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 HH
Ohio → NYC
@halsey_
During the few minutes a day I am not online, I can be
found indulging in too much television, curiosity and cheese

Ashley HH
Ohio → NYC
@halsey_
PREVIOUSLY
Studied Digital Design @ DAAP,
University of Cincinnati
Many company types:
Agencies
Enterprise
Freelance
Many types of design:
Branding
Marketing
Website Design
Application Design

Ashley HH
Ohio → NYC
@halsey_
PREVIOUSLY
Many company types:
Agencies
Enterprise
Freelance
Branding
Marketing
Website Design
Application Design
CURRENTLY
Director of UX @ AppNexus
Team of 7 9
(Design + Research)
Currently hiring for 7 5 reqs:
Designers
Researchers

Team Leads
Have reviewed
at least 300 applicants
over the past 6 months

Ashley HH
Ohio → NYC
@halsey_
PREVIOUSLY
Many company types:
Agencies
Enterprise
Freelance
Branding
Marketing
Website Design
Application Design
CURRENTLY
Director of UX @ AppNexus
Team of 7 9
(Design + Research)
Currently hiring for 7 5 reqs:
Designers
Researchers

Team 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…

DESIGN YOUR APPLICATION
LIKE YOU WOULD DESIGN
ANYTHING ELSE…
FOR THE USER.

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

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
1. PREP 2. SEARCH 3. SCREEN 4. INTERVIEW 5. OFFER 6. ONBOARDManager
Get 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 Tools
Jobvite, 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
or the company
The application package submitted
does not relate to the role

2
3
4
5
or the company
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
I can’t get a complete picture of the candidate

COVER LETTER
Who You Are,
What You Want

RESUME
Work
Experience
COVER LETTER
Who You Are,
What You Want

RESUME
Work
Experience PORTFOLIO
Skills +
Process
COVER LETTER
Who You Are,
What You Want

RESUME
Work
Experience PORTFOLIO
Skills +
Process
COVER LETTER
Who You Are,
What You Want
1
Complete
Picture

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 materials
Why 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

I can’t get a clear
picture of the candidate
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. TMI
Where 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 info
Where 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 memorable
Would this person work well within this
team? What motivates them?

The candidate doesn’t
understand the role or
the company
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 letter
Did 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 tone
Is 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 candidate doesn’t understand the role or the company

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 resume
Is the candidate switching careers/location,
or are they instead confused about the
details of this role?
2. Past roles are unclear
Was 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

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

5
Portfolios can suﬀer from:
WOW Syndrome
The candidate shows their deliverables, but not their process or results

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

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 context
What 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 role
Does 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 user
How 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
and process
Ensuring you understand the role and
the company

2
3
4
5
and process
the company
Relating your application to the role

2
3
4
5
and process
the company
Relating your application to the role
Telling the full STUIR about your process and
results rather than simply showing deliverables

Thank you.
Interested in joining our team?

Learn more at
careers.appnexus.com

Land Your UX Dream Job: Tales From A Hiring Manager

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Land Your UX Dream Job: Tales From A Hiring Manager