Questions I ask when interviewing for a UX design role

4Ps: What motivates me

Over the years I’ve got clearer on what makes a role genuinely rewarding. These four things consistently show up in the work I’ve enjoyed most – and the questions I ask when I’m exploring a new opportunity.

1. People: Great team culture where people have fun and create amazing work together
2. Projects: Projects that matter, built with collaborative teams who love seeing ideas come to life
3. Process: Design, technology and business working together to deliver great products
4. Problems: Solving real-world problems for customers while generating revenue for businesses

1. People

The best work I’ve done has always come from being around people who care – about the craft, about each other and about the customer. Leadership sets the tone for all of that.

• Do you have a Head of Design or someone at the executive level who advocates for the customer?
• The term “Choose a boss, not a job” resonates with me – how would you describe your leadership style?
• How do you reinvest in your people (e.g. training, conferences, mentoring)?
• How do you support work/life balance?
• What’s the size and structure of your design team?

2. Projects

I want to work on things that matter – projects with a clear purpose, where the team is genuinely invested in the outcome and proud of what they ship.

• What problems are you trying to solve for your customers right now?
• How do you decide which projects get prioritised?
• How does the team collaborate day to day – designers, developers, product?
• What does a project look like from idea through to shipped?
• How do you create space for teams to do their best work?
• What’s a recent project you’re proud of, and why?

3. Process

Good process isn’t about following rules – it’s about making sure the right people are aligned, the customer’s voice is heard and the team can move with confidence.

• How do you ensure you’re solving the right problems?
• How is the customer’s voice brought into the decision making process?
• How do you balance customer needs with business outcomes?
• How do you share what you’ve learned with the wider team?

4 Problems

The most rewarding work sits at the intersection of real customer pain and genuine business value. I want to understand how a company thinks about both.

• What’s the most significant problem your customers face right now?
• How do you know when you’ve solved it?
• How do you balance solving customer problems with the commercial realities of the business?
• How does design get involved early enough to shape the problem – not just the solution?
• What does success look like for the team when a problem is solved well?

Bringing it all together

The roles I’ve enjoyed most have been where all four come together – people who care, work that matters, a process that respects the customer, and problems worth solving. When those line up, the work has soul.