Hey guys,

 

i just found this great community, this is my first post. I'm wondering if some fellow designers have a deeper insight into the job seeking process and would be willing to share this valuable knowledge

 

I'm a Senior Designer, currently employed at a German dev company but looking to relocate to the UK. I've recently registered to some major job hunting sites, jobserve and monster, just to see if i fit the bill. Some recruiters were interested and gave me a call and i also applied for a couple senior positions. The thing is that i'm not UK based yet, whick makes it pretty hard to go for an interview immediately.

 

However my biggest concern is this: as i'm in the mature phase of my career now (age 40) i don't know if this is a major drawback or i can turn it to my advantage. The crew at most IT companies are way younger, mid 20's, dudes of my age are sitting in the leather chair. And i know the competition is tight, a recruiter told me they receive dozens of applications for each vacancy. So is age a pivotal factor? Or it's only your portfolio & skills that matters...

 

The other question may sound stupid but i never been to an actual interview in my entire life. I've been working for this company for over 6 years now, i was hired without real competition so all we had is an informal conversation about salary expectations and stuff. Prior to that i was approached by another company where i spent only a year and before that i was freelancing. So what sort of questions can you expect when you are interviewed for a senior position? Are you required to demonstrate your skills or just to show of your portfolio? If any of you guys went through this i'd be glad to know some details. Thx in advance.

Welcome to WDF shorg!

 

You are right in saying that many companies like to hire 20 somethings but they do look for experience as well so you should find a job eventually. Obviously going to interviews is a problem, maybe you could arrange a few interviews in a short space of time and come to stay for a week or so while you go for them? Air flights are not too expensive any more!

 

Like you I haven't been for an interview for many years but expect to be asked technical questions and management type questions if they expect you to manage staff, projects and customers. Yes your portfolio will be of interest to an employer so you can demonstrate what you do.

Well thanks, i'm checking the flights and hopefully in may i'll be inhaling the London smog.

I'm confident concerning my chances but we'll see.

Could you use your experience as a benefit to look up the "career ladder". It might well be that you can use it as a advantage rather than what you perceive as a disadvantage.

 

You have great English by the way, miene Deutche ist nicht so gut (spelling errors are very likely!). You might well find that is a big positive. I think the key it narrowing down what you're really great at, and focussin on how you can provide value with those skills. Rather than a catch all approach.

I wouldn't worry too much about your age shorg. When I'm doing interviews, the main thing I look for is how strong and varied the portfolio is and what the interviewee's personality is like, and if they're willing to learn and develop their skills.

 

The main questions I ask for seniors when I interview are:

 

Have you had any experience leading a team?

Did you have to mentor other members of staff in your last position?

Do you have any client facing experience?

Would you be comforable pitching your ideas and work to clients?

 

And the rest of the questions are just the usual ones (talking about skill sets, examples of work etc). Hppe that helps!

Lol, I know this is stereotyping/prejudice/discriminating and it's not supposed to be done but, Germans have a very good reputation!

 

I think your age and nationality will stand you in good stead vs younger Brits! But if it was me that was interviewing you the main thing I would be looking for would be to see if you are too "stuck in your ways", are you still willing to learn, develop, grow with a new company, and do you have something fresh to bring?

 

The great thing about being "in the mature phase of your career", is that normally means that you are sure of yourself, your capabilities, who you are and what you have to offer, so you should be able to handle an interview with ease.

Thank you guys for all your comments and for the warm welcome:) I've been offline for a while so i missed some of the replies.

Meanwhile i'm in serious talks with a recruiter about a Gibraltar based job, it looks promising but nothing is sure yet. Not a big $$$ but i think the location itself compensates for it all.

 

Thanks for the interview hints sheeby, i'm not too worried about questions that concern management skills, in fact i'd be more interested in design/coding specific questions that may occur during an interview. Honestly i'm not a manager type dude, i prefer focusing on the actual creative work.

 

Anyway it's good to know that it's not the age factor that makes me land or miss the job A buddy of mine, 37, just got hired after the second interview. Although he's a flash coder and a pretty good one.