August 14, 20256 min read

🎤 5 tips to crush it in a UX/UI interview · The Bunker #133

It’s been a while since my last newsletter.

I was taking a little break, but we’re back ☕👋.

And a lot has happened lately:

Joined Factorial.
🏠 Bought my first property.
Turned 24 🎂.
Released Koala UI for Mobile → koalaui.com/mobile.

But today’s newsletter isn’t about houses or birthdays (although I could write a whole post about IKEA trips).

No joke, I was at IKEA last week. I guess it’s just part of this new adult life 🤣.

It’s about my new job, and what I learned from going through the interview process.

The interview mindset that works

Interviews aren’t a mystery.

Yes, they can be intimidating, but on the other side of the screen, there’s just another human being.

The most important advice I can give you is don’t overthink it.

Show them who you really are.

The person who’s going to work with you isn’t hiring a perfect résumé they’re hiring a real human they can trust. I can tell you this first-hand: once you join the professional world, you realize how hard it is to find good people.

For me, everything I’ve built with Koala UI was enough to convince them. And it’s not because Koala UI is the best thing ever, I was just being honest. I simply explained my day-to-day work, my process, and my way of thinking.

Obviously, these can’t just be words, you also need to reflect this in the practical test.

Practical tips to ace the interview

Talk about impact, not just tasks: Don’t just say “I designed components.” Say “I designed a scalable component library that reduced dev time by 30%.”
Tell stories: People remember stories, not bullet points from your CV. I remember telling them a joke or a funny story that happened to me the previous weekend. Yes, they probably don’t care about your personal life, but they’re people, and they’ll empathize.

In fact, many are looking for top designers who are also good people, fun, easy to work with, and team players.
Show your work: Bring a portfolio, screenshots, or even a quick Figma walk-through. They might not ask for it, but in my case, they did, I had to bring my best work and do a quick walk-through. That’s where everything shows.
Avoid negative talk: Never badmouth past employers or clients, even if they deserved it. Otherwise, they might think, “Oh, you’ll say this about us too?” Try to find the good in the bad experiences you’ve had.

If you were treated poorly, be thankful for having gone through it, now you know where you don’t belong.
Ask questions: Interviews are two-way. Show curiosity about their process, tools, and challenges. You might think you’re the one being interviewed and should just answer quietly, but that’s not entirely true. Asking questions shows genuine interest.

Companies want to hire people who actually care about their work. You can apply this to your daily work too, you’re not “annoying” for asking, you’re showing that you care about doing a good job.
Avoid “I think” words: I say this as someone who used to be guilty of it, “I think” is an excuse not to give a firm opinion.

Even when you’re sure, you say “I think” just in case you’re wrong. But it creates doubt. Be firm and confident: “This is how it is.” Show personality. Companies want to hire confident people who won’t waste their time and know what they’re talking about. Too many “I think” statements make it sound like you don’t.

The selection exercise

If the process includes a practical exercise, here’s my approach:

I know you might not agree with this, but it’s part of the process and the reality, many companies ask for a practical test. It’s normal, it shows someone’s ability to prioritize.

Read the instructions twice before starting. It’s easy to deliver something they didn’t actually ask for.
Ask clarifying questions if something is vague.
Plan before you design: A few minutes of planning can save hours of rework. If I’ve learned anything lately, it’s that it’s more important to spend 4 hours sharpening the axe than cutting down the tree.
Keep it simple: Show clarity of thought, not how many Dribbble shots you can fit in.
Explain your decisions: In interviews, the why is often more important than the what. Sometimes the what can’t be done in an 8-hour task, but a strong why can still convince people. The what we can figure out later.
Show what you know: This is where everything is decided. It doesn’t matter what you said earlier in the process, here’s where they’ll really see:
1. Your decision-making skills.
2. Your ability to present and explain those decisions.
3. Your ability to prioritize tasks. You usually have little time to solve something relatively complex, and they want to see how you prioritize and why.

So,

Getting the job isn’t about memorizing the perfect answer, it’s about showing that you’ve put in the work, that you can think clearly, and that you care about what you do.

See you next week ✌️

Jordi.

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