Author: Robert Mao (CEO and Chief Architect of ArcBlock)
This article is a sister article of "How to easily pass through ArcBlock's recruitment process", the original article mainly focused on the photos of software engineering positions, while this one is a supplementary explanation of the recruitment process for UI/UX designer positions. If you want to have a detailed understanding of our interview process, we suggest you can read this article first and then take a rough look at that article, even if you are interviewing for a UI/UX position.
ArcBlock's UI/UX Recruitment Process#
The recruitment process for ArcBlock's UI/UX designer referred to the recruitment process at Microsoft where I used to work, as well as some design-focused companies such as Google, AirBnB, etc., and optimized it according to our actual situation. In short, the steps are as follows:
- Resume screening. As a UI/UX designer, we require that your resume must include a portfolio, the portfolio is the first-hand information for us to understand you and is also the most important basis for this step. For resumes without a portfolio, no matter how outstanding your background is, we can only reluctantly say goodbye.
- About 30 minutes of Zoom interview. This interview is our first "face-to-face" contact with you, it is a valuable opportunity for mutual understanding. We are happy to answer your questions and help you further confirm whether we can provide you with a satisfactory position. At the same time, we will also introduce our interview process, recommend you to read this article (if you haven't read it before). And we will briefly explain how to proceed with this most important step.
- Design test. We will give you a simple and practical design test question, generally requiring you to install or experience one of our existing products, and then make a practical design for a specific feature, page, or screen in the app. This design test is very close to a task in your future work day. You have up to a week to complete this test.
- Interview (1-2 rounds, depending on the situation). If you pass the design test, we will invite you to participate in a Zoom interview. Unlike the interview for software engineers, in this interview, we require you to prepare a brief introduction. You can prepare a PPT to help with your presentation but it is not mandatory. This introduction requires you to fully introduce a practical example that can represent your design ideas and work abilities, from requirements to design, from sketches to final products. We welcome you to use the design test you just completed as the content of this introduction, but you can also use the design of other projects you have done (if using previous company's work, you need to ensure permission has been obtained and not disclose relevant business secrets in this introduction).
- Offer discussion and issuance
What do we value the most?#
From the above process, it is not difficult to see that what we value most in UI/UX designers is:
Is the quality and style of the portfolio what we expected?
(2) design test results
(3) Design concepts, problem-solving, and communication skills.
In our interview, you may be a member related to design in the company, but more likely a software engineer who will work with you in the future, that is to say, your interview is basically when you show your actual design work situation in the future company.
Our company does not have many UI/UX designer positions, but we are a team that values design very much. We require every engineer to actively participate in UI/UX design. In other words, if you join our team, most of your work will be the result of collective collaboration. As a designer, you will receive respect from everyone, but you will also receive various sincere suggestions and feedback. You usually do not work alone to complete the design, but everyone works together to make good use of their expertise. These suggestions and feedback may not come from another designer, but may come from software engineers or salespeople. This is why we require you to have good communication and collaboration skills, be able to humbly accept criticism and feedback on the design, and adhere to the basic principles of design and aesthetics.
Our software engineers usually do not implement design drawings pixel by pixel as some companies do with "redline design" (Redline). Instead, they usually actively participate throughout the process. In fact, in most cases, we do not encourage the use of this high-precision redline design approach, but rather hope that everyone can participate in the design and implementation under a design style and specifications guidance.