The interview process starts with a 30-minute phone screen, after which they bring you in for a 4-hour, highly structured marathon interview. You are introduced to someone who is close to the role you'd be applying for to talk about the work day and environment, followed by a one hour "portfolio review" (requested as a PowerPoint presentation, for an unspecified reason) with two employees, a one hour "resumé review" with two more employees, followed by a closing chat with the UX director. Ostensibly, doing well in this interview would actually lead to ANOTHER round of interview, which includes forced design exercises.
The first and final conversations in the interview were lovely. You could tell that these individuals had committed to creating as good an environment as they could within the company, but you could also get a sense that it was a constant challenge to find a good balance. The middle portions of the interview were confusing at best, directly insulting at worst.
First, the portfolio review was structured as a PowerPoint presentation. As UX Designers, we have to be storytellers, and sitting there trying to tell the story of a product while two people are staring at slides is frustrating. Much more can be conveyed with a simple conversation, followed by demonstrating wireframes or a prototype.
The resumé review was the worst part of the process. Both people I talked with seemed more interested in poking holes in my resumé than in understanding what I do and how I work. I left feeling insulted, and pissed off that I'd gone through the entire process.
