I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at DuckDuckGo in Aug 2020
Interview
Not really a fan of paid design challenges that pertain directly to a company. It's slightly unethical. The design team will NOT offer feedback on design challenges, and the design challenge could be used by the company.
The challenge felt more like spec work, even though they pay for the work, rather than a skills assessment–which legally is all they're allowed to do without actually employing you. The pay for the challenge is very low and below market rate, and they ask you to over deliver with the open ended wording of the design challenge. I spent a lot of time on my portfolio and I'd rather be judged by that then a design challenge. The pay rate for the stated estimate of hours for the challenge is much lower than the salary they offer for the position, which is pretty weird.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design challenge was super basic and very open ended. Not inspiring at all.
Hi there, thanks for the honest feedback about our interview process. It's always helpful to receive comments on our interview process and we'll review your feedback as a team to see how we can set better expectations throughout the experience.
Other Senior Product Designer interview reviews for DuckDuckGo
I really enjoyed the hiring process. At no point in time I felt uncertain about anything. The hiring team are absolute legends and did their best to set me up for success, by providing relevant details, aligning expectations and timelines. This is hands down one of the most pleasant hiring experiences I’ve had in my 10+ years career.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
All the questions that you would expect in a hiring interview
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at DuckDuckGo in Oct 2022
Interview
Made it to the first design task, but unfortunately they chose someone else after my submission. Overall I appreciated their transparency about the process, and the fact that they pay for the design exercises — it’s not a given in the industry. If you choose to apply, you‘ll need the skillset of a product owner/manager a lot more than that of a designer. This is already quite evident in the first task.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a 3-6 page case study on a project you were a key contributor on.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at DuckDuckGo in Oct 2022
Interview
Probably close to flawless! Considering the amount of people likely going through the process at any given time, I felt like I had the full attention of the team throughout the weeks I was completing tasks/interviews in. Alongside this, interviews were always planned with enough warning and were flexible to times that worked for me, so I never felt put out, even given time zone differences. Equally, the approach to tasks (i.e. having flexibility to start them when I'm ready rather than prescribing when I have to return the task) made the entire process a lot easier to manage.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What have you learned from any projects that didn’t go to plan?
