Ask Adobe Design: How can applicants stand out when interviewing for design jobs?

Advice from design hiring managers about how to show up and present your work

Illustration by Eirian Chapman

"Often, candidates present their work as if they were solely responsible for a use case. It's as important to acknowledge who you worked with as it is to clarify your unique contribution. While it's okay to toot your own horn, it's also important to show how working with others has amplified your work.

"I ask about hardships they've faced to gauge their responses. I ask questions like, 'What's the worst mistake you've made at work?' or 'What's the hardest piece of feedback you've received?' If they don't explain how they tackled these challenges, I follow up with 'So what did you wind up doing about it?'

"Everyone faces challenges, it's how we grow. I'm not looking for perfection, I want to hear how they responded and what learning they took away. If an applicant can't provide examples, I question their willingness to take risks or learn from failures.

“It’s important to hear humility in responses. That’s not to say you can’t be proud of accomplishments—you should be proud of them—but I’m trying to understand whether this person has a sense of self-awareness, an ability to keep growing and learning, and how well they might navigate differences with colleagues. It's an early indicator of being able to see different points of view, keep a growth mindset, and build relationships.”

"Before the interview, start by researching the company, team, product updates, and the problem space. Thorough preparation will give you a better chance of understanding context, better prepare you to answer the team's questions, and help you start to formulate your own thoughts and opinions in an informed way. For example, you could use industry publications to read five recent articles about the company. Check their business status, stock trends, major releases, and public reactions. Look for patterns in their strategic direction.

"Ensure you understand the interview structure and schedule. Asking for details like who will be present, and what their roles are, is totally okay. Read through LinkedIn profiles to better understand the background of the folks you’d be working with.

"When interviewing candidates, I have a go-to question that always seems to elicit insightful responses: 'What makes you grumpy, and how will I know?' The answers often reveal a lot about personality, self-awareness, and work style.

"To be successful, we value buy-in from our cross functional partners and that’s true for interviews too. Across design, product, and engineering, we want someone we all enthusiastically support—a 'Hell yeah!' from everyone involved. And that enthusiasm should go both ways. The candidate should feel equally excited about working with us.”

“Start by explaining why your project is important: What specific benefits did it bring and who did it impact? I want to know the people your project is centered around and what you did to understand their needs. Then, I want to know how your work solved those needs. People-centric design solutions that solve real problems are 100 times more meaningful to me than aesthetics or shiny features.

“I want to know about your collaboration skills, especially if you've worked with engineers and product managers. I'm not just looking for rockstars, passionate collaborators who thrive on tackling big, challenging problems do well at Adobe. I want to hear specifics about how you've effectively worked with others, and how your contributions led to successful outcomes.

“I listen closely for strong storytelling abilities. These are as crucial as the quality of your thinking and work. Across companies like Adobe, Twitter, Meta and at every studio I’ve worked, good storytelling skills win the day. They help you to inspire, persuade, and lead effectively. Practice articulating the narrative arc of your projects. Be able to explain why your work was important: What dragons did you slay and what kingdoms did you save? Tell me a good story.”

“I often ask applicants to describe a significant event, learning opportunity, or mistake that shaped their career. It can help to understand how an experience contributed to their professional development and reveals insights into their self-awareness, adaptability, and capacity for growth.

“Talent is only a part of what it takes to be on a team. Working effectively at scale demands endurance akin to a long-distance runner's patience. I love candidates who stay grounded and acknowledge the collaborative efforts that contribute to success.

“During portfolio reviews, bring up the challenges you’ve faced. Describe how you identified and navigated these challenges, the decisions and trade-offs you made, and what lessons you’ll take into the future.”

“In our interconnected workplaces, we work on the base assumption that most projects are collaborative. This means it can be challenging to differentiate a team effort versus what the candidate brought to the project. It’s always helpful when a candidate makes this as clear as possible.

“Towards the latter part of an interview, I often ask candidates to share an area in their career where they haven't had much opportunity to shine or grow. I follow that up by asking them how they envision this role helping them to develop in that area.

“For an amazing candidate who I want to hire, this helps me begin preparing processes or projects that could help them grow in new ways. Chances are that their answer will highlight a place where our team can also improve—which in turn can remove barriers for the success of new candidates and for current members on the team. For example, if someone says that the bureaucracy-laden process at their old company felt suffocating, I can examine our team's processes and, once they've joined, I can ask for tactical feedback on how to make it suck less. Win-win.”

“I often ask applicants what motivates them. The question reveals their drive and aspirations and offers insights beyond their technical abilities. Understanding someone’s motivations helps highlight an applicant’s individuality.

“I highly appreciate an applicant’s sensitivity and their ability to read the room. I notice if they engage with the interview team, checking in when it is most convenient for them to ask questions, responding thoughtfully, and showing trustworthiness and compatibility with the team’s values. I’m also curious about an applicant’s reasons for wanting to join the company and sometimes pose questions about how Adobe could improve from their point of view.

“The storytelling starts with a professional and personal introduction to get a glimpse of the applicant outside of work. This part should seamlessly integrate with the transition to presenting their most important projects. Of course, we’re looking for team players and great collaborators, so I listen to how they describe and phrase the roles of themselves and their coworkers. Going the extra mile for a well-crafted and tasteful deck design always gets a sincere acknowledgement as I’m a designer at heart and aesthetics and project presentation matter. We all love beautiful typefaces, so I’d suggest spending extra time on the details of keeping their audience visually engaged and delighted—so they’ll be more memorable.”

“In your presentation, provide context about the problem space you tackled. I often see this left out in portfolio presentations. Setting this context upfront helps your audience understand the challenges you faced and why your solutions matter. Additionally, emphasize the impact of your work. Rather than just detailing tasks, highlight how your contributions led to meaningful outcomes. This reframing will not only make your achievements more compelling, it will also resonate with the interview panel.

“Always save time for questions at the end. If no one has any, it’s totally fair to ask more probing questions of your own like, ‘Was there anything that did not make sense?’ or ‘Is there any part you want more information or context around?’ You could also use extra time to ask the team questions about their work, goals, and culture. Part of how I evaluate a candidate is based on the questions they ask me about the role, team, and company. This is a two-way interview, you’re interviewing us just as much as we’re interviewing you.”

“Although I don't have a single go-to question for interviews, I learn a great deal about the applicant’s perspective and how they decide and act in certain situations by asking, ‘What would you do?’ type questions. I’m also always interested to know how candidates spend their free time outside of work and what makes them happy.

“When I’m hiring for a role, I want to see curiosity and genuine enthusiasm. I’m often looking for signs all throughout the conversation that the candidate is energized about the space, asking thoughtful questions to learn more, and demonstrating a strong desire to be part of the team.”

Ask Adobe Design is a recurring series that shows the range of perspectives and paths across our global design organization. In it we ask the talented, versatile members of our team about their craft and their careers.