Genevieve Conley

As a candidate, a good interview question should help you... - understand whether the company is a good fit for you - figure out whether the role is what you expect it to be - make sure you’re set up for success - identify red flags

Here are 10 questions I almost always ask when evaluating a new job or role. A lot of these are based on my past experience. I think about what I wish I had known before taking past jobs, and how I would know whether my new job has those same challenges.

1. What is this role responsible for? This one seems pretty basic on the surface but the key word is responsible. What will this role be on the hook to deliver? What topics / products will I cover? In other words: what exactly am I interviewing for and are we on the same page?

2. How is this role divided between x / y / z type of work? I want to be sure the role has a good mix of work that aligns to my strengths. For instance how much of the work is usability testing vs. foundational research? How much is quant vs qual?

3. What does the relationship look like between research and eng / design / PM / data science? This question tells me a lot. What’s the UX maturity of the organization? How do they feel about research? Is research a service or a partner? Are any of these relationships toxic?

4. What does the research team look like and how do they work together? This question gives me a sense of how many people report to the same manager, and whether research is more solo or collaborative. Ideally, I want a tight knit team with complimentary skillets.

5. Is there a research support (ops) team? What does that look like? I can’t tell you how wonderful a good ops team is. I once got to work with an ops team that included a visual designer who elevated our work to whole new levels. A good participant recruiting team is a godsend.

6. How are decisions made on the team? This gets deep into the heart of the leadership culture of a team. Who makes the calls? Is is it top down or bottom up? An engineering led company or design led? How does data play into these decisions? If I can only ask one q, it’s this.

7. What does the evaluation process look like? A bad eval system can make any job suck. My first jobs were like this. Feedback was few and far between. Performance reviews felt arbitrary and often surprising. Knowing the system up front gives you more power down the line.

8. What tends to be the biggest challenge for new researchers coming from my background? Every company has a unique flavor of research. Some are more academic vs industry. Some value agility over rigor. I want to know how my background is going to mesh with their flavor of UXR.

9. Can you give me an example of a project this role might do? Seriously what am I going to be doing? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten into a role and it wasn’t quite what I thought. Specific, vivid examples of the work reduce the risk of a nasty surprise.