Meta UX Researcher Interview Guide

Interview Guide 08 Aug 2024

Detailed, specific guidance on the Meta UX Researcher interview process - with a breakdown of different stages and interview questions asked at each stage

The role of a Meta UX Researcher

UX researchers conduct systematic research on target users in order to collect and analyze data that proves to be an aid in the product design process. A UX researcher is typically involved in two forms of research: qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative study is concerned with numbers and statistics. In terms of usability, this could imply determining how long it takes an average user to complete a task, what percentage of users finish the task successfully, and how many problems or bugs they encounter along the route.

Non-numerical insights, such as why consumers struggled to complete a task or how they felt while using a product, are investigated in qualitative research. If quantitative research tells us "what," qualitative research tells us "why."

Meta's user experience (UX) researchers attempt to intimately understand and improve the experiences of the over 2.4 billion individuals who use Meta every month across the world. The following guide will take you through the process of interviewing at Meta for the role of a UX Researcher. For similar roles, explore the Google UX Researcher and Atlassian UX Researcher guides.

Meta UX Researcher Interview Guide

The interview process unfolds like any other interview. Once you have applied for the job via Meta’s careers page or via a recruiter or using Linkedin. The stages for the interview are:

  • Application
  • Call with a recruiter
  • Telephonic interview/s
  • Presentation of a research plan
  • Onsite interviews

Please keep in mind that you will only be eligible for these steps if your application is shortlisted for further verification by the recruiter. Throughout the process, you will keep in touch with the recruiter.

We've got the same guide also available to watch as a short video if you prefer consuming content that way.

Meta UX Researcher - Application

To begin, apply online through Meta's careers page, LinkedIn, or a referral. Assemble a professional design portfolio that reflects your experience and demonstrates your passion for what you do. To apply through Meta's career page, upload your résumé or share your LinkedIn profile with their recruiting team. 

After you have submitted all of the relevant information and documentation, you will receive an email informing you if your application is shortlisted or not. If it is, a recruiter will call you within a week.

Relevant Guides

Meta UX Researcher : Recruiter Phone Screen

Overview

The procedure begins with a casual phone call with a recruiter. He's there to find out what you're interested in and what you're good at. They are well prepared to select individuals with the desired skill set (quantity, quality, mixed approaches, etc.) because the research manager has already advised them of this.

The interviewer will go about asking questions based on your resume and cv and try to get a catch of your previous work. The interview may take up to 30 mins.

What the interviewer will assess

  • If you know what responsibilities you are applying for.
  • Your previous experience.
  • How good you are with customer’s needs.
  • Your successful projects in the past.

Tips

  • The first and most important thing you should do is list all of your accomplishments. This interviewer must ensure that you are a qualified candidate and are not wasting anyone's time.
  • Make no attempt to blend in. Especially if you are a beginner. Most interviewers seek and value genuineness. Instead of attempting to fit into a frame, be yourself and you'll have a higher chance of progressing to the next round.

Interview Questions

  • How well equipped do you think you are for this role?
  • Have you worked for customers before? What do you think is the main metric to keep in mind?
  • Why do you want to move on with your current job?
  • What is the difference between a UX designer and a UX researcher?
  • Have you ever led a project in the past?

Not sure if your resume is strong enough? Send it to a recruiter from your target company!

Resume Review

Meta UX Researcher : Initial Screen

Overview

You are scheduled for a phone interview based on your initial screening. The phone interview will be a video call in which an interviewer will lead you through a sample problem. There will be no correct answers, only an attempt to learn how you think about the strict limitations in an issue and come up with a solution. This is usually a very collaborative process, with the interviewer asking questions to guide you a little.

Along the way, the interview may include certain technical and behavioral questions to assess your core knowledge and innovative side. It can last up to 45 minutes.

What the interviewer will assess

  • Your ability to come up with potential ideas.
  • Your problem-solving skills.
  • Your approach towards major issues.
  • The feasibility of your ideas.

Tips

  • This sample problem could be one of the challenges that the company or other competitors are dealing with. Therefore, make sure to come up with concepts that are practical and attainable, rather than something that is extremely difficult to achieve.
  • Before beginning the actual interview, attempt to practice with some sample questions to get a taste for problem-solving.

