A Q&A with General Assembly’s Julien Deslangles-Blanch

By March 9, 2017For Talent

The day has finally come. EXPAND London is but a few hours away. To get you in the mood, here’s a Q&A with Julien Deslangles-Blanch‎, the UK and Germany Regional Director at General Assembly. As well as being one of our partners for EXPAND London, GA will also host a series of workshops at tonight’s event. More details here.

How do you nurture a diverse and inclusive team at General Assembly?

At General Assembly, we’re committed to creating and fostering a diverse and inclusive community. We have global employee resource groups, a Diversity & Inclusion Statement recently published on The Index (General Assembly’s blog), our Global Code of Conduct, diversity and inclusion events across our global campuses, and a dedicated team that works exclusively on promoting access to tech careers to underrepresented groups across the globe. We’re constantly learning and continually looking to better create a diverse and inclusive environment for our students, staff, and community.

What do you think is the most important attribute in an employee?

I want to be sure the person has the skills to do the job, but also is ready to contribute to our community and foster collaboration with GA staff and our external partners.

 

What do you think is the most important attribute in a manager?     

The ability to empower their team to go above and beyond in their job. That means creating and fostering an environment in which everyone is encouraged to show initiative and creativity, but also collaboration, empathy and team spirit.

What’s your biggest challenge in attracting talent?  

Ensuring we are attracting, and empowering, the best talent is crucial. In any small team, a new member plays a powerful role in defining our culture and shaping our team. We look for team members who can shape the team while making it better.

What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked at an interview?

Strangely enough, we once received an application from a candidate that listed their height, weight, running speed and favourite colour as the sole details of their “About me” introduction – extra points for a good sense of humour!

See more details on exhibitors here.

What’s the best career advice you’ve ever gotten?

   “Never stop learning”

How have you been affected by Brexit?

We don’t yet know what implications Brexit will have on the economy or the tech scene – that said, we are optimistic and committed to investing in the London tech community. Today the General Assembly network touches hundreds of thousands in the UK, and we hope to increase that network even more. Tech in London is a fast growing sector as evidenced by the number of jobs being created, which is why we’re betting that London’s technology industry will continue to thrive in the coming years.

What are you most looking forward to about EXPAND London?

At General Assembly, we are providing our community with access to education, training and career opportunity in tech, business, design and data. We’ve partnered with EXPAND from the start, and we are excited to be once again reunited with great companies as part of this huge forum, take part in important conversations shaping the future of work in the UK, and help even more people access new skills and opportunities.


Interested in learning more about General Assembly? Join them at EXPAND London for a series of workshops.

Or

check out their live roles here.


 

Author Aoife Geary

Aoife Geary is the Content Editor at Jobbio specialising in the areas of Workplace Culture, Diversity, Startups and Digital Trends. She's partial to a burrito, a bad pun and living way beyond her means.

More posts by Aoife Geary

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