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FAQ for recruiters

Well hello there. If you've found me via a social network or have simply been pointed here via my own fair hand, please take the time to read the information I've put together on this page.

It's not a massive read, but it should cover a lot of the common points that I get asked about when talking to recruiters. Whilst I do love talking to people and I'm always happy to talk about my work, I have a lot of very similar conversations with a lot of recruiters and I simply want to save us both some time getting to know if we're a good fit.

Before we start, here are a few important links:

Are you looking for work at the moment?

Yep.

I am able to take on software development consultancy and contract roles alongside my freelance work as a freelance Shopify consultant .

That said, if there's an interesting permanent role you have available then I'm always keen to hear about it. I especially like hands-on roles with a leadership angle, such as tech-leads, senior/lead/principle engineer.

What does your ideal role look like?

I'm all about culture and the people that make up the company. It's hard to really define something as abstract as culture, but as a general rule, what I look for includes:

  • Working with modern technologies and approaches to problem-solving.
  • Strong team unity with opportunities to learn, grow, and support each other.
  • Agile development environments.
  • Independence and empowerment to tackle problems with a level of autonomy.
  • High levels of trust in employees.
  • Flexible hours.
  • Remote working conditions.
  • Work-life balance. 40 hours (and less) is more than enough time to devote to a working week.

As a slightly more concrete example of a really ace company that's nailed the culture, check out Hubspot's careers page where they even have their own culture code.

Do you have a preferred technology stack?

Most of my work is in fullstack frontend technologies, largely based in JavaScript. My current, general tech stack looks like this:

  • JAMstack (JavaScript, API's, Markup).
  • React or Svelte (I love a bit of Svelte!).
  • JavaScript / TypeScript (comfortable with all the latest versions in use).
  • Next.js, Astro, Sveltkit, and similar meta-frameworks.
  • CSS, both vanilla and preprocessors (SASS) using modern layouts, such as grid or flexbox.
  • CSS frameworks, especially Tailwind CSS and others based on the popular utility framework like Chakra UI or Daisy UI. I also have skills in others such as Bulma, Foundation, and Bootstrap.
  • Code bundlers and transpilers, mainly Vite, but including others such as Babel, Webpack, and Parcel.
  • Headless CMS setups such as Storyblok (I'm a partner with them!), Contentful, Netlify CMS, or similar.
  • Accessible, semantic HTML.
  • No-SQL databases, such as Mongo, Supabase, or AWS Dynamo DB.
  • GraphQL.

What sort of experience do you have?

I've been in the IT industry for over 20 years, most of that as a software engineer and web developer. I started in full stack development using the Microsoft (MS) tech stack of C# and ASP.Net. In more recent years, I have held leadership roles in the front end and UX/UI spaces, such as lead UI engineer and tech lead. I have been specialising in performant websites using the latest JavaScript and frameworks, such as React and Svelte.

You can read a little more about me and my history in the following places:

What are your consultancy rates or salary expectations?

Culture and project fit are a big deal and will always come above remuneration.

It's difficult to give an exact figures because it really depends on the type of project or role and its requirements. For example, a tech lead position is always going to command more than a senior developer one.

That said, as a rough guide, similar positions in the past have been in the range of £550 - £850 per day for contract positions. Salaried roles have been in the £95K and upwards ranges.

There's always going to be some flexibility, so let's discuss the project or role and go from there :)

Are you willing to relocate for the right role?

No.

What sort of locations are you able to work in?

I'm happy and at my most productive when working in my fully kitted out home office in a remote environment. That said, living in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, I'm OK with very minimal, occasional travel within 30-40 mins of my home:

(In preferential order)

  • Wakefield.
  • Selby.
  • Leeds.
  • York.

Of course, fully remote options are the future and I've been fully remote for well over 5 years :)

I've come across your CV on 'XYZ' can we have a quick call?

I'll have to politely decline, initially.

I am more than happy to have a conversation about opportunities over the phone, but it has to be at a mutually agreed time. I don't answer cold calls during my working day as it interrupts development work.

I prefer to avoid phone calls initially because:

  • There is a lot of information already on this page that can be used to sift me in or out of a potential opportunity – thus saving everyone time.
  • I prefer email as my primary mode of communication so please shoot me an email which includes the following information:
    • The job spec.
    • Rates and project information.
    • A subject line of 'Svelte is ace!' so that I know you've made it this far onto the page. You will always get a reply from me!

Can you send me an up to date copy of your CV?

I could, but you can always view the latest, most up to date version of my CV on my Visual CV page .

You can also download it in PDF format from there.

Alternatively, my LinkedIn profile is always kept as a living experience document so that it matches my work history, current projects and achievements.

Do you have your CV in PDF/Word/XYZ format?

Again, you can download a PDF version of my CV from my Visual CV page .

I'm afraid I don't keep a copy in any other formats because I don't have access to MS Word and I'm not comfortable providing my CV in an editable format.

However, I'm happy to alter anything to suit, if you give me a heads up.

What is your notice period?

It depends on if I'm currently working on several large-scale projects or within a contract position at the moment. If you drop me a line I'll be happy to update you on my current situation.