I applied through an acquaintance who introduced me and submitted my resume to their recruiter. I visited their office and learned a lot about the company from the acquaintance before any interviews.

I was also interviewed for another position, for which I was declined.

I skipped the first round, which was a phone interview with the recruiter, because I had already completed one for the other position.

Second Round: Phone Interview with 2 Designers

After the first round, I was instructed to come up with two actionable ideas to improve their mobile apps. We went over those ideas and why I would change them. They also asked me about my project experience.

Third Round: In-Person Interview

This involved interviews with Booking.com designers and the recruiter. If you were outside of Amsterdam, they would provide a plane ticket and hotel. As I was already in Amsterdam, I missed out on this benefit.

• First In-Person Interview (Recruiter): The first part of the in-person interview was meeting the recruiter. They explained the relocation package to Amsterdam, benefits, and holidays. It was not really an interview, but I was given time to ask more questions and state my salary expectations. This lasted about 30 minutes.

• Second In-Person Interview (2 Designers): This interview focused on understanding how I design and my past mobile app designs, as well as my suggestions for their mobile apps.

  • Questions Asked:
    • What if someone says we should redesign our Android app to adapt Google Material Design?
    • How would you design this iOS app (one of my past projects) so it looks more native?
    • How would you redesign the room selection page on mobile for this particular hotel, which has the most room options on Booking?

• Third In-Person Interview (2 Designers - Design Challenge): Two designers presented a design challenge. They pretended to be a multinational restaurant chain wanting to improve their business with technology due to customer complaints about waiting times.

  • Discussion Points: They asked about the screen flows in my design. If I were the CEO, what would I do to generate more revenue, what things would I measure and why, and how would I roll out the changes.

  • Interaction Note: I was told I could ask them questions as if they were the owners of the restaurants. However, during the design exercise, I felt the interviewers had a specific solution in mind and wanted me to arrive at it, rather than collaborating with them (as owners) to reach the end goal.

The whole in-person interview lasted 4 hours. They provided pens and paper for drawing, and I was encouraged to use them. Between the interviews, they offered coffee, fruits, or energy bars, which was a nice gesture.

Feedback:

Their feedback was that they were impressed with my visual design skills and that I was prepared for the interview. However, they were looking for someone with stronger knowledge in iOS (as I was more experienced in Android). They also felt I needed guidance during the design challenge.

Overall, it was a good interview experience. They were flexible in scheduling the in-person interview right away, even though I had a flight out of Amsterdam before they contacted me.

What if someone suggests we should redesign our Android app to adapt Google Material Design?

How could we, as a multinational restaurant chain, spice up our business with technology?