Intercom Product Designer Interview Questions
& Process

After they checked out my portfolio, they invited me to present my work. This part felt a bit all over the place. They had me jump between projects and subjects quickly, so I couldn't really dive deep or tell a clear story. Anyway, I moved on. My main concerns are about the second stage though. It seemed like the team's expectations weren't super clear and didn't quite match what they'd told me beforehand. Like, imagine being told at the start that one part is a strong point and another part is what to focus on for the exercise, and then getting feedback that goes against that. The scope of the task also felt off. It was a three-hour job to do a product critique and design a solution for a complex AI product that I hadn't even been properly introduced to (and let's face it, AI at this level is pretty new). Given that building actual features at Intercom can take months (I know this for sure), I'm not sure how this setup truly represented real design work or skills. On top of that, one interviewer seemed a bit checked out, which added to the feeling that the process wasn't really respecting candidates' time or effort. After spending several hours on the assignment, I think the team could be more engaged and offer actual helpful feedback or ask why certain choices were made.

The recruiter was great, really kind and helpful, and walked me through everything. I met a bunch of nice people too - designers, a researcher, a PM, and the design manager. The whole thing was: recruiter screen, app critique, project review, portfolio presentation, a project deep-dive, a problem-solving thing, and then a Q&A with the design manager. Didn't get an offer, but got good feedback on each part. My only thought is that while the bar was high and the feedback was fair, it felt like they want someone already perfect, not someone with potential. I get Intercom wants to be safe and hire the best, which is fine. It was a good experience overall.

I applied for a product designer position in London and unfortunately got rejected after the third stage. The interview journey started with an initial recruiter call, followed by a meeting with the hiring manager, and concluded with a portfolio presentation involving two designers. I'm unsure about the total number of stages beyond these. While the overall structure of the process seemed good and the designers I interacted with were skilled and friendly, the experience was soured by poor communication and unprofessionalism from the recruiter. This recruiter didn't clearly outline the interview process during our first chat, forcing me to rely on website information. They also rescheduled our planned meetings twice, disrupting my work schedule. My attempts to get quick, clear answers to a question were met with slow, unhelpful responses. After three weeks, I received a generic rejection email, and my follow-up for feedback went unanswered by the recruiter. I'm a fan of Intercom's contributions to the design community, so it was quite disheartening to encounter such an experience, especially at the entry point of the hiring process. While I understand recruiters can be busy, treating a candidate's time with disrespect is unacceptable. A recruiter's role should be to generate excitement, provide updates, and act promptly, which wasn't my experience.