đź’» Faustine Demiselle - An UX designer from the public to the private sector
đź’– The purpose of The Allyance is to help both companies and candidates: companies wanting to reach excellence in hiring and candidates wanting to find the perfect companies.
Let’s meet Faustine Demiselle, a UX designer passionate about accessibility, and understand how she landed a job at Softeam Agency thanks to The Allyance!
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🔗 COACH ME IF YOU CAN N°8 - Faustine Demiselle
Who are you? Tell us everything!
My name is Faustine, I am 28 years old. I come from Paris where I’ve always lived. I first studied civil engineering and started as a construction manager for a while đźŹ
Then, I decided to return to school and carried out a work-study contract in Interaction Design at ENGIE with Sup de Création school in Paris.
Although my contract ended at the beginning of Covid, I happened to find a UX Designer job quite easily in the public service, where I stayed for 2 and a half years.
I quit in June 2022 and got a job as a UX Designer for Marmelade, but my contract ended prematurely in July. I now work as a UX Designer at Softeam Agency.
Sure, Covid was not the funniest time, but it at least allowed me to discover a new passion for balcony gardening! 🪴 So that’s partly how I spend my personal time.
How did you hear about The Allyance?
🙌 My former manager, Marine Boudeau, was following The Allyance and recommended me to contact them.
What was your goal when you reached out to The Allyance?
My professional self-confidence was at its lowest and it impacted my ability to apply to offers. Also, in terms of career, as I had had several fixed-term contracts in the public sector, I wanted to find a permanent job in the private sector.
Knowing that, my former manager recommended The Allyance for their expertise about women in tech. So I contacted Caroline, who walked me through their coaching program. I really thought it could help me regain self-confidence đź’Ş
After talking to Caroline, we decided that Morgane would be fitter for the coaching because she had better knowledge about my job.
How did Morgane help you find your current job?
During our 3 online coaching sessions, we mainly focused on my speech articulation and vocabulary so I could be more assertive during interviews. Whether when introducing myself, presenting my ideas, talking about what’s important to me in a job… Roughly speaking, we made sure I knew how to talk smoothly about myself, without hesitating.
💶 Salary is a major issue for women in tech and it’s not always easy to get what we deserve. That’s why Morgane helped me evaluate my worth and taught me to be more assertive when asking and negotiating my salary.
After the second or third session, I got one, then two interviews at Marmelade. During these interviews, I was comfortable talking about me, my experiences and what I wanted: it went really well! They rapidly sent me an offer which I accepted.
In the end, I only stayed 1 month at Marmelade but I was able to use what I learned during the coaching for my following interviews. I looked for a job for quite a long time so I was sure to apply to jobs I really wanted to get.
That is how I found my current UX Designer job at Softeam Agency. I’ve only been working there for a few months but I like it! 💙
What made the coaching sessions with Morgane unique according to you?
Well, it was my first coaching so I cannot really compare with anything else, but generally, I had the feeling that this was a high quality coaching ✨
What truly struck me was how confident I felt with Morgane. I never felt judged nor assessed, even when simulating interviews.
Morgane made me figure out that it was perfectly alright to ask for the salary I was worth. She reassured me about my skills and made me feel more legitimate in looking for a new job. She was very attentive and even in 3 weeks, we managed to go deep in every tiny detail, word, sentence, which I find impressive.
Why do you like being a UX Designer?
📲 UX Designer is all about helping people. It means that you have to carefully observe their behavior and way of thinking, and that’s something I’m really fond of.
I also love producing digital yet tangible things directly meant for the users. As of today, I work in a private company but mainly on public projects, which means that I must create something that’s going to work for the majority.
When I retrained myself in design, I first thought I was attracted to the creative aspect of it. Later, I realized that design is all about stats, studies, which led me back to my scientific knowledge.
I was looking for creation but ended up loving producing things. You could say I’m a design mason (laughs)! đź›
You came from the public sector and are working in a private company today. What advice would you give to those wanting to follow your steps?
📝 I’d start by debunking fake news: experience in the public sector on your CV is not a burden! Some people think recruiters are skeptical because the French administration is known to have quite vintage softwares, but it’s not always the case.
During my experience, I did what most companies never do by questioning the application of methodologies to the administration. And that makes me attractive as a candidate! It gave me transferable skills, notably in the accessibility aspect, which is quite appreciated nowadays.
👉 When switching from public to private, one has to get prepared for the high flexibility of private companies and processes. For example, I was always offered to work 100% remotely… Which I did not want! Often, I felt that they expected me to be more flexible than I could be. At first, it was startling because I was used to the public sector, where the myriad of rules and processes are quite strict and mandatory.
From a more technical point of view, salary, bonuses and benefits in the public sector are way different, so it’s crucial to get to know how private salaries work before applying, going to interviews and negotiating. 💰
Name a well-known person you admire. Tell us why you admire that person!
I cannot think about anyone famous, so I’ll say my very first manager. He is truly a good person and I keep comparing my managers to him! 👏
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A few words from Morgane, The Allyance’s Sourcing & Recruitment expert:
“ ✨ The first time I chatted with Faustine, I was able to identify the potential she had to become a stellar candidate. She is passionate about UX design and could go on an on about it, but we had find a way to implement that passion into a more professional and structured presentation.
The work we did together was instrumental to give her the boost of confidence and the tools she needed to go beyond her previous experiences and put herself back on the job market. I look forward to see what she will do next!”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
✒️ Léa C, The Allyance Contributor: “I joined The Allyance after Caroline and I met at a ionnalee’s concert! I am a freelance translator and content writer (French, English, Spanish and German). I also work as an administrative employee in the health and data science sector. So, I am not far from Caroline’s core topic! I am very active as a volunteer in social and environmental NGOs, where I always try to put intersectionality at the center of actions because I am convinced that every cause is linked to one another. It is readily apparent that Caroline and I share a lot of common interests, which is why we as friends decided to work together!”