What’s the best part of the job?
The people, I get to talk to so many different types of people and do really enjoy the social aspect of it. And the money, I’m really competitive with myself and it’s good to be rewarded for that.
What’s the biggest challenge?
Working remotely, and the personal pressure I put on myself.
What’s something you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
That yes it does matter if you get a degree, but focus on a career that suits you character rather than a job that society classes as a successful career. Because you can be successful in any job you do, you just have to be the best at it.
In another life… If you weren’t a recruiter, what would you be doing?
An interior designer, or property developer.
The evolution from a design background towards UX recruitment… What’s the story?
It was purely by chance, I was really debating on why I was a designer, I wasn’t getting paid well and didn’t quite suit the desk job in front of a computer all day. I really struggled with no short term rewards. My recruiter at the time introduced me to Wayne & Craig and said I’d really like their company values. I met them, had a 3-4 hour interview and left knowing that I didn’t care what I had to do every day, that it was more about the people I worked for and with. I think that’s the most important thing for me.
What are the benefits of a creative background, skills and mindset in the workplace? Do these inform the way you work?
Definitely, not only does it help to really understand the market I work in and have a genuine interest in but I think because I really relate to a designer – their needs and their struggles because I’ve been there. Internally though, honestly – I do struggle with the ‘admin’ side of it because my brain works at a million miles an hour and I’m not very structured.
You lead our FL_UX content series – Tell us all about where this came from and what it’s like to interview design leaders across the industry. Why was it an important project for you?
Well, again without being cliché it’s a designers dream to meet leaders who are paving the way in building new design concepts or challenging the way we think – so having a platform where it was really easy to connect to those leaders was an easy decision for me. Again, it’s back to people. I love people, their stories and the ability to be able to help others through your challenges or successes. It has been very similar to a project I did at University – where I interviewed people in Zimbabwe from all different walks of life and it won a few awards. I think it comes back to seeing ourselves in someone else – for some reason it inspires us.
