Land Your UX Dream Job: Tales From A Hiring Manager

LAND YOUR UX DREAM JOB

TALES FROM A HIRING MANAGER

Ashley Halsey Hemingway Director of User Experience

May 5, 2015

Ashley HHOhio → NYC

@halsey_During the few minutes a day I am not online, I can be found indulging in too much television, curiosity and cheese



PREVIOUSLY

Studied Digital Design @ DAAP, University of Cincinnati

Many company types: Agencies Enterprise Freelance

Many types of design: Branding Marketing

Website Design Application Design



PREVIOUSLY





CURRENTLY

Director of UX @ AppNexus

Team of 7 9 (Design + Research)

Currently hiring for 7 5 reqs: Designers

ResearchersTeam Leads

Have reviewed at least 300 applicants over the past 6 months



PREVIOUSLY





CURRENTLY

Director of UX @ AppNexus

Team of 7 9 (Design + Research)

Currently hiring for 7 5 reqs: Designers

ResearchersTeam Leads

Have reviewed at least 300 applicants over the past 6 months

AppNexus is a B2B advertising technology platform. “We power the advertising that powers the internet.”

900+ AppNexians (93 hired in Q1 2015) 23 offices and counting…

ABOUT APPNEXUS

DESIGN YOUR APPLICATION LIKE YOU WOULD DESIGN ANYTHING ELSE…


FOR THE USER.

Your user, the Hiring Manager

WORKFLOWS OF KEY PLAYERS

Candidate

Update resume and portfolio

Set goals for the next role

Identify target companies and

roles

Write cover letters

Submit applications

Showcase skills, work style and

past experience

Vet company

Review offer and complete official

documents

1. PREP 2. SEARCH 3. APPLY 4. INTERVIEW 5. ACCEPT 6. ONBOARD

Prepare to join a new team


Candidate




roles

Write cover letters

Submit applications


past experience

Vet company


documents



1. PREP 2. SEARCH 3. SCREEN 4. INTERVIEW 5. OFFER 6. ONBOARDManagerGet approval to

open the req

Write role description

Plan screening and interviewing

Review applications

Conduct phone screens

Send out and review design/

research challenges

Interview for core competencies

Review feedback from interviewers

Make hiring decision

Draft and extend offer to candidate

Set start date

Confirm onboarding and mentor are in

place

Post position to website and other

venues

Actively recruit candidates from

key venues


Candidate




roles

Write cover letters

Submit applications


past experience

Vet company


documents



1. PREP 2. SEARCH 3. SCREEN 4. INTERVIEW 5. OFFER 6. ONBOARDManagerGet approval to

open the req

Write role description

Plan screening and interviewing

Review applications

Conduct phone screens

Send out and review design/

research challenges

Interview for core competencies

Review feedback from interviewers

Make hiring decision

Draft and extend offer to candidate

Set start date

Confirm onboarding and mentor are in

place

Post position to website and other

venues

Actively recruit candidates from

key venues

SNAPSHOT OF A HIRING MANAGER

“Hiring is a top priority for me, but many other time-sensitive commitments often take time away from my focus on hiring.”

“Anywhere from 1-5 applications might come in on a given day between my open reqs. My goal is to look at all candidates in the pipeline by EOW, but that doesn’t always happen.”

“I am hiring for multiple roles with different seniority levels, so I am constantly having to re-calibrate my expectations and what I am really looking for.”

“I often look at resume / cover letter / portfolio in various orders. I will usually check the cover letter first, and then their portfolio, since portfolios are often a kind of a resume - and since cover letters often reference the portfolio and have a link. If there is no cover letter, I have to go into the resume to find the portfolio link, so I will scan the resume quickly and not bother with the portfolio if the resume doesn’t look like a possible match for the role.”

Collaborators

TAG Recruiter: Helps me with sourcing, phone screening, writing offers, closing candidates, etc.

TAG Scheduler: Helps with logistics of setting up calls and interviews, ensures a great candidate experience

UX Team: My team (esp. Sr. members) helps me with screening and interviewing

My Manager: I provide my manager with status updates on hiring and brainstorm hiring issues

Project Teams: I provide project teams with status updates on hiring for their projects. They may help interview

Priorities and Concerns

Frequent ToolsJobvite, Evernote, Email, Excel, Pen/Paper (in interviews)

My Top 5 Screening Painpoints

1

2

3

4

5


I can’t get a complete picture of the candidate1

2

3

4

5



2

3

4

5

I can’t get a clear picture of the candidate



2

3

4

5


The candidate doesn’t understand the role or the company



2

3

4

5



The application package submitted does not relate to the role



2

3

4

5



The application package submitted does not relate to the role

The candidate shows their deliverables, but not their process or results

I can’t get a complete picture of the candidate

1

1 I can’t get a complete picture of the candidate

1

v



COVER LETTER

Who You Are,What You Want


RESUME WorkExperience

COVER LETTER



RESUME WorkExperience PORTFOLIOSkills +

Process

COVER LETTER



RESUME WorkExperience PORTFOLIOSkills +

Process

COVER LETTER


1

CompletePicture


1

But what if…I’m not a Designer?


1

A note on visual design…


1

But what if…I can’t show my work?


