Passing the UI/UX Design Interview with Little to No Experience
Many folks detest the entire job interview process. It’s even more typical in competitive roles like UX designer. However, a few simple strategies can help you make the entire process go more smoothly while increasing your chances of landing the dream career you’ve always desired.
Preparation is essential. The more prepared you are for your next interview, the higher your chance of impressing hiring managers.
There are three main things you should do:
- Research the company.
- Understand the product
- Prepare meaningful stories
Research the Company
Make sure you grasp the fundamentals, including the company’s mission, vision, and objectives. Avoid appearing as if you’re applying indiscriminately to various UX roles. Familiarizing yourself with the prospective employer will enable you to demonstrate to recruiters that your application is purposeful and reflects a genuine desire to join that particular company.
Begin by examining the company’s webpage. Analyze the products they provide, their target audience, and possible messaging strategies, including how they position themselves against competitors. Career pages frequently feature information on company values and culture; make sure to familiarize yourself with them.
Understand the Product
Comprehending the actual product holds greater significance than comprehending the company as a whole. If you’re applying for a position related to a specific product, engage with it, document your observations, and identify areas for enhancement, moments of insight, and potential challenges. In cases where you’re not applying for a specific product, gain a broad understanding of their offerings.
You can perform some fundamental exercises:
- Competitive analysis
- SWOT analysis
- User journey mapping
However, the most crucial step is to actively interact with the product and strive to understand it from the users’ perspective.
In the interview, when posed with questions about the company, product, or competition, possessing this information will provide you with additional strength to deliver impressive responses, demonstrating authentic enthusiasm for the company.
Prepare Meaningful Stories
There exist numerous potential behavioral questions, commonly known as “tell me about the time you did X” questions. Attempting to prepare for and anticipate all of them is impractical; there’s a more effective approach.
Reflect on your past professional experiences and pinpoint 6–10 of the most influential moments in your career. These could include your notable successes, failures, challenges, or valuable lessons learned. Subsequently, recall the minutiae of these situations, document them, and hone your storytelling skills. It’s crucial to clearly outline the problem, solution, and the resulting impact of each story. Ideally, you should have a handful of compelling and impactful stories ready to share with your recruiter.
When faced with any “tell me about X?” question, chances are that the details from one of your stories will be relevant. A few well-prepared stories hold more value than attempting to vaguely address numerous behavioral questions.