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AMA: I'm Cap Watkins, Product Design Manager at Etsy

9 years ago from Cap Watkins, VP of Design @ BuzzFeed

  • Cap WatkinsCap Watkins, 9 years ago

    Hi Tarun,

    All the product design roles at Etsy are end-to-end (UX, Visual, Front-End). Fortunately, we're at a size now (27) where we can hire folks who are stronger in a couple areas, but not as experienced or confident in others and pair them with a good design counterpart.

    Even then, though, the designers here are expected to contribute and grow in all areas of the product dev process. So if a design candidate comes through and says "I can't code, and I don't want to learn," that's a totally legitimate point of view, but not one that matches up with our hiring criteria.

    As far as specific roles, it kind of depends. When we have a lot of roles open, I'm a bit less targeted in my recruiting efforts (since someone could fit into any number of roles). But as it whittles down throughout the year, I start to get a little more specific. It's all pretty fungible depending on the team, role, etc.

    2 points
    • Victor TranVictor Tran, 9 years ago

      Nice answer. Thank you!

      How do you extend this approach to hiring more junior designers who have had less time to master each or all of the skill-sets? Or do they stand no chance? haha.

      0 points
      • Cap WatkinsCap Watkins, 9 years ago

        We have rubrics for each level and we hire designers accordingly. The junior designers' rubric isn't as stringent as the levels above it. If we're hiring a junior role, junior designers definitely stand a chance.

        1 point