IXL Learning Ux Designer Interview Questions
& Process

It was a five step process: First, they looked at my resume and cover letter. Then, there was a phone interview. After that, I had a design challenge, which was one of the better ones I’ve done. This was followed by a second phone interview, and then finally an on-site interview. Everything was pretty straightforward.

I applied online and then a recruiter contacted me for a quick chat. After that, a product manager called me for a phone screen where we talked generally about my background and experience. The PM seemed a bit distracted and cut me off mid-sentence to ask a brain teaser question. Even though I didn't think the conversation went well, I passed. Next, I got a design challenge where I had to critique a design from their website and propose how to make it better. I put about 8-10 hours into this because I really wanted to work at IXL and I'm very interested in the education field. About a week after I submitted it, the recruiter called to set up another interview to discuss my design exercise. I then spoke with another product manager about my design exercise and also answered some general questions about design and my past experience. This conversation went much better, and I was able to talk about my passion for education. Almost 3 weeks later, the recruiter let me know I'd been invited for an onsite interview. At the onsite, I met with 4 people from the team, a mix of product managers and engineers, and they also took me out to lunch. I can't share the specific questions due to an NDA, but there was a brain teaser as expected. One of the interviews, with an engineer, was quite technical. Even though I tried to communicate effectively, there was a significant communication gap. As a former software engineer, I understand code, but this was a major miscommunication. I didn't fully grasp his expectations, which is unusual since I've always communicated well with engineers before, both as an engineer and now as a designer. It felt like the engineers there might not have much experience working with designers, or perhaps it was just that one engineer. My overall impression of IXL was neutral. The recruiter was responsive, but the entire process took way too long, making it feel like they hire year-round. The onsite was mostly positive, apart from that one difficult interview.

I met this company at a college career fair and gave them my resume. The recruiter reached out for a cover letter. Then, I had a 30-minute phone call where I reviewed my portfolio. The company has about 300 people, and the design team is pretty small. I showed one of my projects. The interviewer seemed a bit distracted, as when I asked if she had questions, she asked about something I'd mentioned just three minutes prior. She also asked what I'd change about their website, which made me think they care about how much you know their products. After that, there was a brain teaser, like the jelly beans others mentioned. Later, the recruiter contacted me again about a design exercise. How much time you spend on this really depends on how detailed you want to be. I spent about two days on it and produced a 10-page document. A week later, I was informed they chose another candidate. I must say, the recruiter was very kind and polite, even though I wasn't super keen on the company due to their website's design aesthetic.