Observations from interviewing over 40 candidates in 90 days

Interviews.

Not many other things are as nerve-wracking as sitting in front of a complete stranger and trying to prove your market worth in 60 minutes.

Photo credit: Van Tay Media

Last year, I had the privilege of rebuilding a design team from scratch. With a headcount of three to fill, I started interviewing product designers immediately.

I spoke to over 40 candidates in 90 days. That’s how many interviews I sat through. The experience felt like excessive speed dating, and I’m not sure I’d recommend it to any other hiring manager.

Naturally, I observed many patterns, habits, behaviors, and attitudes in candidates, and thought it might be useful to share a few powerful lessons to better help anyone who interviews or applies for design roles.

1. When presenting large projects, be strategic

As an applicant, it’s more effective to spend your time highlighting specific areas where you demonstrated value (reframing a problem statement, scoping a research study, driving outcomes, etc.) rather than trying to provide a full walk-through of a project. Time is of the essence, and you want to get your key thoughts across to leave an impression.

It happens way too many times in an interview that people waffle through their presentations without clarity or focus on how to highlight key lessons or important failures on projects – aspects that can show evidence of thoughtful reflection.

Being specific and concise is one of the most important and valuable skills you’ll need in interviews, meetings, and board rooms.

Start with interviews.

2. Learn how to calibrate and modularize your presentation to different types of scenarios

This sounds like a lot of work, but it’s worth the investment.

When you go to a job interview, you aren’t just presenting – you’re persuading, negotiating, debating with the interviewer. And you’re not doing this with just words, but you’re also using your demeanor.