FIGS (CA) Designer Interview Questions
& Process

So the first step was a 20-minute screen interview. They wanted to know about my work experience, what I'm looking for in a job, and why I chose figs. The HR person was really nice, but it's a tough company to get into.

I applied through their website and a recruiter reached out. We had a quick phone call to go over my experience and the role at Figs. Then there were 5 rounds of interviews, including a take-home project. The interviews felt repetitive, and the hardest part was presenting to the directors. Honestly, I didn't get a great vibe from the company because they wasted my time with so many interviews. Plus, everyone I spoke to had only been there for 1 to 7 months, which is a major red flag. After seeing the Glassdoor reviews, I got more skeptical, especially with the fake reviews and others mentioning high turnover. It's also disappointing and ironic that a company serving medical professionals doesn't seem to take COVID seriously. The whole thing dragged on for over 3 months – the process was just way too long and draining.

This company didn't value my time, the whole process took 2 months. I was introduced by a 3rd party recruiter I knew. I got past a phone screening with the CD, then they scheduled me for an on-site the very next day. They were 40 minutes late, and while I was presenting my work in a private office, I was interrupted 4 times by models coming in for auditions. They gave me a 2-part take-home exercise with a vague brief in a Google Doc that was missing assets. I asked for clarification, but they seemed unsure themselves. I went ahead with the task, but I suspected work-life balance would be an issue because the work felt like busywork without a clear purpose. The design guidelines they provided were inconsistent (e.g., hex codes didn't match color swatches, typos in the brand book). Although unimpressed with their design standards, I saw it as a chance to improve things in the e-commerce/apparel industry if I got the role. Since this was unpaid work, I asked them to guarantee my work wouldn't be used, as their request seemed very practical for use in photoshoots, ads, and email newsletters for an upcoming collection. FIGS loved the campaign I created and immediately set up final interviews. I met the design team at another on-site (they were great). Then they called my references and finally had me meet the CEO at yet another on-site. This meeting was in the middle of a photoshoot at an off-site studio, and again, the interview started 30 minutes late. We had a good conversation, and she directly asked about my salary expectations, saying it was 'no problem.' A few days later, my recruiter called with a verbal offer that was $8K less than expected. I requested a written contract, which took them several days to prepare, but they pushed for a decision in under 3 days. When I reviewed the offer, it was substantially different from what was discussed on the phone (missing a sign-on bonus, the 'guaranteed' salary adjustment after 3 months, etc.). I tried to renegotiate the salary and other non-monetary benefits, and the CD contacted me, asking me to stop communicating with my recruiter and deal directly with FIGS. They suggested HR would likely approve the benefits and they'd renegotiate my salary to my satisfaction and get back to me. A week later, my recruiter contacted me, and I realized FIGS hadn't updated him as promised. They ghosted both me and my recruiter for almost two months, then sent an email CCing both of us with a brief message wishing us luck, which left us both surprised. They remained unresponsive for weeks, and my recruiter has since ended contact. That same week, I saw a billboard that looked completely different from their recent work, but strikingly similar to the exercise I did for their 'fictional' campaign—even the collection colors were the same. FIGS is getting noticed in an industry with lots of potential, but it's a shame they operate this way. While I was interviewing, Glassdoor reviews mentioned a toxic culture and poor work-life balance, which they proved true early on. It turned out to be a good thing, because if they had met my salary expectations, I might have left my current job, which I love, only to find out the hard way.