Interviewing at TrueLayer: the complete guide

Interviews are tricky. We know. But we want to make the whole process as smooth, seamless and stress-free as possible. Because that enables you to be your best when you interview with us. And that gets us further, faster, as we build a team to change the way the world pays.

So, we created this guide: an overview of how we hire, from the moment you click “apply” to the moment we make an offer.

Step one: you apply

When you submit your application on our careers page, we’ll ask you to send us your CV (and sometimes a portfolio as well). We’ll also ask you to answer a few extra questions. These help us get to know you a bit better and give you an opportunity to tell us what interests you about TrueLayer.

If your CV looks like a good match, the Talent Partner who is hiring for this role will get in touch. This is a member of our Talent team who is an expert in the business area you’re applying for. They’ll be your point of contact the entire time you’re interviewing with us. If you have any questions, just drop them an email — they’re here to support you through the process.

At this stage, your Talent Partner will email you to explain the next steps and schedule your first interview.

Step two: interviewing

Not every interview process will be identical, because not every role is the same. But when you interview with us, you’ll go through some or all of these four stages:

1. A phone screen

2. A take-home challenge

3. A technical interview

4. A multi-stage final interview

(We’ll explain more about each of these in a second.) After each interview, your Talent Partner will drop you an email to let you know whether you’ve made it to the next stage.

We interview remotely, via phone call or Google Meet. Dial in from a quiet place with good wi-fi, and keep your camera on. We also record some interviews, to help us make our candidate experience better — we’ll let you know which ones, and you can always opt out of this.

So, this is the part where we explain each step in the process. But before we get into the nuts and bolts, two quick notes:

• You won’t necessarily go through every one of these steps in this exact order. Your Talent Partner will tell you exactly how the process works for your role from the beginning.

• If there’s a way that we can make interviewing more accessible for you, just let us know. Talk to your Talent Partner or send us an email if you have any questions.

With that, here’s a rundown of what interviewing with us looks like.

1. The phone screen

A phone screen will almost always be the first step in the process.

You’ll have a 30 to 45-minute call with either your Talent Partner or the Hiring Lead in charge of the role. This won’t be too different from other phone screens you might have had before — you’ll talk through your experience and what you’re looking to get out of your next role, and we’ll tell you a bit more about TrueLayer.

To get the most out of the call, we recommend that you have a look through the TrueLayer website, and familiarise yourself with open banking and our company values. This is also a great time for you to suss us out and make sure we’re right for you.

2. The take-home challenge

For many (but not all) roles, we will set you a take-home challenge.

These assessments are designed to test the everyday skills you’d be using at work with us. They give us some insight into how you think and solve problems. And we try to make them fun too.

We’d prefer that you send your challenge back to us within three to seven days, though we don’t set specific deadlines. We also don’t expect you to spend hours and hours on it — we’ll send you a time guideline.

Once you’ve sent it back, we’ll review your challenge and make a decision about whether to move you on to the next stage.

3. The technical interview

These will usually take about an hour, and will be with members of your potential team.

In terms of content, they’re pretty much exactly what they sound like: a chance for you to dig deeper into the technical requirements of the role, and for us to talk through your skills in more depth. If you completed a challenge, this is where you’ll explain more about how you approached the problem and thought through your solution.

This interview could take the form of a standard Q&A, a situation-based task or a presentation. Whichever it is, we’ll let you know well in advance.

4. The final interview

The last stage in the process will be a two to three-hour session involving a few interviews, which will be divided up something like this:

The team and competency interview

In this interview, you’ll talk with two members of the team you’re interviewing for. They will focus on how you fit within the team dynamic and how you work with others, as well as digging deeper into your experience and knowledge.

The career and growth interview

This will be with a ‘Head of’, or another senior team member who you would report to. We’ll talk about what you can bring to the team and the company, and encourage you to open up about your aspirations for the future.

Remember: you’ll be interviewing us just as much as we’re interviewing you. This is your chance to get to grips with the culture and the team you’ll be joining. Ask questions.

Step three: feedback and decision

Everyone who interviewed you will get together to share their feedback. Then, using all of the panel’s knowledge and experience, the Hiring Lead will decide whether or not to make an offer. We’ll try to get back to you within two or three working days to let you know (though we’re usually much quicker than that).

If you’re successful, we’ll set up a call to let you know the good news. If you’re not, we’ll aim to get as much detailed feedback to you as we can — as soon as we can — to help you with future interviews.

So there you have it. Our interview process laid bare. Has reading all this got you thinking you might want to join our team? Head on over to our careers page and check out the roles we’ve got open. We’re excited to hear from you. You can also keep up with the latest news from us on our LinkedIn and Twitter.