One of the most confusing and disappointing interviews I’ve had. Through mutual connections, I learned that BI Group was opening a Senior Product Designer position. Initially, I sent my CV through the contact I had, but I also decided to reach out directly to the Head of Design on LinkedIn and shared my portfolio and CV with him. I have extensive experience in cybersecurity products, which I specifically mentioned because I believed it could be relevant for the company. The Head of Design replied that my experience looked relevant and invited me to an interview. During the meeting, he was joined by an Art Director or another representative of the design team (I don’t remember the exact role). I came well prepared for the interview: I had a short presentation about myself, explained my working process, and walked them through one of my recent projects in detail. The interview itself felt quite standard — a few questions, discussion about my experience, nothing unusual. At that moment, it seemed like a strong match on paper: I have relevant domain experience and a solid understanding of UX and product design processes. However, about a week later, when I asked for feedback, I was told: “Thank you, but you are not a fit — we are looking for a designer with stronger UI skills.” This response honestly surprised me. It gave me the impression that neither the Head of Design nor the Art Director had actually opened my portfolio. My portfolio contains detailed explanations, numerous interface screenshots, and clear examples of my UI work. A quick look would have been enough to determine whether my UI level matched their expectations. At least when I interview designers myself, reviewing the portfolio is always the very first step before scheduling a meeting. As a result, it feels like the interview was arranged without properly reviewing the candidate’s materials beforehand. We ended up spending time on a meeting that could have been avoided if the portfolio had simply been checked in advance. It is also somewhat surprising to hear the argument about “strong UI” when discussing a typical B2B product built on top of a design system, where there is usually limited room for decorative UI work. Overall, the experience left me with the impression that my portfolio was not properly reviewed and that both my time and the team’s time were wasted.