In this article, I want to share my internship application process with Dropbox.
For context, even though I got into the final round, my interviews were canceled since I realized the times I suggested were after Dropboxās recruiting period.
I mean - I was in Japan with my family. And I did not want to do interviews in Japan.
Anyhow, I hope sharing my process may help whoever is interested in applying to Dropbox in the future.
After I submitted my application, I chatted with a past Dropbox design intern,Ā KT Son. We had a great conversation, and I learned a lot about whatās it like to design at Dropbox!
Then, I received an email from the recruiter.
Later I realized that KT dropped my name to the recruiter! Iām extremely grateful for her doing so. You never really know where a good conversation can lead to!
At the beginning of December, I hopped on a call with the Dropbox recruiter.
I created an interview prep document with potential questions that may be asked. Then, I wrote out bullet points for the main questions:
In addition, I looked over multiple resources about Dropbox. Here are the ones I looked over:
And based on the research, I wrote and asked some questions to the recruiter at the end.
At the end of the interview, the recruiter told me that I will be moving on to the next round!
After a week, I hopped on a 45 min call with a hiring manager to go over my portfolio.
Dropbox specified that I did not need to prepare for a presentation. So I focused more on the flow of going over my portfolio. I practiced a few times to make sure everything sounds smooth.
In addition, I did my due diligence on the hiring manager and asked specific questions.
One of the questions I got asked was:
Whatās a specific challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?
In general, this is a good question to prep for every interview.
Letās step into the hiring managerās shoes for a second.
Listening to one talk straight for 30 minutes can beā¦draining.
So, in your next portfolio walkthrough, try this: After a major section of your project, pause and ask:
Do you have any quick questions/confusions I can answer now?
This can give the hiring manager a breather.
After a few weeks, I received an email from the recruiter that I will be moving on to the final round!
Context: As I mentioned, my final round of interviews was canceled. Thus, in this section, I will only be sharing the structure of Dropboxās final round of interviews.
This is a direct snippet from the email from the recruiter:
Part of your interview will be a Portfolio Presentation. We'd like to get a feel for your work and your process. Consider showcasing two projects in depth. Be sure to start with a summary of who you are as a designer. Start with a few slides about your background. Showcase two projects from start to finish (walk us through the problem definition, user research, sketches, wireframes, prototypes, and visual design)
Weāre interested in hearing about your design process and how you generated the final solution. Donāt be afraid to show rough sketches or designs that were not selected. Weād like to understand how you make decisions and see any iterations you tried, the trade-offs of each one, where you landed, and why.
Sample questions you might be asked:
I assume that the hiring manager from the portfolio presentation will ask more specific questions. So definitely be prepared to answer follow-up questions about your project.
Iāve heard that this round is extremely casual. The point is for me to ask any questions I want about Dropbox Design and learn more about the internship.
Unfortunately, because the time didnāt work out, my final round of interviews was canceled. Itās not a great feeling, but I also completely understand Dropboxās situation. Iām thankful for the recruiters, hiring managers, and past design interns along the way.
If youāre applying in the future, I wish you the best of luck, and I'm always down to chat!
Thank you for being awesome and reading this far! :)
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out onĀ LinkedIn,Ā Twitter, or byĀ email. Will love to set up a casual call and chat!
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