That one time I did a take home design exercise and regretted it
tl;dr
You probably shouldn’t do these. Especially if you get a weird feeling about the company after talking to them. Decided to share the results because I like the design I came up with despite not getting the job.
Gluttonous punishment maximus
This happened a few years ago. I know, I know. There are SO many articles about how you shouldn’t do these. I should have been the tough guy and said no. But I was intrigued about the company’s business. They were also located in an area of the country my wife and I were very interested in moving to. If you know me personally you can probably guess where.
Application
After applying for the role, I guess whatever I sent them did the trick. I received this email the following week:
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for your interest in joining [redacted]! We've had a chance to review your resumé and I would be happy to schedule an introductory call to learn more about your background! To schedule your interview, please book a time that works best for you through the Calendly link at the bottom of this email.
Additionally, please find an overview of our entire interview process below so you know what to expect. Our recruiting team will follow up after each stage is complete to let you know if you're advancing to the next round of interviews.
- *Stage 1:* Preliminary Interview (overview of your experience)
- *Stage 2:* Hiring Manager Interview (deep dive into your experience)
- *Stage 3:* Challenge (assessment to ensure your skills are aligned with the role)
- *Stage 4:* Final Interviews (meet the rest of the team)
Looking forward to speaking with you!
Cheers,
[redacted]Stage 1
This was a 15 minute Zoom call. The recruiter shared more about the company and the role. We went over my resumé, experience, and what I was looking for in a new role. The compensation was in the range I was looking for. They sent me this right after the call:
Hey Geoff,
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today, I really enjoyed our conversation.
I sent you an email to schedule your next interview with [redacted], our CPO and Co-Founder. I will be in touch within 24 hours after you complete the interview with feedback and any potential next steps.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great day!
[redacted]Stage 2
This was a 30 minute Zoom call with the Chief Product Officer/Co-Founder of the company. It started well and I was enjoying the conversation. We seemed to be clicking. But then things changed.
Like any company I apply to, I do a ton of research into their history, leadership, and funding. It’s pretty easy these days. We have the benefit of websites like Crunchbase, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and YouTube. In 30 minutes, you can put together a rough dossier about who you’re talking to.
So I asked some questions about what I had learned during my research. Normally, this level of interest is highly appreciated by people interviewing you. However in this case, the mood of the interview turned sour. The person interviewing me is probably a terrible poker player, as it was obvious he was a bit perturbed.
We ended the call in the customary manner. I wasn’t sure if I was moving to the next stage. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Something felt off.
Stage 3
After the way that call went, I was surprised they moved me to the next stage. The recruiter said the CPO enjoyed the conversation with me. He shared a design prompt for the take home exercise. He told me not to spend too much time on this, and to keep track of how much time I spent:
Your task is to design an interface and feature set to enable funnel management in the gmail interface. A user needs to be able to make initial contact with a lead from within gmail and then manage that lead through the entire funnel (e.g., Leads > Inquiries> Prospects > Quotes > a new customer).When I read this, my first thought was they wanted free design work. Definitely felt like a carrot on a stick. You’re so close! Just get past this stage, and the next one, and you’ve got the job! It’s worth it to spend your valuable free time on this. Right?
I convinced myself I should do it. Worst case, I learn a lesson. Ha!
Brainstorming
One of the frameworks I like to use when brainstorming is 5 Ws and 1 H (5W1H). Those include What, Why, Who, Where, When, and How. It’s a great way to work through a prompt like this, and define the problem space you’re designing for.
I spent an hour or two on it — most of that was research into Google Workspace, sales funnels, and related subject matter from the prompt. Was pretty happy with the result and moved on to the user interface work next.
Mural board if you’re curious.
Design
Once I had a good idea of the workflow and user interface I wanted to design, I did a bunch of sketches on paper. Those are long gone now. Here are a few UI screenshots from the project. You can look at the Figma design file and prototype too if you want.
Moment of truth
I got on a call the next week with the CPO and one of their product managers. They were cordial but very tight-lipped. Maybe they picked up poker since our last call.
I started by explaining the brainstorming phase and how I’d come up with the workflow and solution. I walked them through everything, screen by screen. I explained how it would work and how it could serve as a foundation for that kind of capability. I talked about what I liked about the design, what I didn’t like, and what I’d probably explore next.
Not one question. About anything I showed. I found that very odd and atypical. Normally when working with product folks, there is a high level of collaboration, back and forth, and iteration. It’s one of the ways you make designs better. Maybe they aren’t used to working like that.
It was a 30 minute call and we ended a little early. Two days later, I received this:
Hi Geoff,
Thank you for completing our challenge -- we really appreciate your time and our team enjoyed getting to know you better!
We have had a chance to circle up since and unfortunately don't think that our current opening is a perfect fit with your background/skillset. Of course, we would like to keep your information on file, and I hope you don't mind if we reach back out to you in the future when our needs change.
We really appreciate that you took the time to consider [redacted] -- we know there are a lot of great companies out there that are hiring, so it means a lot. Best of luck with your search!
Warmly,
[redacted]Meh
I probably spent 6 hours or so total on the exercise. Seemed like an appropriate amount of time for something like this. If I had taken this on as a freelance project, it would’ve been in the $1,000 range. I didn’t have a great feeling about the company anyway.
They did hire someone. I noticed there was a new design hire a few weeks after I got passed on. They were local to the area and had a great portfolio. There aren’t any designers at that company now. I wonder why.