The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Google (San Francisco, CA)
Interview
Applied through the career website, recruiters arranged for the first round 60min portfolio presentation interview with a current visual designer at google. The interviewer late for 5 min asked questions about 15min before the presentation and told me that I still have 45min to present. During presentation she stopped me and asked many questions, which was totally normal and I was happy to answer. However she initially told me that I have 45min but after 20 min she said I only have 5 more min and ended the interview 10min early. She even confirmed that she didn’t even looked at my portfolio prior to the interview not even my resume. She was not into the interview at all.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when things didn’t go as you planned
I applied online. I interviewed at Google (London, England) in Dec 2025
Interview
The interview process started with an initial conversation with a Google recruiter, and then an interview with a Creative Director based in the US.
My first impression of the recruiter was very positive. She was very professional, responsive, and seemed genuinely engaged in the process. Communication was very clear.
However, the role was advertised as a visual designer position,
during the interviews, both the recruiter and the Creative Director emphasised that this was a junior position. During the interviews it felt like the expectations were closer to a mid-senior level designer. The scope of the work, the depth of experience discussed, and the portfolio expectations all suggested they were looking for someone more experienced than a typical junior candidate.
This mismatch between the level of responsibility and the compensation range was a bit surprising. It felt like the company was hoping to find mid-level or senior capability while offering a salary aligned with a junior position????
Overall, the people I interacted with were professional and the process was structured, but there seemed to be some inconsistency between the job title, expectations, and compensation level.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Google in Jul 2025
Interview
I was interviewed by UX lead. Very positive and friendly experience. Whole process took 3 months, based on my experience I was hoping for the final round but it didn't go as planned.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain Design system.
What would you do if you were a CD & your approach.