An Idiot's Guide to Fail the Interview

I have been trying to transition into UX Designer roles for the past 3 months. I came across a post from the BORN group that they are hiring UX Designers in Bengaluru. I read the Job description, seemed like a pretty good match for my skill set and experience. I applied like I always do thinking I will never hear back from the company. Surprisingly, the recruiter called me up and said she is scheduling a Job interview with the senior executive. I was very excited and nervous at the same time.

I rolled up my sleeves and did my last-minute prep for the interview.

1. Read about the company and its culture on its website.

2. Managed to message a lead who joined the company recently and got some interview tips. I was very lucky enough, he replied and shared some good tips.

3. Put my previous work in one folder so that I can show it during the interview.

The Interview

I joined 1 minute late as my camera was not working. The Interviewer already was not happy. Then I had to share some personal details and verify with some ID proof. Well, it took about 6-7 minutes to get things started, and finally, the interview started.

I was asked to introduce myself, and I tried to narrate a story. She seemed interested but she cut me short and asked me to share my work in the middle. That shocked me a little bit. Voice in my head said, Hey it's alright. I can share my work and probably dazzle her.

She saw a couple of examples of my research work and asked me if I can share any wireframes. I did not have any saved wireframes at that time to show her. So I asked if she can give me a problem statement and I can show her a Lo-Fi wireframe. She agreed and asked me to draw on Google Jamboard.

Design a Grocery Store App homepage for people 60yrs & above

The problem statement seems simple right. I did explain what would be my design approach and things to consider. I began to draw. You can see above the image of the final wireframe.

Downhill...

I said, "this is just a basic one we can build on this from here."

She asked me twice, "is that all do you want to add anything else?"

I was very confident when I presented this to her.

She asked me if I had any questions for her. As an idiot thinking, she had nailed the interview. I asked, "if I get selected for this role, what are the career opportunities for me. "

She said, "you will have plenty of opportunities. But can I give you feedback? I see a lack of attention to detail on this prototype. Your prototype looks more like a website homepage."

I suddenly realized and said, "Also, I did not consider the accessibility part as the primary users are 60yrs and above. It would have been a good factor to provide an option for voice assistance."

How can I do this silly mistake? I have been trying to rewind the situation and trying to correct and perfect it more than 100 times. I was so close to getting the job, I failed by time.

It is always good to ask the feedback on the work 1st. It would show how collaborative you are and how much are you willing to take feedback from others.

Well, one good outcome of this interview is, that I started documenting my design processes and made them available online for people to see it. So that, there is plenty of opportunities for people to gauge my potential and consider how I can help and fit in.