Learn more about whiteboard interviews
Making it to the whiteboard interview is a big accomplishment in the interviewing process. You’ve likely already completed the phone interview and perhaps a second-round interview as well. At this stage, many employers will want to observe a practical demonstration of your skills to get a better idea of how you think, work with others, explain your design thinking process, and communicate.
During a whiteboard interview, you’ll be given a design problem to solve in real time on a whiteboard, chalkboard, easel, or similar drawing surface. You’ll either present one-on-one with an interviewer or in front of a panel of team members.
Best practices for whiteboard interviews
Even if you’re getting ready for your very first whiteboard interview, you can be confident that with some preparation, you’ll do it well. Here are a few best practices to help set you up for success.
A good way to prepare for the interview is to find examples of whiteboard interview questions and insights. There are plenty of resources for this online, like these articles from Medium’s UX Collective: the first describes 5 steps to master a whiteboard design challenge; the second explains one new designer’s experience with the whiteboard interview at Google. These resources will help you know what to expect, the types of questions you might be asked, and how you would answer if you were asked a similar question. Remember, there’s limited time for this part of the interview, so the work you show won’t be super polished. But that’s okay! The main purpose of the whiteboard challenge is to show how you think and your approach to the UX design process.
It’s important to make sure that your explanations are clear and make sense as you describe your decisions and explain your reasoning. You can practice this before the interview by saying your thought process out loud and then recording yourself. Try using one of the whiteboard interview questions you find online as practice, then listen to how you respond.
One goal of the interview is to observe how you deal with ambiguity. Questions are often vague on purpose so interviewers can see how candidates approach the problem. So it’s important to clarify your tasks to show that you understand the design problem you’re solving for. After the interviewer gives you a task, begin by repeating that task back to them. This will help make sure that you understand what’s being asked of you, and it gives the interviewer a chance to spell out any details. You should also take the opportunity to ask questions to clarify instructions.
It’s also important to show your process as you answer the whiteboard question. Think of the big picture and what you want people to know. Start by making sure you know who the user is and what their issues or pain points are. Then you can begin at a place in the design process where you feel comfortable explaining how you work to solve those issues. Remember, you won’t have time to thoroughly go through the design process, but you can bring up empathizing and testing as steps you’d like to take with more time. Three ways to show your process include creating a framework, demonstrating teamwork, and clarifying assumptions.
Take this opportunity to show how you collaborate with other designers and your ability to work in a team. Often during whiteboard interviews, there are other UX designers in the room who are part of the interview process and will ask questions as you work through your example. This is a good chance to show how you work with other designers, allow them to share their ideas with you, and find areas you agree on. By doing this, you demonstrate that you can work well with others and that the design solutions are based on more than one perspective. After you land your job, the ability to align with others on your team at the beginning of the design process will be essential to your success.
Don’t be afraid to ask additional questions as you whiteboard. It’s okay to ask for more details about use cases, edge cases, or even the general demographics of your target users if you need clarification or more information to make solid decisions about your designs and demonstrate your thought process.
Don’t doubt yourself! This certificate program has given you the tools you need to prepare for the whiteboard interview. You know the thought process behind solving users’ issues: empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing. Just keep that process in mind, and be confident as you explain your approach. Remember why you’re on this career path and what you hope to accomplish in your career as a UX designer. It’s your time to apply everything you’ve learned!
Advice from others
Looking for more advice? There are a lot of resources from UX experts that are available to help you ace your whiteboard interview. As you prepare, check out this article on UX Collective about crushing the product design whiteboard challenge and this video from YouTube creator Designalily demonstrating a whiteboard challenge during a workshop.
Sources: Google UX Design Professional Certificate
Coursera | Design a User Experience for Social Good & Prepare for Jobs
