“What’s your approach to product design?”
That one question has crushed more UX interviews than bad portfolios ever will.
→ Because most candidates jump straight to solutions
→ Or talk vaguely about empathy and personas
→ Or ramble without structure, clarity, or a story arc
It’s like walking into a kitchen and throwing random ingredients together.
There’s no recipe. No rhythm. No taste.
That’s why I teach the CIRCLES Method.
Not mine, originally. But the way I teach it? That’s evolved from coaching 100+ designers into six-figure offers.
It gives your interview answers structure.
→ C = Comprehend the situation
→ I = Identify the customer
→ R = Report the customer’s needs
→ C = Cut through prioritization
→ L = List solutions
→ E = Evaluate tradeoffs
→ S = Summarize recommendations
Each letter is a beat in your story.
Each step prevents premature ideation.
Think of it like a spine.
Without it, your ideas collapse.
Let me show you why this works:
Most UXers can solve problems.
But they struggle to communicate how they think.
The CIRCLES method forces you to:
→ Ask questions first
→ Understand context
→ Prioritize impact
→ Frame tradeoffs like a PM
→ Wrap it all up with clarity and conviction
In short, it makes you sound like a designer who gets the business.
Not just the user.
Want to really impress your next interviewer?
Don’t solve the problem.
Structure it first.
And let them watch you think.
Reply back to this email — how do you structure your interview answers? Just 1–3 words is perfect.
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