5 Core Questions We Use in Alarmy Product Designer Interviews
Core Values of the Alarmy Design Group
It feels like just yesterday I was writing a post while preparing for my job interview, but it's already been about a year and a half since I joined DelightRoom. Growing through a lot of trial and error at Alarmy, I now run our designer hiring interviews myself. My first hiring interview was clumsy and full of awkwardness, but through plenty of interview experience, I was able to get a feel for what qualities to look for to better hire the right person for our team.
Below, I've compiled the 5 core interview questions the Alarmy design team has used to find designers who are a great fit for our team.
Questions to align the expectations of the company and the candidate
1. What are your criteria for choosing your next company?
Most people decide to go through job interviews when they feel a certain thirst or frustration at their current company. I also submitted my resume focusing on companies that could resolve those points of frustration. Through this question, we find out what the candidate values and what they want to achieve at their next company. We check if those criteria align with the standards we want in a designer, and we see how much synergy we can create together.
Questions to verify problem definition and problem-solving skills
2. Please share a memorable hypothesis testing case.
The Alarmy team places a high value on problem definition and the logic behind finding a solution. Out of the candidates' experiences, the things we check most closely are as follows:
How was the problem defined?
What hypothesis was established based on that problem definition?
What solution was used to test that hypothesis?
Through this question, we can get a glimpse into how sharp their insight into a problem and their problem-solving skills are. Not stopping there, when candidates clearly acknowledge and share the qualitative and quantitative results of their work, we judge them to be a designer with great qualities.
Questions to see how they work and what they value
4. Please describe your overall work process.
By asking for an explanation of their overall work process, we can get a sense of our mutual expectations regarding where a product designer's job starts and where it should end.
Usually, candidates explain the areas they like and actually excel at in more detail, allowing us to see what parts they consider most important.
Questions to check diverse experiences and a designer's sense for decision-making
5. Do you have your own decision-making principle when data-driven decisions are unclear?
The Alarmy team is one that values data, but we consider data to be a tool that helps us make better decisions. To ensure the means doesn't become the end, we check if they can harmoniously balance their ability to analyze data with their ability to grasp the product's core during decision-making.
There is no set answer, but we used this question because it gives us a glimpse into the insights they've gained through their experience as a product designer or their intuitive sense for understanding the product.
Great designers have participated in our Alarmy product designer interviews, and even when we didn't end up working together, I feel like I've grown another level through their insights. I hope all product designers find a great company to grow even further, and I hope we cross paths at Alarmy someday :)