Interview Questions

  • Assume you're utilizing eye-tracking on a participant who has crossed his or her eyes and the calibration isn't working. What are you going to do?
  • Assume a group of developers wants to know why some users aren't engaging with a particular push function. They intend to conduct a survey that will include six yes/no questions and one question that will be answered via a text box. What do you think you'd say to them about their plan?
  • What would you ask users if you had two goods and only had one question to determine which they preferred?
  • What is your strongest skill as a UX researcher, and what advice would you provide to someone attempting to learn it?
  • What types of people do you regularly interact with?
  • Assume you make a usability proposal, and the engineers respond, "All of the usage data we have from millions of individuals suggests it is not an issue." What would your reaction be?

Meta UX Researcher : Research Plan Presentation

This is a round in which you will be needed to create a research plan and strategy, for which you will be provided ample time. On the day of the onsite interviews, this study will be discussed with 4–5 researchers, followed by 1:1 interviews with the people in the presentation, including research exercises.

This is an opportunity to put your research skills and capacities to the test, as well as your ability to construct a well-thought-out plan. As Meta is more interested in research skills and data, make sure to give it your all. Some sample prompts are:

  • Choose a challenge that you believe Meta will confront in the near future. Make a research plan outlining how you want to approach the problem.
  • Define a critical UX issue in Meta's products. Make a research strategy outlining how you intend to handle the problem.
  • You are collaborating with two company founders to create a music product for college students. You have only one week. How would you structure the research? What if you had endless time?
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Meta UX Researcher : Onsite Round

Overview

The final round is onsite, where you will and present some of your previous work. The recruiter will provide detailed information about this well in advance. The folks who attend your presentation will be the same people who will interview you throughout the day. They will be given a pre-set coordinated list of questions that will cover many facets of what it means to be a successful researcher at Meta. You will be asked several skill questions that begin with a few assumptions and require you to develop a research strategy to test those assumptions.

Some interviews will also probe your stakeholder management abilities and ask behavioral questions about things you've done in the past that serve as examples of particular qualities. Be sure to check out our guides for Meta Quantitative UX Researcher, Expedia UX Designer and Amazon UX Researcher for further preparation.

What the interviewer will assess

  • Research capabilities & skills
  • Collaboration and communication
  • Your research about the firm
  • How you add value to the UX research team
  • Whether you can work out of your specialization when required

Tips

  • Be prepared to answer "why" questions. Prepare to describe your decision-making process as thoroughly as possible without being defended.
  • Researchers and interviewees alike are ecstatic to see the results make an impact on the product. Attempt to specify the impact at various levels: detailed design, product directions, and the stakeholders who will be impacted.
  • Keep your leadership abilities in the spotlight. When asked if you can work with cross-functional teams and lead a team, make sure to show complete confidence.

Interview Questions

  • Describe a recent discovery research study you did that resulted in a large amount of data. How did you analyze the data, and how did you come up with insights and recommendations to improve the team?
  • How do you deal with circumstances in which individuals are doubtful of the value of your research, for example, when they challenge your sample size?
  • What is the difference, in your opinion, between research on healthcare items and research on ordinary consumer products?
  • Based on user feedback, your project manager determines that the default cell size in Excel is too tiny. What method would you take to the conclusion and related requests?
  • How would you approach research in order to adapt the product on a mobile platform?
  • We have a subscription growth issue. How would you go about researching it?
  • What was an amazing discovery or insight you gained from a recent project?
  • Any instances where you were unsuccessful in resolving a conflict?
  • As a researcher, who do you primarily collaborate with? What is the team's size?
  • How can research be applied to design? Give an example.
  • Assume you have three distinct UIs and want to know which one is the best. What would you do in this situation?
  • What are the flaws of personas? How do you overcome those flaws?
  • Consider an app that you enjoy using. Assume the product manager asks you to identify the top ten UX issues. How would you approach this?
  • How would you create a prototype for an in-vehicle phone keypad?
  • How do you know when a project is complete?
  • How would you go about conducting a user trial focused on email? And how would you safeguard a user's data if they opted to utilize their own email address during the experiment?
  • How do you tell whether your research was successful?

If you are selected or granted a 'yes' by the majority of interviewers after the onsite interview, you will be contacted by the recruiter within 4 to 5 business days to discuss your package. Best wishes!

Frequently Asked Questions