Google Interaction Designer Interview Guide
Learn how to prepare for the Google interview and get a job at Google with this in-depth guide.Google’s core premise “Focus on the user and all else will follow” is stitched into the DNA of the company. If you search for design jobs on Google’s careers page, you’ll see this adage repeated in every job description you come across.
Unsurprisingly, Google is a top target company for anyone interested in user experience (UX) or design. If you have an intuition for building elegant, intuitive user experiences, experience in UX, product design or interaction design, and a strong portfolio, Google might be a great fit!
Because Google is a popular destination for designers, the loop can be grueling. Read on for an overview of what to expect, and how to prepare for each stage of your Interaction Design interview at Google.
What does an interaction designer do at Google?
Interaction designers work with a diverse group including researchers, writers, content strategists, program managers, and engineers to build cutting-edge products that feel comfortable and familiar.
Understanding users first is key to the Google approach to design; as an interaction designer, your team will generate and use data to understand and even predict the emotions and behavior of users.
Armed with that understanding, interaction designers craft the user experience from end-to-end. You’ll spend time:
- Collaborating with the multi-disciplinary team to clarify requirements.
- Building wireframes, flow diagrams, storyboards, mockups, and prototypes.
- Iterating quickly on user feedback
Perhaps most importantly, you’ll champion user-centricity in your designs at every stage. Things move fast at Google, but focusing on the end user will keep you on the right track.
Overview
Interaction design interviews follow a similar structure across Google, but of course, your individual journey may vary. Expect up to eight total rounds including:
- A recruiter screen
- A portfolio screening
- A takehome design challenge
- An on-site including behavioral rounds, another portfolio review, and design challenges.
We’ll cover each in more detail below.
How long is the Google interview process?
Once you’ve passed the initial recruiter screen, things move fairly quickly at Google.
After the on-site interview, you’ll probably hear back from your recruiter within one or two weeks, though the process can take longer in some cases. If the feedback is good, you’ll enter the team matching process, which is variable - there may be multiple teams interested in your application packet, and role availability can change quickly. Don’t lose heart at this stage - stay engaged, and make sure you speak with a team that appeals to you.
Not including team matching, the whole process takes from four to eight weeks. Including team matching, some interviewees reported waiting 4 months from initial screen to signing an offer, so be prepared for a long-haul.
Interview Process
Screening Calls
At minimum, you’ll have a short (~30 minute) call with a recruiter to get to know you at a high level. You’ll answer questions about your experience, your career goals, and your interest in Google.
You may also have a technical screen with Google designer. If you’ve spent a good amount of time on your portfolio and you’ve practiced presenting your work, this round shouldn’t be too difficult. You might get questions on:
- Your career journey
- Your high-level thoughts on common design approaches or products (”get to know you” type questions)
- Your portfolio (again, at a high level)
Both of these calls typically happen on Google products (like Google Meet)
Design Challenges
Past interviewees report that Google offers three design challenges, and you pick one to work on, usually over the course of a week.
Typically, these are everyday-design questions; nothing Google-specific.
Takehome design challenges are opportunities to shine, so we suggest going above and beyond where you can! This signals that you care about your work, and are serious about joining the company - a quality all employers look for.
On-site Interview
The onsite interview contains a few specific rounds, each of which takes roughly 45 minutes. Some interviewees have multiple technical 1:1 rounds, others have multiple behavioral rounds; this may vary. Be sure to prepare for a minimum of one each of the following:
- Portfolio presentation: You’ll present your work to panel of 3+ interviewers in different domains (product mgmt, engineering, design, etc.)
- Behavioral: You’ll be asked questions about your past experience, hypotheticals designed to test how you’ll respond to common workplace scenarios, and questions meant to gauge your “googleyness” (more on that later!)
- Technical: Questions designed to test your technical design knowledge and skill set. What tools do you use most frequently? How deep is your working knowledge of the technology underpinning your work (e.g. HTML/CSS? Android? etc.) You may have a few of these
- Whiteboarding Challenge: Given an open-ended design prompt, interviewers are looking to get a sense of your design thinking and creative process. Many interaction designers find that this is one of the most stressful rounds, but it doesn’t have to be!
Sample Interview Questions
Each of these rounds is unique; let’s explore some questions you may be asked as you move through each.
Portfolio Presentation
The general prompt for this round is to deep-dive a project from your portfolio.
It’s a good idea to leave 5-10 minutes for Q&A at the end, but interviewees report that Google lets you “drive” this round.
During the Q&A, expect follow-ups that will assess not only your:
- Ownership
- User-centricity
- Collaboration
- Design thinking and creative process
Example questions past interviewees have gotten include:
- “What was your working hypothesis as you began designing?”
- “How did you incorporate accessibility into your design?”
- “How did you think through your web vs. mobile designs?”
When preparing your portfolio presentation, we recommend choosing a project where you worked with a cross-functional team, but took full ownership of the project - and maintained a focus on the user throughout. Google looks for these core qualities (collaboration, user-centricity, and ownership) in all its interaction designers. Be sure to hone your presentation down to a tight 30 minutes maximum!
