Earnest Product Designer Interview Questions
& Process

First, there was a 45-minute initial call with the hiring manager. Then, about 3 weeks later, I had a 45-minute portfolio presentation, followed by two 1-on-1s with the visual design lead and a product manager. After that, I waited for 10 days before being notified that I didn't pass the interview.

It was a pretty standard and smooth interview process. I started with a chat with the recruiter, who gave me all the info I wanted. Then, I met with the head of design. About 5 hours after that meeting, the recruiter got back to me with constructive feedback. They were honest that I wasn't moving forward, which is fine with me. I appreciated their respect in walking me through the mismatch between my profile and what they were looking for.

I had an initial call with the recruiter, then they set me up with the hiring manager. That went well, the following interview was a white-boarding exercise with the same hiring manager and a senior designer. After interviewing at other FAANG companies, I now realize the recruiter did a poor job at preparing interviewees with expectations for the white-boarding exercise. The exercise felt very one sided with no real collaboration. But the worst part is after all that and waiting 2 weeks for a response after multiple follow ups, I received and automatic rejection letter. I wish I listened to a prior review with a similar experience and not have even bothered interviewing here. A personal email is not difficult and means that much more. I followed up two more times asking for feedback, and all messages were ignored. I debated a lot about writing this, but felt it was necessary. They need to improve their recruiting practices and set up their candidates for success, not lead them in blind. But more importantly, treat us as humans. Throw away all those rejection emails. If companies with tens of thousands of employees can offer personal feedback, there is absolutely no reason why this company can't.