Smartly Product Designer Interview Questions
& Process

I applied for the Smartly Launchpad Product Designer position, which is an entry-level program. Even though I have a few years of industry experience, I targeted this program because I met the requirements for hands-on experience and a recent degree. The interview process was pretty fast, professional, and organized. It usually went like this: Recruiter interview, then a design challenge, and finally, one or more interviews with the hiring team or manager. The main issue was that the program's description didn't match the actual hiring criteria. It said it was for recent grads and not for people with 'several years of full-time industry experience,' but I got an interview because I'm switching industries. Then, the rejection feedback said they were looking for people with 'more end-to-end ownership of product outcomes,' which wasn't defined anywhere or mentioned in the job description.

So I applied for a Product Designer job a while back. First, I chatted with a recruiter, and they suggested I go for a User Researcher role since my background fit. I then talked to a Design Lead, who also pushed me towards the User Researcher role. I ended up applying for both Product Designer and User Researcher positions. I started to notice they weren't really set up for people applying to multiple roles, and things felt disorganized. For instance, I was told I'd interview for the researcher role first, but ended up in the product designer interview track (3-4 stages). This meant I wasn't ready. Around the same time, a recruiter added me on LinkedIn, which felt a bit forward, so I asked if failing the product designer interview would affect my chances for the user researcher role. I was assured it wouldn't. The main recruiter also mentioned they were getting the user researcher interview ready. A few days later, I had a design sparring session with two designers. I got a brief beforehand outlining the task's goal and how it would be assessed, focusing on problem-solving within 45 minutes, and explicitly stating visual design skills wouldn't be evaluated. Ultimately, I was rejected for the product designer role due to a lack of visual design skills, which totally contradicted the task brief. As for the user researcher role, I was never interviewed, despite their ongoing promises that preparations were in motion after they invited me to apply. So yeah, expect inconsistencies and poor communication if you apply to Smartly Finland. Honestly, just save yourself the trouble.

I had a great time meeting the Smartly team. The interview process had these parts: First, an informal chat with a Product Designer where we talked about my background and experience, and they gave me an overview of Smartly's projects and team structures. Then, a portfolio review with Product Designers where I presented my work for about 45 minutes. The panel asked about my design choices, challenges, process, and contributions. Next, I met with the Head of Product to discuss my experience working with design, product, and engineering teams, especially engineering, and the methods I've used to solve design problems. The longest part was a day-long session with the Smartly team. It started with a discussion with the Head of Product about core concepts, where I shared my understanding and opinions on concept challenges. Then, two more product designers explained a design task, which I had three hours to complete, followed by a short discussion about my solution. After lunch, I had a detailed chat with a leader, got a product tour, and discussed my views on its features, referencing my past work. I also shared my motivations and asked some tough questions. The process was timely, though a couple of stages were a bit delayed due to panel availability. Overall, it was in-depth, challenging, and interesting, with a well-structured approach to cover various job aspects.