work…

But they don’t have to be paid professional work

Can show volunteer work, internships, personal design projects

Can show makeovers of well-known designs

Avoid college-level work unless you are a recent graduate

Tip: Make sure your portfolio matches your skill level

And having a process to answer them

Design questions you should expect


Have a process to answer any question


When preparing, review your design process (and where all the disciplines fit in)

Be able to explain your process from memory, and justify the need for every step

Most important: Practice applying this process to just about any design challenge

Some questions are just plain stupid


Design a spice rack for the blind

Design a coffee maker for a car

Design an airport terminal…for monkeys

If you get asked one, just ignore the fact that it is incredibly stupid

Instead, be confident, apply your process, explain your thinking as you go, and see where it takes you

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Interviewers think their questions are brilliant


Non-designers are likely to ask weak questions

…but they don’t know they are weak

Sometimes weak questions lead to stronger questions

Bottom line: Take all interview questions seriously

My favorites

Give me an example of excellent design

Give me an example of poor design

Doing design exercises


If I’m interviewing you, you will do at least two design exercises

For me, this is the most insightful part of the interview, as well as the most enjoyable

Not everyone agrees

Jared Spool: One more thing: You don't learn anything valuable from in-interview design exercises. Stop doing them. They turn off the best talent.

Design exercise strategies


Think out loud—your thought process is more important than the results

Ask questions, understand the problem and target users, scenarios, business goals

Apply your process

Don’t start sketching right away

Consider more than one solution

Identify need for user research, user testing

Let’s try it!

UX interview exercise



What your answer tells me


I can evaluate your skill level even from a simple design challenge like this

You should be able to address and justify every detail

Merely aligning the fields is a weak answer

Take questions like this seriously!

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Make sure your answers match your level





From my blog (http://www.uxdesignedge.com/2010/03/why-everybody-is-a-designer/)

Level 0—”Everybody”

Level 1—Beginner designers

Can identify basic interaction and visual design problems.

Thinks of design in terms of technology and features.

Can convince self that a design idea is good.

Level 2—Intermediate designers

Can identify many interaction and visual design problems. Aware of what makes a design good.

Thinks of design in terms of tasks.

Can convince several people that a design idea is good.

Level 3—Advanced designers

Can identify subtle interaction and visual problems. Has a strong appreciation for good design.

Thinks of designs in term of scenarios and personas.

Can convince a team that a design idea is good.

UI vs. UX


You should be able to explain the difference

The difference is critical so many employers

If you are applying for a UX job, make sure your answers address the user experience (and not just the UI)

Tips on how to do your best


Take the scenic route


Setup: I had an interview with someone who wasn’t design savvy. I found his questions easy, and I gave advanced answers to them quickly

Problem: I found out through a friend that I didn’t do well

Analysis: Often people have preconceived notions on what the correct answers are—better answers aren’t expected

Solution: Take the “scenic route”—even if you know an advanced answer, work through the basics first

Practice makes perfect


I recommend practicing all these skills

If you find an example of good design, explain to someone else why it is good

If you find an example of poor design, explain to someone else the problem and how to fix it

Practice doing design problems with other people

http://www.uxdesignedge.com/2010/03/why-everybody-is-a-designer/









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Getting things done


There is a dilemma in UX design:

You want to do the best design work your team can deliver

You need to get things done

In an interview, I want to know how you strike this balance

Explain how you decide what to fight for vs. what to compromise—and how you convince others

Dealing with conflict, lack of time


Great UX would be much easier if we had all the time and money we needed, plus everyone was in agreement

In practice, there is a shortage of all of these

In an interview, I want to know how you deal with these practical realities

Convincing others


Your ability to convince others is essential for you to have impact

In an interview, I want to know

How do you talk your team and stakeholders into good ideas

How do you talk them out of poor ideas

Tip: Subjective, personal opinion isn’t convincing

Do you have any questions for me?


In theory, a chance to turn the tables

In practice, this is part of the interview

Ask intelligent, insightful questions, not routine or embarrassing ones If you drill deep enough, you will hit something

embarrassing

Expect this, and save your best questions for the end

You can ask always ask potentially embarrassing questions after you get the offer

What you should know about the job


Company, team culture

Engineering, design, marketing focus…if design is truly valued

Design process, user research

Agile? Lean?

How do decisions get made, really?

How realistic are the schedules? Staffing?

Quality of the current design work

Your team, project, responsibilities

Provocative questions to consider


You can’t determine many of these from direct questions (Is design truly valued? Of course!)

How large is the design team? What are their roles?

Who are your target users?

Suppose we discover a critical hypothesis—do I have access to customers and can we take the time to do some research?

Would you overrule engineering to fix a significant UX problem?

Would you delay shipping a product to fix a significant UX problem?

If needed, would the team be willing to hire more design talent?

Long term, are you willing to change development practices to design better?

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Clues that a team has an engineering culture


“Everybody” is the target user

Team thinks designers are people who make things pretty

Serious usability problems are considered “superficial cosmetic details”, RTFM it!

Great UX is a “nice to have”, it’s rarely a priority

Feature lists and schedules drive everything

Obvious, but…


Relax! Be confident! And enjoy it!

Resources


http://www.inc.com/lou-adler/best-interview-question-ever.html/

https://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2014/11/21/jared-spool-how-do-we-design-designers-live/

https://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2013/05/09/the-best-interview-question-for-hiring-ux-designers/

http://www.uxbeginner.com/the-4-types-of-ux-interview-questions-to-master/

http://www.uxbeginner.com/10-useful-questions-to-ask-in-ux-interviews/

https://medium.com/salesforce-ux/10-questions-youll-be-asked-in-a-ux-interview-f93f0c78f31d#.j7halmwel/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/uxerask-14-questions-before-joining-startup-abinash-mohanty-ux-lead

Wrap up


If you remember only 9 things…


1. Expect the routine interview questions, especially “your most significant accomplishment”

2. Avoid giving "bluffer's guide" responses

3. Have a design process that you can justify and use on any design problem

4. Take all questions seriously

5. Consider taking the "scenic route" to cover your bases

6. Think out loud during design exercises, apply your process, don't rush to a solution

7. Have a strategy for getting things done, especially with lack of time

8. Practice makes perfect—practice designing and convincing other people

9. Know the UX design skills ladder and make sure your answers reflect your level

Calls to action!


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https://medium.com/salesforce-ux/10-questions-youll-be-asked-in-a-ux-interview-f93f0c78f31d.j7halmwel/











































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3/8/2016


Feel free to ask me questions

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Questions


Thank you!


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