Sitting down with Tracey Wells, talent experience manager at Xero, we discussed how potential hires can learn about the fintech field and land their ideal position.
The New Zealand-based software company specialises in cloud-based accounting software and has offices from New Zealand and Australia, to the UK, and US.
What top tips can you offer candidates looking to join the industry?
“It is dependent on the role you are applying for, but you want to truly understand what problems the industry is facing, how companies are seeking to solve those problems, and who the current market leaders are and why,” Wells explains.
Wells explains that candidates should know their strengths and aspire to join a company that they can describe as great. The candidate should have in mind how they can bring their skills to the team and what kind of company they want to be working at in
terms of culture, products, and customer engagement.
What does Xero want from their ideal candidates?
Xero places a heavy emphasis on new hires sharing their customer values, Wells details, and it is essential that candidates align with Xero’s values. When looking for new talent, she looks for candidates who have the relevant technical skills and experience
and a desire to see small businesses thrive.
“It’s crucial we make hires for the long term and not just to fill a role in the quickest time. That’s why we ensure candidates understand the fast paced nature of our business, can navigate change and ambiguity and are solutions-focused. It’s important
that they positively challenge us and highlight the ways we can work better.”
What roles is Xero currently hiring for?
Xero is currently hiring for positions across the board, including in marketing and communications, business services, and customer operations. See their full list of open positions
here.
Why work at Xero?
Xero holds monthly forums to discuss events and company culture with the goal of regularly checking in with employees to improve their happiness and comfort in the workplace environment.
Wells continues: “Our focus is on delivering positive impact for small businesses and their accountants and bookkeepers, whether that’s providing mental health support for business owners or lobbying the government to take greater action around late payments.
The work we do has an impact on the health of small businesses – and the economy as a whole – which is hugely rewarding for our employees.”
What can Xero do for you?
Xero places significance on the holistic health of their employees by offering a wellbeing hub and mental health toolkit to people leaders for their teams. The company also offers a bereavement and compassionate paid leave policy along with replacing the
term ‘sick leave’ with ‘wellbeing leave’ to encourage employees to place the same importance on mental health as they do physical.
The company provides 26 weeks off for paid maternity and paternity leave and also offers six weeks paid partner’s leave, and 10 paid ‘keeping in touch’ days.
Wells states that Xero has a very open and flexible hybrid working policy that allows staff to work wherever they feel comfortable, though it is required that they are based in the same country as their payroll. People who work remotely are asked to come
into the office four times a year to remain connected with other employees.
Tell us success stories of employees that have risen through Xero’s ranks.
“A great number of Xero employees have started in one role, only to expand their expertise, learning new skills to become even more pivotal to the company’s success. For example, we have helped over 31 specialists who joined the customer experience team
in the UK & EMEA team pivot into broader roles in education, product, sales operations, analytics, and more,” says Wells.
“Due to their close working proximity with other teams they are able to upskill, working on projects that broaden their scope and experience and enabling them to be 'front of the queue' when roles in that team arise.”
Want to see more fintech opportunities? Visit the Finextra Job Board for hundreds more roles, and bookmark the link for regular check-ins.