How to Prepare for a Google UX Researcher Interview

Google has a simple rule, “Focus on the user, and all else will follow.” And this is exactly what UX researchers help them in achieving. In the UX researcher Google interview, your abilities to do this will be tested through a pretty long process. So brace yourself accordingly.

What you can expect, what type of questions you need to prepare for, and what skills you need to have — we’ve put together everything you’ll need to crack the Google UX researcher interview. 

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In this article, we’ll be covering:

• What Does a Google UX Researcher Do?
• Responsibilities of a Google UX Researcher
• Skills Needed to Become a UX Researcher at Google
• UX Researcher Google Interview Process
• Google UX Research Interview Questions
• FAQs on UX Researcher Google Interview

What Does a Google UX Researcher Do?

Google’s User Experience Department consists of multi-disciplinary teams such as UX designers, researchers, writers, program managers, content strategists, and engineers. It plays a crucial role in putting together information and getting insights into the users' needs.

Everyone works together closely and collaborates with engineering and product management to build the best products in the industry. These are just the things that drive users to Google and its businesses. 

Now, the role of a UX researcher in the company is pretty diverse. You’ll be assisting your team of fellow researchers, product managers, and engineers in determining and gauging what exactly it is that the users need. You’ll be playing a critical role in coming up with useful and usable products.

You’ll also collaborate with stakeholders across various levels and functions in the organization and have a say in the different stages of product development. By studying user behaviors, needs, and motivations through practical research, you’ll effectively contribute to the team.

Responsibilities of a Google UX Researcher

Before going in for the UX researcher Google interview, you’ll need to be absolutely clear about the responsibilities that come with the job. The primary ones have been given below:

• Researching on your own on the different aspects of products and experiences.
• Gathering and studying user behavior with the help of lab studies, field visits, surveys, studies, server logs, online experiments (A/B testing), and so on.
• Collaborating with designers, product managers, engineers, and other UX researchers to work on the opportunities that are on priority.
• Understanding complex technical and business requirements that are needed and incorporating them.  
• Voicing valuable research findings to diverse audiences with the help of written reports and physical presentations.

Qualificaitons and Skills Needed to Become a UX Researcher at Google

As you prepare for the UX researcher Google interview, ensure that you have the following qualifications as well as skills:

• A bachelor’s in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field or equivalent experience.
• Familiar with research design with the help of different methods like usability studies, contextual inquiry, and surveys (but not limited to just these).
• Applicable product research experience in an end-to-end, usability setting or a generative one.

Some preferred qualifications and skills (according to the level at which you’re applying):

• A master’s degree or a Ph.D. in an equivalent field.
• 8 years of experience in User Experience, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), applied research setting, and/or product research and development.
• Familiarity with different product spaces, applied research, and/or academic settings.
• Excellent verbal skills to effectively communicate user research findings to cross-functional partners to make an impact.
• Good understanding of the pros and cons of the different research methods, such as when and how to use them in the product development process.

UX Researcher Google Interview Process

As is the case with most major tech companies, the interview process is pretty complex and drawn out. It might be spread out over a few weeks or even a couple of months. Going into the UX researcher Google interview, you can expect:

1. Phone Screen With the Recruiter

The main purpose of this round is to determine what you’re looking for at this particular point in your career. The recruiter will ask you whether you’re interested in specific kinds of research, specific products, or if there’s a particular region you want to work in. If all goes well, you’ll be notified that you’ve made it to the next round.

2. Technical Phone Interview

Either a UXR or hiring manager will take this interview. Your research skills, as well as expertise, will be tested here. So be prepared for questions such as, “tell me a time when x happened” or “Elaborate upon a time when you did x.” The main purpose of this round is to determine whether you’re good enough to be brought in for the on-site interviews round. 

3. On-site Round 

Even reaching this round is considered quite a feat when it comes to Google. This is the crux of the entire process and to reach here is no easy thing to do. Your day will start with a research presentation followed by a number of one-on-one interviews with different employees. Here, you’ll also be given the opportunity to have lunch with an employee. This may or may not be a part of the actual interview process.

The on-site part of the UX researcher Google interview process will most probably take up your entire day. So ensure that you have a good breakfast before going into the interview. Also, a fun fact about Google is that none of the people who’ll be interviewing you will make the final call.

Not the hiring manager or any of the other interviewers. The final decision of whether you’ll become a part of the company will be made by the hiring committees consisting of senior Googlers. 

Google UX Research Interview Questions

Some questions you can expect in the UX researcher Google interview are:

1. What is the p-value?
2. If eye-tracking is done on a cross-eyed participant, but the calibration isn’t successful. What will you do?
3. Given three different UIs, you have to figure out which one is the best. How do you proceed?
4. Given two products, the users need to be asked which one they prefer more. How will you do that?
5. What is meant by the weaknesses of personas? How to overcome these weaknesses?
6. If you’re asked to pick out 10 UX issues in your favorite app, how will you go about it?
7. Tell me about the different kinds of people (job types) you interact with in your everyday life.
8. Design a study for an in-vehicle phone keypad
9. How do you decide on a metric for engagement?
10. Differentiate between a persona and a market segment.
11. How would you design an engagement metric for a job website?
12. Describe the process you’d use to carry out a user experiment centered around using email. Further, what would you do to secure the user’s content if they used their personal email for the experiment?
13. According to you, which is your best skills as a UX researcher? What would you advise someone trying to learn this skill?
14. How will you do user interviews if you are testing a particular interaction?
15. Assume a team of engineers wants to understand why some users aren’t engaging with a specific feature. They carry out a survey that includes five yes or no questions and another question that can be answered using [a] text box. What are your thoughts on this plan?

FAQs on UX Researcher Google Interview

Q1. How much do UX researchers make at Google?

On average, a Google UX researcher makes $139,508 per year, which is 10% more than the national average. 

Q2. How to prepare for a UX researcher Google interview?

Be up-to-date with the latest UX trends and have ample knowledge of the different Google products and their user-base. Further, research the kind of Google UX research interview questions you can expect and prepare accordingly. 

Q3. Which degree is required to become a UX researcher?

Having a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Sociology, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field is required to become a UX researcher. So even if you don’t have a degree in a UX-related field, it isn’t an issue.

Q4. What are some Google UX research interview questions?

Some important questions are: What is the most challenging part of your research projects? How would you improve the user experience of your favorite website? Tell me about the most challenging problem you had to solve and how did you solve it? Pitch a new product and how you would research it.

Q5. Is UX researcher a good career choice?

If you’re someone who has a curious mind and likes to learn about things in-depth, being a UX researcher might just be the perfect job for you. Further, it’s an in-demand job in a trendy industry.

We Can Help You Crack the UX Researcher Google Interview

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