The CxD Interview Guide

Get the most out of your conversation design job interview

Interviews go both ways. In these trying times of layoffs and non-existent UX job listings, it might seem a little pretentious to ask that candidates be “more picky” about their future employer, but the questions you pose the hiring team have 2 core functions.

The questions you ask show you’re:

1. Vetting the role/team
2. Implicitly telling your potential employer about your priorities (both in design and in your career)

A successful conversation design job interview is not just about impressing your potential manager— it’s also about ensuring that the company and team align with your career goals and values. Additionally, sussing out the role could save you time in the job search process (it’s not the kind of work you want to do, e.g. chat vs. voice) or set the correct level of expectations of what the day-to-day might actually be like (you’d be joining as a solo designer in a customer experience team vs. joining a design team).

The following is a list of questions you can bring to your next conversation design interview. Yes, these are some of the actual questions I asked during my interviews throughout my career thus far. I’ve separated them into 2 different lists per experience level, based on where I was mentally when I asked them.

Junior “baby” conversation designer questions

Description: This might be your first role in tech or your first interview for a design role. At this point in your career, you might pick opportunities based on how much support you’ll have to make the transition, hoping the delta between the job requirements and your technical skills is small.

• [Culture] What does it take to be successful here?
• [Culture] How much of this role will be remote in the future?
• [Product] How does this team define success according to its mission?
• [Product] How does this team ensure your experiences ship at quality?
• [Product] Does this org already have existing content guidelines or a content strategy in place?
• [Product] What direction does [company] want to take with its conversation design strategy?
• [Team] Are there other conversation designers on the team?
• [Team] Besides [x designer], will there be anyone else with experience in or a background in conversation design?
• [Team] What do you think would be some of the challenges for this position?
• [Team] Does this role offer any education budget? e.g. for online courses, conferences, workshops, etc.
• [Team] Is there anything else we haven’t covered that you think is important for me to know about this team?
• [Team] Is this team expected to grow in the future?
• [Bonus] Do you have any hesitations about my background?

Mid “sometimes senior” conversation designer questions

Description: This might be the point in your career where you want to weigh your options. Rather than trying to impress the company or focusing on the company culture as a whole, you may ask questions that’ll reveal how the team fits within the larger org structure and whether or not the day-to-day would feel rewarding for you.

• [Culture] Pros/cons: What is one challenge about working at this company? What is your favorite thing about working at this company? (I would ask this in a 1:1 if the interview format allows)
• [Product] What’s the long-term vision for this conversational application?
• [Tools] What platform do you use to build the bot/assistant?
• [Tools] What other kinds of tools do you use for work?
• [Team] How large would the design team be?
• [Team] Is there room for growth in this position?
• [Team] Can you share more about the onboarding and training process for new hires?
• [Team] Do designers on the team work through the entire design process? Or are there areas designers specialize in?
• [Team] Are designers expected to do their own research or is there a dedicated UX research team?
• [Team] How do designers typically give and receive feedback? Does your team run design crits?
• [Team] Can you share any recent or ongoing UX projects the team is working on?
• [Management] How would others describe your management style?
• [Management] When was the last time you supported a direct report’s growth?

Final Thoughts

Remember, you should always have something prepared when it’s your turn to ask the questions in an interview! Never stay silent. Try to be as candid as possible. If it’s not a good fit, it’s not a good fit, but at least you will have put your best foot forward.

✨BONUS✨

Happy to share that in a few days I will be giving a master class with the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF)! Even if you can’t join us live, you can still watch the video on-demand. Sign-up page: https://www.interaction-design.org/master-classes/conversation-design-practical-tips-for-ai-design

The CxD interview guide was originally published in Chatbots Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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