Hiring Designers: How to Tell Contenders from Pretenders

August 21, 2013 at 2:35 AM by Rob Stevenson

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This is part two in a series regarding how to separate the mediocre from the all-stars when it comes to recruiting tech talent. Here, we’ll take an in depth look at designers, designating some red flags and green lights along the way which can help you avoid making a poor hire, and give you the edge when it comes to recognizing the superstars. When it comes to designers, take a close look at their ability to describe the iterative process, the narrative of their personal portfolio, how they position themselves amongst a team, and the specifics of their expertise.

Describe the Process

Particularly when it comes to interaction, design is a lengthy process that requires dozens of iterations and tweaks based on the understood tendencies of the user. A strong designer will be able to dive right into explaining the process, starting with user research, understanding the desired outcomes of the interaction, the construction of wireframes and copywriting, the eventual addition of style, and of course testing features once they're in production. If a designer merely provides screenshots of a finished product, you are really only scratching the surface of their workflow. Have a look at those screenshots and ask your candidate “What am I looking at?” or “How did you get here?”. Unless you are hiring a visual designer for a one-off project, the candidate’s ability to describe, in detail, their own progression through a project is absolutely crucial, and a clear signal of their competence.

Evaluating Portfolios

For many designers, portfolios have replaced their traditional resume. While often impressive on the surface, it is important to really sink your teeth into this asset. There are several important implications one can draw from a candidate’s portfolio that are not immediately apparent.

Breadth vs. depth

As noted above, many portfolios are merely an amalgamation of screenshots of finished products. Although it is rare, a candidate can really set him or herself apart with the inclusion of screenshots from various stages of their work on single projects. It is far more impressive to have half a dozen projects with extensive background explanation, than 20 projects that only display a finished product. This not only illustrates the depth and comprehensiveness with which the candidate is accustomed to working, but also gives a peek inside their process. Speak with the designers already on board at your company, and get a sense of their own process. Once familiar with how your design team is already operating, you can have a look at the new candidate’s process and see how well they’ll fit in with established best practices at your company.

On a related note, your candidate’s ability to operate within a team is also of the utmost importance. A designer should be able receive feedback, take part in design-by-committee, and speak to how they’ve positioned themselves amongst content producers, engineers, and other designers. Often, designers will have a particular role in one part of the process and delineated responsibilities within their team. A candidate familiar with organizational design process is more likely to be an asset to your team.

The Portfolio as a Project

It’s easy to get sucked in to the individual pieces of a portfolio, but if you take a step back and view it as one whole made up of many parts, you can dig up some real insight on your candidate.

Firstly, how easy is it to navigate the portfolio? If your path through the portfolio is not simple and intuitive, how likely is that designer to be able to provide flawless interaction for your user? The portfolio should be treated not merely as a public display of work, but as a design project in and of itself.

The innately subjective nature of visual design should also be noted. It is much more difficult to quantify style and evaluate a designer on these terms, and as a recruiter, your personal opinion of the artistry and style of a designer’s work is probably not relevant. 

Domain Expertise

When evaluating the portfolio, think also of the type of work it demonstrates. For example, what good is a print portfolio for a candidate who will be doing web design? Similarly, a designer providing you with samples in .pdf form is a definite red flag. A candidate should take the opportunity to display their work in the same format that they’ll be creating work for you, and if they don’t, they could be cutting corners. Designers are a diverse breed, often harboring many different skillsets across various forms of media. Find a candidate whose most recent work is as similar as possible to the type of work they’d be doing at your company.

Toss them a Softball

Lastly, it makes sense to lob your candidate a basic question that they, as a serious, passionate designer, can knock out of the park. Of all the hiring designers I spoke to, a common favorite interviewing practice is to have the candidate describe a company or product that exhibits good design. There really is no wrong answer here, (except for Apple, read: cop-out) so long as the candidate can happily and quickly explain some design that they truly admire. This proves the candidate is engaged in the design space and that it commands their attention in ways that exist beyond work hours. If a designer isn’t paying attention to what others are doing in their industry, they are less likely to provide inspired, innovative work. In the same vein, designers with developed presences on sites like Dribbble or Behance are more likely to be in tune with their industry and passionate about their work.

Hopefully after reading this post, you can head into your next designer interview armed with some knowledge to sniff out the phonies and identify the studs. In summation:

  • Make them describe their process
  • Understand how they have positioned themselves amongst a team
  • Draw deep conclusions from the portfolio AS A WHOLE
  • Determine how engaged they are in the design industry 

Have experience interviewing designers? Share your insight below in the comments, or tweet @EnteloRob!

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