How to interview at GoCardless

You’ve heard great things about GoCardless, you’ve applied for a job, and you’ve been invited for an interview – great start! Now what?

We know interviewing is hard. So we want to give you as much guidance as possible to help you succeed! Here’s what to expect, both at the telephone interview stage and in our face to face interviews.

The telephone interview

This stage is the first part of the interview process and usually lasts for 15-30 minutes. In it, we’re looking to assess a few basic things

• Do you have the right experience?

• Have you researched the company?

• Are you passionate about what you do?

To do well in this interview

• Think ahead. Make sure you’re in a quiet, comfortable place with good signal!

• Research GoCardless. Do you know what we really do? Who our customers and competitors are? What our culture is like?

• Be prepared. Think about what motivates you and why you’re excited about joining GoCardless. We want to see that you can clearly articulate your reasons for wanting to join us (hint: we’re looking for more than ‘I’m interested in startups/fintech’!)

We’ll let you know the outcome of this stage within a couple of days.

The face to face interview

When coming to meet us for an onsite interview you should know

First of all, we dress casually in the office, so please don’t feel you need to wear a suit and tie! Casual or smart casual is fine – we just want you to feel comfortable.

Secondly, when you walk through the elevator doors, you won’t be greeted by a receptionist. Instead you’ll walk straight into our office. In front of you there will be an iPad - please fill out your details and it will let us know you’ve arrived. Feel free to take a seat on the sofas while waiting!

Most onsite interviews last a couple of hours, but this really depends on what role you're applying for. At this stage we’re looking to assess

• Can you do the job?

• What can you bring to GoCardless?

• Are you excited about working with us?

• What really motivates you?

Our interviews include sessions on role fit and culture fit. Both are equally important. We’re not just looking for people who are great at their jobs, we’re also looking for people who care about the same things as us. The culture fit is absolutely not a personality test - we’re just interested to know what motivates you.

To do well in this interview

• Structure your answers. Read through the job description and make sure you know what’s required for the role. Then think of examples where you’ve demonstrated the skills we care about. We want to know that you can do the job and, beyond that, get an understanding of what you can bring to GoCardless – so make sure you think about achievements and not just responsibilities.

• Be curious. Use this opportunity to ask us questions. Interviews are a two-way process and we both need to make sure we’re right for each other.

• Be honest. People at GoCardless matter. We strive to create an environment that helps everyone be engaged and motivated to do their best. So be yourself, tell us what you’re passionate about and what you want to do in your career.

Hopefully you’ve found this blog post useful!

Find out more about what it’s like to work at GoCardless.