For recruiters - FAQ
Hello friend š, thanks for taking an interest in me and my profile.
I know Iām nothing more than a keyword match right now, so letās change that!
So, first up! I really, really value my time, I have gone to the effort of putting this information here for you to answer the usual round of questions you need to ask.
Please, please, try to make it to the end. Thereās a fair bit of info here, hopefully everything you need.
Thereās a lot of Iās in this, apologies if it comes off as being arrogant, I prefer to think of it as being transparent and hope you see it the same way.
Ok, letās do this!
Are you eligible to work in the UK
Yes.
Whatās your current situation?
If you want to know if Iām currently employed then, yes, I am.
Iām not actively looking, so, I wonāt be able to answer the āHow are you finding the market?ā question.
Iāll always be open to the right position, read on for what that is. š
Whatās my ideal role?
Creating educational content in the form of conference and meetup talks, videos, blog posts and workshops.
Working in a team of other developers where there is an emphasis on technical development.
A good percentage of pair programming and collaboration on the team.
Working with Svelte and SvelteKit, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub.
If you really want to grab my attention, tell me how you collaborate, how you keep quality high, how you contribute back to the community, and how you help your team continue to learn and grow.
Iād like to focus on outcomes and not work hours, what I produce is what matters and not how long Iām sat at a desk.
Further to that, work life balance is a big deal for me, I really do not want to go over a 37.5 hour working week if presenteeism is a thing on the team.
I work on a contract basis for OES Technology, Iād prefer to work with companies outside of the UK in a āfull timeā fully remote capacity.
If youāre in the UK and have a project in mind that will not be full time get in touch to discuss.
What sort of company do you want to work with?
A company that wants their employees to win. This means supporting learning and encouraging growth.
As a developer itās quite frustrating seeing marketing copy for role descriptions with the opening line for a company peppered with buzzwords like AI, Fintech, or being an award winning market leader.
I have no issues with these sort of companies, just the marketing of them.
I want to know what the work is and how Iāll be doing it with my team, no BS marketing copy please. š
Ethically I donāt agree with gambling, that means no gambling companies please.
Whatās your preferred stack?
Iām really enjoying working with Svelte and SvelteKit and Iāll be very interested in roles that are using it.
Tailwind is my current preference for the speed which it offers when creating projects. I have also used styled-components for many projects in the past.
I have a wealth of knowledge using Gatsby (2017-2020) (which uses React and GraphQL) and have consulted on large scale projects using it.
For CMSā any opportunity to work with any of the new headless CMSā that are emerging would be great: Storyblok, Hygraph, Sanity.io, Strapi, Keystone 5 or Contentful.
I have commercial experience with Hygraph and Contentful and have built projects in Sanity.io and Keystone 5.
For back-end I prefer node which is where the majority of my back-end experience is.
How many years experience do you have?
JavaScript, HTML and CSS (the holy trinity), over 7 years.
Svelte, over 2 years. I host regular workshops on Svelte and SvelteKit you can find in the speaking section of this site.
React, over 6 years.
I have over 5 years experience as a professional web developer and over 2 years as a developer advocate.
I have 10+ years previous experience as an analyst developer for financial organisations.
For more, check out my about page which details my experience and a bit more about me.
Salary?
As I mentioned earlier I run OES Technology where I offer consulting on a contract basis. If you have a project in mind get in touch to discuss.
Want me to come on board on a contract basis? Sweet! Iām open to that! Depending on the setup Iād be looking for a day rate of ā¬397 or monthly rate of ~ā¬11,910 (day rate times 30). The rate has been calculated with holidays and public holidays built in.
Benefits? Yes please!
30+ days holiday a year is ideal.
Thereās an increasing amount of places that offer āunlimited holidayā. In this circumstance Iād like to know the minimum amount of holiday that has to be taken annually.
Private healthcare for me and my immediate family.
Gym membership.
Are you willing to relocate?
nop!
Iām happy in sunny, sunny Swanley
Are you willing to work remotely?
I think the question now should be, are you willing to come into the office!
Yeah, I mean, the whole industry has been working remotely since 2020 now.
Iād prefer not to be bound by any number of days needed to be worked in an office. Occasional meetings, fine.
I do appreciate the value of working closely with my colleagues and I am comfortable with that using tools like Google Meet, Slack, MS Teams, Zoom etc!
What are your location preferences?
Like I noted already, Iād prefer fully remote roles.
I live a ~30 minute train ride from London stations like Elephant and Castle, Victoria, Blackfriars and Charring Cross.
Iāll consider roles that are a short walk (~10-15 minutes) from any of those stations.
Based in Swanley, Kent Iāll consider places that are in Sevenoaks and Bromley, only those two places though.
Please donāt contact me about roles in Ashford, Maidstone or anywhere else deemed āin the same regionā.
Your skills look like a great match for this position we have!! Can we have a quick five minute phone call to discuss?
Sure, book in a 15 minute chat.
āBut I have to talk to you today, my clientās deadline is this afternoonā, please, book in a 15 minute chat.
Please donāt call without a previously agreed time slot, I donāt answer my phone if Iām not expecting a call.
I prefer to avoid phone calls for these reasons:
- Iām on a makerās schedule, which means interruptions are disruptive to my flow.
- Iāve already tried to answer the majority of questions asked on this page. Iāve probably phrased them more clearly here than I will on the phone.
Contact me by email. Thatās my preferred means of communication. If we are still interested after some fact checking Iād love to have a chat.
If itās not a HELL YES, itās a NO
Like I mentioned at the start of this FAQ, I really value my time and the way I make a decision on a commitment is If itās not a HELL YES, itās a NO.
Want me to know you you have taken the time to read this FAQ?
In your email mention āQuick Start Guides Rock!ā and you will have my attention, gratitude and a guaranteed reply. š
Can I take a look at your CV?
Sure, my CV is here: mecv.xyz.
Most of the pertinent stuff you want to know is covered here, really.
Do you have your CV in PDF/MS Word format?
Sure, hit the download button on mecv.xyz.
Notice period?
My current contract stipulates 30 days notice.
Interview availability?
I can telephone interview with little notice.
I can video call with prior arrangement.
Please be upfront about timings for interview rounds. Iām not interested in taking part in several day long interview rounds.
With regard to technical/take home ātestsā, Iām not willing to spend more than an hour on any given assignment to assess my skill level unless Iām being paid for my time.
The effort exchange for take home assignments isnāt right. A one hour interview in real time would be preferred.
Thanks for reading š
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