Hiring great designers is one of the hardest challenges in UX leadership. On paper, a candidate might check all the boxes—solid portfolio, impressive resume, glowing references—but once they’re in the seat, things don’t always work out. Why? Because most design hiring processes are broken in ways that set both the company and the candidate up for failure.
Here’s what’s going wrong—and how to fix it.
1. Prioritizing Portfolios Over Thinking
A stunning portfolio is great, but it doesn’t tell you how a designer thinks. Too many hiring teams over-index on polished visuals without understanding the problem-solving process behind the work.
Fix: Prioritize case studies that show a candidate’s reasoning, constraints, trade-offs, and impact. In interviews, have them walk through a past project and focus on why they made certain choices—not just what they made.
2. Ignoring Team Fit and Collaboration
A designer doesn’t work in a vacuum. If they can’t collaborate effectively with PMs, engineers, researchers, and stakeholders, their work won’t drive impact—no matter how good they are individually.
Fix: Assess collaboration and communication skills. Ask about past experiences working cross-functionally. Consider a time-boxed working session where they solve a problem with your team to see their real-world approach. This does not mean give them a take-home assignment.
3. Overvaluing “Culture Fit” (and Under-Valuing “Culture Add”)
Many hiring managers unconsciously look for designers who feel familiar—people who match the existing team’s style, background, or personality. This leads to homogeneity and missed opportunities to strengthen the team’s perspective.
Fix: Instead of “culture fit,” assess what a candidate adds to the team. Do they bring a different way of thinking? A new skill set? A perspective your team lacks? These are strengths, not risks.
4. Testing for the Wrong Skills
Whiteboard challenges and design exercises can be useful—but only if they reflect the actual work the designer will be doing. Too often, hiring processes rely on hypothetical exercises that reward speed and confidence over depth and critical thinking.
Fix: Design exercises should be relevant to the role. If the job involves deep systems thinking, test for that. If it’s about rapid iteration, structure the challenge accordingly. Avoid unnecessary stress tests that don’t map to real work.
5. Lack of Clear Expectations for the Role
If you ask five different people on the hiring panel what they’re looking for in a designer, you’ll often get five different answers. Without alignment, you end up with an inconsistent and unclear hiring process.
Fix: Define success before you start hiring. What problems will this designer be expected to solve? What skills matter most? What will they be measured on? Get clear internally before assessing candidates. Each interviewer should be assessing specific skills of the candidate.
6. Not Selling the Role and Team
Great designers have options. If your interview process is all about evaluating them but not showing them why your team is a great place to work, they’ll go elsewhere.
Fix: Hiring is a two-way street. Be intentional about showing what makes your team unique, the kind of work they’ll be doing, and the impact they can have. Make sure they leave excited about the opportunity.
7. Relying Too Much on Gut Feel
Hiring based on “I have a good feeling about this person” is a fast track to bias-driven hiring mistakes. Your gut might be useful, but it shouldn’t be the primary decision-making factor.
Fix: Use structured interviews with defined criteria. Make sure every interviewer evaluates candidates against the same key skills and qualities. Balance intuition with evidence.
8. Failing to Provide a Good Candidate Experience
A messy or disorganized hiring process can drive away top talent. Long delays, unclear expectations, or lack of feedback all create a negative impression—and the best candidates won’t wait around.
Fix: Make sure your hiring process is well-structured, timely, and respectful of candidates’ time. Even if they’re not the right fit, leave them with a positive experience of your company.
9. Neglecting Onboarding and Growth
Hiring a designer is just the beginning. If they’re left to sink or swim with no support, they won’t reach their full potential—or worse, they’ll leave.
Fix: Have a clear onboarding plan that sets them up for success. Assign mentors, set early goals, and provide growth opportunities. Great designers stay where they feel supported and challenged.
Final Thoughts
Hiring the right designers isn’t about luck—it’s about having a process that identifies not just great designers, but the right designers for your team. You design team makeup should reflect your user base to ensure the types of solutions delivered are the types of solutions needed. By focusing on problem-solving, collaboration, structured evaluation, and a great candidate experience, you’ll build a stronger, more effective design team.
What’s been the biggest challenge in your design hiring process? Let’s discuss.