Why pre-screen email designers before the portfolio review
Email is the one medium where the code is twenty years behind the web and every client renders it differently. A design that looks perfect in a preview can collapse in one desktop client and clip in another. Designers worth hiring build and test their own markup. A short screen asks what broke in a specific client and how they fixed it.
What actually matters when screening Email Designer candidates
- 01
Portfolio
Ask for live campaign examples: lifecycle flows, promotional blasts, newsletters. Look for before and after templates, brands worked on, and click-through or conversion lifts they can attribute.
- 02
Craft and rationale
Probe how they build: Figma to MJML or hand-coded table layouts, hybrid responsive techniques, dark mode handling, Outlook Word rendering engine quirks, and alt text plus semantic accessibility.
- 03
Feedback and iteration
Test how they respond to Litmus or Email on Acid failures, brand team notes and A/B test losses. Ask about a design they revised after subscriber data contradicted it.
- 04
Working with the brief
Assess intake with lifecycle marketers and merchandisers: campaign calendars, modular template systems, asset deadlines, and how they handle late copy or shifting promo dates.
Pre-screening questions to ask Email Designer candidates
12 questions grouped by what they test. Ask the same set in every screen and score answers on a consistent scale, or send them as an async video screen and compare answers side by side.
Campaigns at volume
3 questions01Tell us about your experience designing email, and who you did it for.
Listen forClients or brands named with the type of programme, and how long they have been doing it.
Email work described as occasional, or experience limited to a template builder.
02How many emails do you typically design in a week?
Listen forA realistic throughput that matches the role, with an understanding of what slows production.
Volume claimed that could not include testing, or no sense of their own throughput.
03What is your favourite and least favourite campaign you have designed?
Listen forSelf-criticism in the second answer, with a clear reason the work did not meet the brief.
No campaign they are unhappy with, or the failure blamed entirely on the client.
Builds the markup
4 questions04Are you comfortable with the markup and styling used in email?
Listen forTable-based layout and inline styling handled confidently, with client quirks known from experience.
Reliance on a visual builder alone, or an inability to fix markup when it breaks.
05Can you explain your process for creating responsive email designs?
Listen forLayouts that hold without media query support, since several clients ignore them entirely.
Responsiveness assumed from media queries, or single column fallback not designed.
06Can you describe your experience with mobile-first email design?
Listen forDesigned for a phone first with tap targets, font sizes and message order all considered.
Desktop layouts scaled down, or small text and tight tap targets shipped regularly.
07Which email design and sending tools are you proficient in?
Listen forPlatforms used end to end including building, testing and scheduling, not design alone.
Tools named without hands-on sending, or handover required for every deployment.
Tested across clients
2 questions08Can you describe your experience with testing variants in email?
Listen forTests run on one variable at a time, with results interpreted against sample size properly.
Multiple changes tested at once, or winners declared on tiny differences.
09Do you have experience designing for automated email programmes?
Listen forTemplates built for reuse across triggered sends, with dynamic content handled cleanly.
Every email built from scratch, or dynamic content breaking layouts when it varies.
Results feed back
3 questions10How were you briefed, and how did you start a design from a brief?
Listen forObjective and audience established first, with the message hierarchy decided before layout.
Design started from a template, or briefs accepted without clarifying the objective.
11How do you handle feedback and revisions?
Listen forRevisions consolidated with a version everyone works from, and a cut-off before build.
Changes accepted right up to send, or conflicting feedback applied without resolution.
12How do you keep email design consistent with a brand's identity?
Listen forA component library maintained so campaigns stay consistent and build faster over time.
Each email designed independently, or brand consistency checked only at approval.
How to score responses
Score every candidate on the same four criteria immediately after the screen. At this stage you are shortlisting for panel interviews, not making the final call.
Portfolio
35%5Shows real sends across Klaviyo, Braze or Marketing Cloud with rendered screenshots and open, click and revenue figures per campaign.
Craft and rationale
25%5Explains specific fixes for Outlook conditional comments, retina images and dark mode inversion, and defends layout choices against inbox constraints.
Feedback and iteration
25%5Describes iterating a hero or CTA after variant testing, citing the metric shift, and separates personal taste from evidence.
Working with the brief
15%5Runs a reusable modular component library, clarifies segment and offer before designing, and consistently ships to the send calendar.
Every email client renders the same code differently. A one-way video screen asks which one broke their design.
Try it on HirevireScreening FAQ
Process basics
How long should a pre-screening round for this role take?
Ten to fifteen minutes across eight to ten questions, answered async alongside a portfolio. Enough to test coding ability, rendering knowledge and testing practice before a review.
Does the designer need to code?
In most teams yes. A designer who hands over a static image relies on somebody else to solve every rendering problem, which slows every campaign down.
Evaluating answers
What is the strongest signal when screening this role?
A specific rendering problem in a named client and how they solved it. Designers who build email have several. Anyone who has never met one has been designing in a canvas.
How do I judge their testing?
Ask which clients they test in. Real answers name the awkward ones and describe checking dark mode and images disabled. Anyone testing in one inbox will ship broken emails.
Go deeper on this role
Sanat has been hiring since 2012 and watching the recruitment industry change up close ever since, and turned that screening process into Hirevire's video screening platform. LinkedIn