1

If sharing your work is sensitive…

• Restrict access • Password protect it • Or attach a PDF to your application

• Genericize it • Remove or replace all identifying information • Convert any stats about the project to %

• Do outside work


1

But what if…I don’t have enough

work to show?


1

If you don’t have enough work to show…

• Do hypothetical projects • But relate it to the real world. • Real users. • Real testing.

• Volunteer for a cause you care about • Can be for a non-profit • Or your friend’s improv club • Or your family reunion video library


• Get a general overview of the candidate’s career progression, skills and approach to work

PAINPOINT CAUSES CANDIDATE TAKEAWAYS

1. Missing application materialsWhy are the leaving this out? Was it an accident? Are they hoping to hide something? Are they lazy? Is this candidate actually interested in our company or are they just spamming hundreds of resumes out into the world?

Always include a resume, cover letter and link to portfolio. Always.

1

HIRING MANAGER GOALS



2

I can’t get a clear picture of the candidate2

“I have been a designer from the moment I

picked up my first crayon at the age of 3. When I was 5, I enrolled in a

painting class…”

2

Unrelated work experience is largely unrelated.


2

Format with purpose.


2

Be personable.


• Get a general overview of the candidate’s career progression, skills and approach to work


1. TMIWhere is the relevant information?

Edit yourself. Think about the top 1-3 messages you want to get across, and make sure those are the focus. Write clearly, but also concisely where possible.

2


2. Can’t scan the infoWhere is the relevant information?

Use formatting to help organize your content and give it a hierarchy.

Round out your application with your approach, your passions and what you bring to the table.

3. Not personal or memorableWould this person work well within this team? What motivates them?



3

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out

and remove all doubt.”

But even better to not be a fool.

The candidate doesn’t understand the role or the company3

On tone: 1. Be human 2. Be yourself

3. Take cues from the company

3 The candidate doesn’t understand the role or the company

• Quickly get a snapshot of the candidate

• Understand why they want to work here

• Check if our expectations are aligned


1. Generic / inaccurate cover letterDid the candidate not take the time to understand the company and the role?

Spend some time reading about the company and the role. Tailor your cover letter to the job posting

3

2. Mismatch in toneIs this the type of environment where the candidate would do well? Are they familiar with our culture?

Get a sense for the workplace environment before drafting your cover letter. Write in a voice similar to your speaking voice. Speak to the hiring manager as a person.



The application package submitted does not match the role

4

The case of the mysterious candidate.

The application package submitted does not match the role4

I do not know what a “Chief User Happiness

Expert” or “Interface Ninja” is.

4 The application package submitted does not match the role

• Confirm that the candidate has the baseline skills required for consideration


1. Unusual / unexplained resumeIs the candidate switching careers/location, or are they instead confused about the details of this role?

2. Past roles are unclearWas this previous job experience related to the skills I am looking for?

If your resume is not “typical”, explain why.

Clarify your previous experience and avoid or explain terminology that is specific to your company or industry.

4


The application package submitted does not match the role


5

5

Portfolios can suffer from: WOW Syndrome


Portfolios can suffer from: Logoitis

5 The candidate shows their deliverables, but not their process or results

Portfolios can suffer from: Multiple skillset disorder


Behavioral-based Interviewing

Behavioral-based Portfolio


Situation

Task

Action

Result

Company X had an e-commerce website, but the shopping cart abandonment rate was high and they didn’t know why.

I was tasked with running a research project in order to make recommendations to improve the site.

I conducted 10 user testing sessions, analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data, and made recommendations to the website team.

As a result of my changes, shopping cart abandonment was reduced by 20%.


Tell the full STAR. Even better, tell the full STUIR.


Situation

Task

User

Iteration

Result

Company X had an e-commerce website, but the shopping cart abandonment rate was high and they didn’t know why.

I was tasked with running a research project in order to make recommendations to improve the site.

I conducted 10 user testing sessions, where we learned that most of the users were travelers, who were unable to check out using their mobile device.

I recommended making the website mobile responsive and considering a native app as well.

As a result of the mobile site, shopping cart abandonment was reduced by 20%.


Don’t be afraid to share challenges and failures.


• Understand the candidate’s unique process and approach to solving problems

• Assess the candidate’s skill level


2. Deliverables without contextWhat was the candidate’s role? Why did they make the choices they did? What were the constraints of the project? Are they satisfied with the results?

1. Skills shown don’t match roleDoes this candidate understand the role they applied for? Is it something they are really interested in?

Tell the full STAR.

Ensure your portfolio matches the role you are applying for.


3. No sign of the userHow does the user fit into this candidate’s process? Does the candidate simply do what they think is best?

Better yet, tell the full STUIR.


Avoid the Top 5 Screening Painpoints By

1

2

3

4

5


Providing a complete picture of yourself1

2

3

4

5



2

3

4

5

Providing a clear picture of your goals and process



2

3

4

5


Ensuring you understand the role and the company



2

3

4

5



Relating your application to the role



2

3

4

5



Relating your application to the role

Telling the full STUIR about your process and results rather than simply showing deliverables


FOR THE USER.

Thank you.

Interested in joining our team? Learn more at

careers.appnexus.com

http://bit.ly/1JtvHa4

Land Your UX Dream Job: Tales From A Hiring Manager

Recruiting & HR