Behavioral
Google wants to know if you have "Googleyness", a value the company uses to describe those who fit in well with the culture. Though the term has various definitions, including being able to work despite ambiguity and being able to work well in a team, the general takeaway is to not come off as a jerk. You should also focus on communicating well: enunciate, speak slowly, and speak with meaning.
In addition to “Googleyness”, interaction designers at Google are typically asked questions about their past experiences as well as hypotheticals meant to tease out how candidates will work with team members, perform under stress, and work through conflict.
Questions interviewees have been asked include:
- “Tell me about your day to day as a product designer.”
- “How would you deal with pushback from upper management on a project you were working on?”
- “Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a cross-functional team member.”
- “What would be your approach if your design worked effectively for the one aspect of the product but not another aspect?”
We recommend building a story bank with at least 3-5 good, meaty projects you can speak to in detail. They should map to Google’s core values and to the characteristics we mentioned above:
- Ownership
- User-centricity
- Collaboration
- Design thinking and creative process
Practice talking these through until you feel confident you can handle follow-ups with ease. If you’re prone to rambling, be sure to review the STAR format and hone your responses accordingly.
Technical
Technical design interviews are meant to suss out the depth of your technical knowledge and your skill with common design technologies and tools. At Google, these rounds tend to be 1:1 rather than panel interviews, and you may get a mix of behavioral-type questions as well. For example, you may be asked how you handoff deliverables to engineering - the focus may be on the tools and technology you’re comfortable with, but if you look closely, there’s a behavioral element around communication skill as well.
Expect questions like:
- “How do you conduct user research?”
- “Tell me about your experience working with Android.”
- “What is your favorite design software? Why?”
Whiteboarding Challenge
Whiteboarding challenges can be scary - like system design questions for engineering, the sheer open-endedness of the prompt can feel paralyzing.
Typically, you’re expected to reach the stage of wireframing, but this is a lot to manage in just 45 minutes.
Past interviewees report they’ve been asked questions like:
- “Design a cooking apparatus for the blind.”
- “Design a CRM for door to door salesmen using Google maps.”
- “Design a remote for a toy car.”
We recommend taking plenty of time to practice questions like these. It’s easy to get flustered without sufficient experience - confidence, logical thinking, and structured creativity will help you stand out from the crowd. A few common pitfalls include:
- Jumping into a design right away. First, always ask clarifying questions. For interaction design roles where user-centricity is king at Google, be sure you have a rock-solid understanding of who the intended audience is before you begin designing anything. What’s the root problem you’re asked to solve? What emotions, expectations, and behaviors might you reasonably expect from the given target audience? Answering these questions upfront will win you major points, and help you narrow down your design options.
- Not checking-in with your interviewer. This is another common symptom of nerves. It’s easy to get carried away in the creative process - but your interviewer is an asset. Be sure to check any assumptions you’ve made with your interviewer - and only with their go-ahead should you proceed to the next steps in your design process.
- Not thinking through the details of implementation. This can be a huge differentiator for you. Be sure to include clarifying questions that help you articulate business goals and expectations, and keep these in mind as you design - defining requirements is a huge part of interaction design, so make sure you showcase your ability to do so!
Tips and Strategies
Look for a referral if possible
Given how competitive it is getting your foot in the door at a company like Google, leveraging your network could be the magic piece of the puzzle that finally gets you a call from a recruiter!
Before you go about looking for referrals though, we recommend preparing your elevator pitch. Why Google? Why should your referrer recommend you instead of someone else?
In addition to your elevator pitch, your resume should reflect as many conceptual connections to the job listing as you can. For example, ask yourself how your previous experience connects with interaction design at Google. What lines can be drawn between your previous work and the duties outlined in the job posting? Ensuring that you come across as a strong referral goes a long way towards making your referrers feel comfortable recommending you.
Ready to make the leap? Check out Exponent’s Job Referrals now!
Be a data-driven user advocate
Google’s secret sauce lies in its ability to focus on users through intelligent use of data. The volume of user data Google has at its disposal is staggering; interaction designers are expected to have the skills to leverage this in their designs.
Of course, you’ll be supported by a cross-functional team including data scientists and user researchers, but showing competence with data can give you a huge leg up.
Be sure to bring with you to your interview plenty of data and quantifiable results from your previous design roles. You'll want to highlight the impact your designs had at earlier companies - in quantifiable terms wherever possible.
Prepare questions for your interviewer beforehand
Yes, you’re the candidate - you’re meant to answer questions in an interview - but modern tech interviews are not a one-way street. Instead, they are meant to be dialogues between candidates and hiring managers. Ideally, both should be evaluating whether they are a good fit for one another.
Nevertheless, substantive questions by the interviewee also serve another vital purpose. Asking questions (and asking good questions) demonstrates to the Google hiring managers that you are invested in and care about the design role you're applying for. They don't want to fill their open positions with people who just treat it as another job. They want to fill it with Googlers.