Phone screens

Once you have some alignment on the product team context, you're prepared to start speaking to candidates on the phone or via video. Thirty minutes is generally the amount of time these screens require. My agenda is:

1. Introduction to me, the interviewer, including my role, how long I've been with the company, and my current location
2. Information about the role, the larger business, product, or team context, and the size of the organization
3. Role-specific questions informed by the rubric
4. 5 minutes minimum for any candidate questions or clarifications

Thirty minutes goes quickly, so this is an opportunity to assess the candidate's experience, verbal communication, and storytelling skills and ensure they match their goals. These go well when you can review each role-specific question and have preliminary data on their experience working in similar contexts.

Keeping in mind the massive power disparity and physiological stress response, I like to let candidates settle in with an icebreaker that is highly effective in setting the tone of the conversation:

"What, to you, is good design?"

I will usually dig deeper using whatever they answered with. For example, if they respond, "Good design is simple," I might ask why they feel like so many products are so complex. I will also ask for products or companies that exemplify their definition of good design to understand how they examine other products and designs.