Perkins & Will Interview Guide
Everything we know about interviewing at Perkins & Will: the process stage by stage, what each round tests, and compensation by level.
Interviewing at Perkins & Will
What the process looks like, and what Perkins & Will is really testing for.
You should expect an interview process that mixes HR conversations, formal panel discussions, and role-specific technical validation. The prominence of Portfolio Presentation and Communication Skills suggests you are expected to explain your work clearly, not just complete tasks.
Across the extracted topic data, the loop tests Portfolio Presentation (including UX/UI and general portfolio work), Systems Engineering, Marketing Analytics, and CAD and Revit. It also tests Project Management Fundamentals, stakeholder management, design thinking or rationale explanation, and project experience summarization, which aligns with interview questions that assess how you communicate decisions and reasoning.
Your timeline can vary. Reports indicate you may get feedback and offers within days, or you may experience a longer process that can take several weeks, and some locations include practical CAD or Revit assessments.
Portfolio Presentation is the single most prominent topic area (percentile 100 for UX/UI portfolio presentation), and it also shows up again at high prominence for portfolio work in general. That means your ability to present your thinking and outcomes is a core scoring dimension, alongside communication and rationale explanation.
The Perkins & Will interview process
6 stages, based on 174 candidate reports.
Initial HR screening and outreach
1-2 callsYou likely start with an HR manager or recruiter conversation to discuss your background, career goals, basic qualifications, and in some cases salary expectations. Some reports also describe an initial outreach as a video call or phone conversation with an HR business partner or recruiter.
Initial assessment and culture fit
assessment stepReports describe an initial assessment to evaluate your technical background and fit for the role. One role reports a culture fit assessment focused on technical competency and alignment with a collaborative studio-based environment.
Interviews with supervisors and/or senior leaders
multiple interviewsYou may have a first round conversational interview with your direct supervisor and possibly an office manager, centered on your resume and past experiences. Reports also describe formal panel interviews by senior leaders where you present your portfolio and discuss your management philosophy.
Practical or tool assessment (optional in some locations)
assessment stepSome locations include a practical CAD or Revit assessment to verify technical skills. This aligns with CAD (percentile 100) and Revit (percentile 91) appearing as prominent technical topics in the extracted question data.
On-site and final panel interviews
several roundsReports include on-site interviews at the local studio, plus on-site tours and meetings with additional project managers and team members. There may also be second round panel interviews with additional team members and department leads, including behavioral questions and scenario-based problem-solving, and one to three rounds overall with managing directors and design principals.
Feedback and decision
days to several weeksAfter the interviews, reports indicate you may receive feedback and offers within days, or experience a longer process that takes several weeks. The aggregated candidate data shows an offer rate of 0.0%, so plan your timeline accordingly.
What Perkins & Will evaluates
How often each skill shows up across reported interview loops.
Interview guides by role
Each guide has the questions Perkins & Will interviewers actually ask, the loop structure, and total compensation by level.
What Perkins & Will pays, by level
Estimated total compensation: base salary plus stock and annual cash bonus.
Insider tips
Patterns from candidates who got offers, and the mistakes that most often sink a loop.
Perkins & Will interview FAQ
Answered from real candidate and workplace data, marked up for rich results.
What people say about Perkins & Will
Verbatim snippets pulled from employee and candidate reviews.
The management team creates a toxic environment, treating employees poorly and prioritizing profits over people, leading to frequent layoffs.
While the projects are beautiful and colleagues are amazing, the negative aspects of management overshadow these positives.
To genuinely support employees, management should demonstrate their commitment through actions rather than words and move away from a hire-and-fire culture.
Despite its strong reputation and talented workforce, there is a troubling disconnect between the company's promoted values and the actual employee experience.
Employees are expected to be deeply committed to the firm, yet that commitment is not always reciprocated, leading to inconsistent recognition and unclear career advancement.
Management should focus on genuinely improving the firm’s culture by listening to employees, increasing transparency, and ensuring that the values presented externally are reflected internally.
Related company guides
Companies that hire for the same data roles, with the same depth of prep.
