WillowTree Product Designer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process started pretty simply. First, I had a call with a recruiter. Then, I moved on to meet with a UX manager who explained the design challenge. I spent about 10 hours on the challenge. After two weeks of silence and me following up, I got very negative feedback. The email response was almost 2 pages long. When I asked for more details about the feedback, I got another page back that seemed defensive. I've interviewed at places like Google and Amazon, and this rejection was the strangest I've received. About a month later, I checked my Figma file for the challenge and saw the UX manager had added people to it who weren't even part of my interview. That really left a bad impression.

I was contacted by a recruiter on a few different platforms, so I had an initial phone chat with her, which was a good experience. After that, I interviewed with the director of product design, which also went well and wasn't overly technical. Then, they invited me for an in-person meeting that lasted about an hour for a portfolio presentation and Q&A. I felt that went pretty smoothly. The subsequent step involved a take-home design task. They called to explain the requirements for this exercise, which typically takes about 5 hours over a weekend. They were looking for a pixel-perfect solution, including all source files and sketches, based on a provided brand and asked me to redesign a few screens of an app. Honestly, I found this part a bit questionable, considering it felt like free work for 5 hours, and they'd receive all the source files, even though it wasn't for a client. I didn't even get to discuss my design choices. The feedback I received via email explained why I didn't get the job – I didn't manage to create a flawless app experience or UI within the 5-hour timeframe, so that was expected. I kind of regret agreeing to the design exercise and would advise others to skip it unless they specifically want it for their portfolio or similar.

It was a really straightforward and positive experience. The process included a phone screening followed by a more technical interview that involved a presentation given to two product designers. They allowed me plenty of time for my presentation and posed questions that were both challenging and interesting. I also had the opportunity to ask them questions. The overall atmosphere was very relaxed.