For the next instalment of our Q&A series, the spotlight is on our Marketing and Recruitment Executive, Alice Bray. Alice does an amazing job as part of the team finding people with relevant life experiences and attributes to test our client’s various projects and websites.
Name & Role?
Hey! I’m Alice and I’m the Marketing and Recruitment Executive here at Web Usability. My role involves ensuring we have excellent testers for all research projects. I also help manage and maintain our LinkedIn presence, alongside Kate.
Can you share your journey through your career to date, and what led you to this role?
I started my career working for the Department of Work and Pensions as a work coach. I found this role really rewarding, as I could directly impacts people’s lives positively. However, I was eager for a new challenge! The idea of combining my passion for helping others with the intriguing field of UX led me to the role I’m in today. My involvement in recruiting the participants contributes to the overall improvement of the website, so I feel I’m still helping others, albeit in a different way.
Your role involves finding and recruiting the participants who inform Web Usability’s research testing. What makes a good website tester?
We don’t have a fixed notion of a ‘good tester’ instead, we highly value honesty in their answers and responses. A good tester, in our perspective, is someone who provides genuine feedback. Even if it means pointing out flaws!
Could you describe a particularly challenging recruitment project? How did you address those challenges?
A few projects spring to mind! in general, the more challenging recruits involve participants who are harder to reach. In these cases, it’s about utilising the resources available and being creative. This might include finding potential participants online and messaging them directly, leveraging existing connections, or sometimes even reaching out to multiple people in an organisation before finding the right person.
What is the most unusual length that you have had to go to, to find testers with niche experience?
I can recall a time when I needed individuals who specifically lived in Stockton-on- Tees. I had to get creative for this one! I utilised Facebook, joining local community groups and posting on their Facebook pages to connect with potential testers.
Outside of UX, what are your interests and hobbies?
I love spending time with my son Freddie, Husband and my friends. Enjoying the small pleasures in life like going for coffee or summers walk. I’m also a bit of a makeup and skincare geek, so love trying new products.
What aspect of your role in the team do you find most fulfilling?
There’s a great sense of accomplishment when I successfully recruit participants for a project, especially when it’s a challenging recruit! It’s also great to know all the testers I recruit are contributing to the overall improvement of a website.