Proton, privacy by default Ux Designer Interview Questions
& Process

The hiring process had many steps and took months. They did offer me the job in the end, but the initial offer was much lower than what I said I expected at the start, even though they said my expected salary wouldn't be a problem. After some difficult negotiation, we settled on a package I could accept, but the whole experience was pretty annoying.

So, I applied for a UX Researcher role and the initial response from the recruiter was pretty quick, which seemed promising. We had a 30-minute introductory call with the recruiter. Next up was a 1.5-hour conversation with the hiring manager. It was pretty evident early on that the hiring manager and the recruitment team weren't on the same page. They also weren't the most professional in their communication with me, often slow to respond or unsure about the next steps. Despite the disorganization, I was given a take-home assignment: create a research plan for ProtonDrive to present to the team. After the presentation (45 minutes), there was a two-hour technical interview with three team members. What caught me off guard was that they framed this as an 'get-to-know-you' session, not a technical interview. While technical interviews are fine, transparency is key; being blindsided isn't ideal. Following this 3-hour meeting, I was told they'd be in touch soon. Fast forward three months, and I've heard nothing, and the job listing is gone. My emails were met with vague responses about needing more time or exploring other candidates, and eventually, they just stopped replying altogether. It feels quite disrespectful to invest so much time and effort without any feedback. Even though I still like Proton's mission, I can't recommend applying there given this candidate experience.

The interview process kicked off with a chat with HR about my background and what the company does. After that, I got a design task to complete before meeting with the hiring manager.