Stop testing design candidates
Testing potential candidates sounds like one of those fun ideas a designer came up with while slamming work beers. But it isn’t. File it away with other dumb ideas like design policies and working while drunk.
I’ve done a few of these challenges now — I’m going to sound bitter and angry but I always do — and they are a complete waste of time. Interviews aren’t a great way to understand people but that’s a whole another discussion. I’d like to focus on one part of the interview process, and that’s the design test, or challenge, or project, or whatever. They typically go as follows: You’re given a simple project or problem to design for (it’s never simple) and you’re asked to create some basic deliverables such as research, wireframes, or visual designs. You might treat your interviewers as your SMEs or make up the research. The goal is to understand how you work and solve problems. Easy peasy, right? Lolz let’s break it down.
They range from one to three hours after face to face interviews. One project at Rapid 7 took me over 10 hours. Thermo Fisher was about 5–6. Pivotal Labs was about an hour. Solaria Labs was also one hour.
Even at a whopping 10 hours, it’s not enough for a modicum of understanding into how a designer will work in practice. To give more context about that project, here was the assignment:
A large conglomerate had just acquired SalesForce, Pinterest and Yelp (that’s all?). I, the UX designer, have been tasked with taking what all three do well and creating a brand new product or service out of it. (?????? WTF ?????)
If I had more confidence, I would have asked if they knew what a UX designer does and walked out.
A ‘Simple’ Project
Solaria tasked me with designing an app based around an autonomous car service that would ferry the kids to and from school. Thermo was similar but the app would help wake your fresh-eyed monsters and get ’em ready for school based on the day’s weather.
As any experienced designer knows, even a simple app isn’t simple. People just think they’re simple because some have been refined into great products. Uber: Press a button and a car magically appears from the internets! Well, it took Uber a few years and some idea theft to get there.
If they were to hire a designer, this app or service, would realistically be a several-month project. It can take weeks just to understand the right problem. A lot of thought goes into a service, such as, personas, use cases, research like are parents comfortable sending their kids in a robot car, do the kids have special needs, devices, when & where will the service be used, special instructions, what type of parent are they, etc etc etc. The criteria learned in research will dramatically change the outcome. It can take years to design a good solution to this ‘simple’ problem.
We just want to understand your process…
The point is to figure out how you work and solve problems. Okay, fair enough. But we’re all human beings and if two candidates are similar in experience and personality, which will be chosen? The one with the better idea, right? If not, it will at least influence decision making.
That’s where the problem lies. It’s unfair because candidates are judged on something they didn’t think they’re being judged on. If you’re like me, you’re not good at interviewing, and it’s why I have so much experience doing it. Designers aren’t like other people and first impressions are hard. They can come off as weird (ask me how I know) and each one is a special snowflake.
Most don’t come up with their best ideas surrounded by strangers in a high pressure situation. That’s what psychopaths do, and I’d advise against hiring one. Afterwards, I replay the interview in my head over and over again until this happens (I’m more like Costanza than you know).
I came across a design ‘thought leader’ who explained his challenge was creating a better modal window. The correct response was asking why it should be a modal in the first place. That’s a trick question. It requires the designer to assume the problem is a false one and challenge it. I see the merit but I don’t see what it tells me about them as a designer. They’re just good at pushing back. Google asks candidates to solve puzzles in interviews. Are they hiring a good puzzle solver? When the interview seems like it was dramatized in a Hollywood movie, it’s probably not a good interview.
At work, we don’t get tasked with superficial projects. So why measure someone’s ability based on a fictitious superficial project? The outcome will be superficial.
Process process process
I do like design processes. I like thinking about them and using them. But as I’ve written in the past, process can be a burden especially a rigid one. The best are fluid. In basketball, the color guy will say ‘Take what the defense gives you’. The point is not to shoehorn an idea or philosophy, it’s to adapt or react to the situation. This can’t be done in a one-hour working session. Like any good team, the best ideas are generated with folks that know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes inspiration strikes when entrenched in a problem but not necessarily working on it. There aren’t any one-hour design challenges in my portfolio, but there are plenty of long term projects with quality work and loads of context explaining the methodology.
If the goal is to understand a designer’s process, simply ask them. A top firm gets hundreds of applications, and if the manager selected one, it means the candidate has a strong resume and portfolio. A senior designer should be able to answer what a good process is with relative ease. Design processes aren’t so wildly different that you’d expect varying answers. They’re all going to be some version of design thinking: Define, iterate, test, and refine.
Only an hour or so
An hour isn’t much. Until the interviewer has 3 to 4 candidates which includes multiple interviews. The candidate might have several offers which could equate to well over 40 hours of interviewing. That is exhausting.
Besides it’s not all about process, I can teach a designer a new approach. I can’t teach them not to be an asshole. Hire people you would enjoy spending a big part of your life with.
Get Creative
If you must see how they work, then hire them. Offer a minor slice of a current project as a freelance gig. A workable problem, asking for several ideas and set it to 20-40 hours. For example: Designing the sign up page for an autonomous car service app for children. Some companies will do X-month contracts, if the designer is game, that’ll give you a much clearer picture. I was asked to do this for a life jacket company, and it netted me $600 when I was 23. It resulted in this and getting hired full time.
Get better at interviewing. That’s on you. Take a class, ask someone for help and practice the skill. To understand a designer’s process, ask. A strong portfolio will have these questions answered. Have them walk through a project in depth.
There, I saved you several hours.
P.S.
I deliberately chose to name names. I would like anyone considering these companies to know what to expect. Thermo decided they wanted a visual designer instead of a UX designer so I didn’t get the role. I spent most of the time thinking through the concept and making wires even though I had a wealth of visual design experience in my portfolio. They could have asked. Rapid 7 told me no thanks. No feedback. Nothing. Nadda. Zippo. This was a huge nut punch. I beat myself up over these two for months. It crushed my confidence and scarred me for a long time.
Stop hurting people.
