Hi! 👋

After many job applications, you’ve finally been invited for a job interview. That’s excellent news. Congratulations!

In all the excitement, you might go by some red flags without noticing, which could become a problem for you. So here’s an overview of red flags to look out for during a job interview.

But before we do, I want to highlight Prowriting, a fantastic AI-powered Figma plugin that helps you create high-quality copy for your design projects. It's like ChatGPT, but tuned and designed for UX copy.

Try it out for free.

Companies might give you a design challenge to tackle. While this is fine (they just want to see what you can do), some companies have you work on it all day or spend hours on it while working from home. This is a red flag.

First of all, your time is worth something. Never work for free. And second, I’ve seen many companies reject the applicant and then use their work for a client. Again, huge red flag!

At the end of a job interview, asking about the next steps is a good idea. You’ll probably hear something about other candidates and how the company has to make a choice. If you hear that you’re the only one or one of very few applicants, you have to wonder why that is.

Now, this may be harmless, but others have declined to work for this company for some reason. It’s okay to ask. You’re interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you.

You probably have some goals in mind, like becoming a senior designer or making enough money to buy a house for your family. Working for the right company is key to achieving this goal.

Are you preparing for a job interview? Are you unsure if something is a red flag? Or something else? Feel free to reply to this email, and I'll get back to you.

Last week, I've launched the UX Career Track group for people looking to get hired in UX. We're with 5 people now.

Here's what we're doing.

🔸 Have a weekly check-in
🔸 24/7 async ask-me-anything
🔸 Small personal group of support
🔸 Work with me on projects (depending on demand)

Get lifetime access for a one-time purchase of 49 EUR.

Cognitive load is the amount of mental effort required to complete a task. For users, this includes understanding the user interface, figuring out what tasks to do, and how to complete these tasks.

Read more about cognitive load on UX Dictionary

Whenever you're ready, I'd love to help you build your career in UX.

1️⃣ UX Jobs Handbook

2️⃣ UX Job Hunt Checklist

3️⃣ Get your UX portfolio reviewed

4️⃣ Learn about UX on my YouTube channel

Kind regards,

Nick Groeneveld
Founder and UX Mentor at The Designer’s Toolbox