My name is Jesse Reed. I am a Brit living in Amsterdam, and I am currently looking for a new work adventure. I have done various jobs in my life, including hotel manager, web developer/designer/website manager, copywriter, musician, and music teacher. I am open-minded about what my next position will be, and due to the large number of skills I have attained during my career, I think a multifaceted role would suit me very well. I am, of course, using traditional resumes and motivation letters to apply for jobs, but I sometimes feel they don't tell the whole story. For that reason, I made this web page to give a better overall representation of who I am and what I can bring to your team.
I studied music, and my brain never takes a break. I wake up with new song ideas and go to bed thinking of how I can improve them. I take this creative energy into every job I do. Here are a few examples of creative work that I have done as a web designer/developer, copywriter, and musician.
GREENSOCK ANIMATION - STORYBOARDING - DESIGN
COMPOSITION - LYRICS - ARTWORK
"All the walls are ruined by the loveless cries and the paint is flaking under the weight of all the lies. I know the beauty is still there for all the world to see, and I think I'll see it someday but today it escapes me"
I have had the privilege to work in some great teams, and when I'm given the opportunity to be a leader, I don't take it for granted. For me, the team will always be the main focus, as the only way to create a great product is through teamwork. When I am given the responsibility to lead a group of professionals, I want everyone to be happy, inspired, and able to produce their best work. Here are some examples of when I was given the role of manager and tech lead.
For two years I ran a boat hotel in Amsterdam called Passenger Ship Avanti. I'd never done anything like it before, and I loved it! I had to take care of every aspect of the business. I dealt with reservations, managing staff, purchasing, food and beverage operations, maintenance, and customer satisfaction. We got most of our bookings through a website called hostelworld.com, and in my time as manager, we improved our customer rating from 85% to 92%. I think the thing I liked the most about the job were the customers. I met so many great people, and it was a true pleasure of mine to help them have the best possible stay in Amsterdam.
While working at AGCS, I had the opportunity to lead a website build for the Hurom juicer company. They wanted us to manage their online presence in the BENELUX area. We were a team of designers, developers, and marketers, and we worked closely to create a website using WordPress and WooCommerce. I led the technical side of the project, and it was a useful experience in managing expectations and finding the right balance between great design and usable technology. In the end, through teamwork, we created an elegant website that ticked all the boxes for both usability and performance.
DISCLAIMER: I wasn't the manager or team leader for this project. I am mentioning it because it was a large undertaking, and I learnt a lot about project management from it. During my time at Spotzer Digital, I was part of a small group handpicked to coordinate a large website migration for Yell. We worked with teams in the UK, the Netherlands, and India. It was a huge project that required a lot of organisation. We had to navigate different time zones and even cultural and religious challenges. One of the biggest obstacles was the technical side of the operation. We were migrating sites using many different technologies, all to the Duda platform. This was incredibly challenging due to the limitations the platform had. In the end, through regular communication and a willingness to see the project to completion, we managed to get it past the finish line.
I've always been somewhat of an optimist but also perhaps a little naive at times, choosing to trust my gut and not necessarily backing up my instincts with facts. I recently studied UX design at The UX Design Institute, and I learnt that through research we can discover what really works in a website, often being the exact opposite of what our gut feelings are telling us. With the UX toolset I have attained, I am able to fine-tune a design to one that the customer engages with. This approach to design is incredibly powerful as it gives you a direct insight into the user and what they actually want from your product. Below are some examples of my UX research, where I gained invaluable data to create web products that truly connect with the customer.