How to prepare for a UX whiteboard challenge

Let’s start with a quick flashback of one of my past interview experiences.

It’s been a busy week getting ready for an on-site interview with a company I want to work for. The interview day started off with a portfolio presentation. As the coordinator walked you over to a 1:1 session with the next interviewer, she told me that everyone thought you delivered a great presentation. For the 1:1 interview, a Senior Designer walked in and wanted to do a whiteboard challenge, which I have never experienced before. The challenge was difficult because wasn’t sure where to start, so I took a while to think and struggled to draw up a solution. After the on-site interview, I received a rejection email but the recruiter was kind enough to give me feedback saying that everything was great but the whiteboard challenge could use some work. Thinking back, I was nervous, not understanding the problem enough, and didn’t have a process in mind to tackle the problem. Since then, I’ve deliberately worked on this portion of the interview and eventually got to a comfortable place.

What interviewers are looking for with whiteboard challenges?

Since a design candidate may have already gone through portfolio review and phone screening to get to the on-site stage why are companies conducting whiteboard challenges? Having been involved in the designer hiring process, there are a few things that can still be teased out with a whiteboard challenge.

Process knowledge

It is easy to learn and follow a design process especially if the designer graduated from either a Bootcamp or other education programs. While it is great that the designer seems to have experience with various UX methodologies based on the case study. It may not be clear whether the designer understands the benefit of each methodology and whether the designer can strategize the design process. The whiteboard challenge can verify whether a designer can plan and navigate to a potential solution.

Collaboration skills

Vetting designers’ collaboration skills through a whiteboard challenge is more effective than asking about their experiences through a conversation. By providing a sample problem to solve…