I believe the questions that we ask during interviews tell each other a lot about ourselves as individuals — as potential coworkers and team members — and a lot about our companies as a place to work and represent.

While conducting interviews for UX and UI roles, I’ve landed on a set of ten questions that that I’ve found spark compelling conversations while revealing a lot about the person I’m interviewing — and, hopefully, about myself as someone you might want to work with. I don’t ask much about specific tools: your portfolio shows that you’re capable at your role, and application-specific skillsets carry over well.

I’m sharing these questions because I think they can not only help candidates stand out during the interview process, they provide a fantastic opportunity for self-reflection and growth as individuals. It was only after first asking some of these questions that I realized I didn’t always have clear answers of my own. Do you?

Interview Questions for UX/UI Candidates

  1. What is your favourite method of collaboration or workshopping? Could you tell us about a session you found particularly rewarding?
  2. Could you tell me about a time you were involved in or lead a UX research initiative in the past? What was the most surprising thing you learned?
  3. Could you tell me about how you have worked to build trust in your working relationships with other team members or stakeholders?
  4. You may be familiar with the concept of tech debt, where a badly maintained or planned codebase gets harder and harder to work with over time. What are your thoughts around “design debt?”
  5. Could you tell me about a time that you felt a design decision was poorly thought through, or otherwise the wrong way to go?
  6. Could you tell me about a time that you had to navigate the “highest paid person’s opinion?”
  7. What is the most exciting thing you’ve created on your own?
  8. What are your thoughts around ethics in UX?
  9. How could working here help you build towards your long-term goals?
  10. What are the most important things to you to have in your team?

Disclaimer: These questions are not all my own invention — they’ve been cobbled together over time from a variety of sources that I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint today. If you are the original author of any of these questions, please get in touch and I’ll add credit!