The 7 steps to joining Billie

So you are thinking about applying to Billie, but you are not sure about what lays in front of you. Well, we wanted to lay that out before you take that leap of faith and give you some insight into what happens next.

The Billie Application Process in seven short steps:

1. Application and Application Review

2. Screening Interview

3. Take Home Challenge (if it is a technical role)

4. Technical/Hiring Manager Interview

5. Face to Face Interview

6. Offer

7. Feedback

1. Application and Application Review

Once you have applied your application will be reviewed in detail by our recruitment team. They will assess your qualifications against the requirements for the role and move you through to a first round screening call if they think it could be a good fit. We respond to all applications we receive, and we will give you some feedback as soon as possible either way. If you have forgotten to submit any information or if you have any questions you can always contact the team at jobs@billie.io. 

2. Screening Interview

If our recruitment team thinks your CV could be a fit for the open position, they will contact you to set up an initial screening interview. This will be a 30 to 40 minute call that will take place via Google Hangouts or Zoom for the recruiter to get a better understanding of your background and, of course, your interest in the position. Please be ready to speak through your key achievements in your career and the most relevant experiences for the role you applied for. We will also ask you some standard contractual questions to check things such as notice period, salary expectations, and your right to work status. Please be prepared in advance to answer these questions.

However it is, of course, a two way street, so make sure you ask the questions you want to about Billie, the position, and the team. We will dedicate five to ten minutes at the end of the call for questions. We are open to all questions – if we cannot answer one then and there, we will find someone who can and get back to you. 

We will come back to you within a week and will provide you with feedback on your application. If successful the next step will be either a Coding Challenge (if you applied for a technical role) or a phone interview with the hiring manager.

3. Take Home Challenge (for technical roles)

For most roles, we ask candidates to perform a take-home task which can range from a Coding Challenge for engineers, to a written assignment for a Working Student role. Our philosophy is that you should have at least one weekend to perform your challenge, which is why we always give a one week deadline. We try to be flexible and patient whilst maintaining fairness in the process, for example, postponing the reception of the task if you know in advance you may not be able to reach the initial one week deadline.

We are particularly proud of our Engineering Coding Challenge. Our team came together to put together a truly original task involving interplanetary relocation and space colonization. It allows you to deploy your skills addressing a very specific problem without arbitrary constraints.

4. Technical or Hiring Manager Interview

This is your first interaction with the Hiring Manager for the position and will be a longer interview discussing your technical skills in a bit more detail. For our commercial roles, this will be a 30 to 40 minute interview delving into your expertise in the relevant area. For our technical roles, the interview will take a slightly longer form of 90 minutes with two technical interviewers to get a real understanding of your coding prowess. 

This will be a two way conversation, assessing not only your fit to the role but explaining the challenges we face on a daily basis and the core tasks in the position.  Often at this stage, our managers will present to you real life examples of issues we have at Billie and try to understand how you would tackle these problems. This is just to get an insight into how you problem solve, design solutions, and see what you would bring to the team.

This is also a great opportunity to get some more insight into the team dynamic, working tools, and processes, as well as the culture of the organisation. If you have any technical or specific subject matter questions, this is the time to ask. As with every stage of our process, we want to make sure that the position is also a good fit for you, so use the time to clarify anything you want to know about Billie.

If you are successful in this round, we will invite you to a final face to face interview. We will provide you feedback from this round within a week.

Curious what a career at Billie could look like? 

5. Face to Face interview (either in person or remote)

This is the final stage in our recruitment process where you will meet your key stakeholders and colleagues. Typically, you will have around three interviews spanning between 1.5 - 2.5 hours in total. These interviews will be a further exploration of your technical skills, but will also measure your softer skills as well. Whilst you will likely meet with the hiring manager again, this will be a broader interview panel with other relevant stakeholders from different departments included. 

Our face to face interviews take place at our Berlin Mitte office in the Rocket Internet Tower. Please let us know if you need any support with regards to travel arrangements and we will be happy to help. We will also provide you with an onsite candidate pack and an agenda ahead of time, so you have all the information you need to be successful. Oh and just by the way, we operate a casual dress code at Billie! 

“What are you looking for?” I hear you ask? Well, we are looking for passionate innovators who believe in our mission and are ready to work in a fast paced environment. We are looking for people who are not just ready to tackle complex problems, but also own the solutions to them and consistently look to deliver results. We are also looking for people who want to be part of an international, diverse, and fun team.

For a candidate this means being prepared, being able to demonstrate how you would contribute to the team, and being yourself. Remember, we want you to do well. Our interview process is designed to get a rounded view of your personality and skill set. Whilst a job interview can of course be stressful at times, we are on your side.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we are offering all face to face interviews as remote interviews as well. If you do not feel comfortable coming to the office or travelling please just let us know and we will be happy to set up the interview remotely.

After the interview, we will get back to you with feedback within three days of the interview.

6. Offer 

That’s it, you made it. Congratulations! 

Our recruiter will now reach out to you within a few days to make you an offer. Once the details are clarified, we will send you a copy of your contract digitally. You can sign this electronically, and return it to us. On the first day, you will receive your physical copy. If you have any queries or questions, please just reach out to us. We are there to guide you through the process.

As soon as the contract is signed you will receive an invitation to our HR system. From there all the information about your first day will follow on.

7. Feedback

We see feedback as a very important part of our candidate experience. We are happy to provide every candidate that reaches the screening call stage or further with personally tailored feedback. We appreciate your interest and time invested in us during the application process, therefore we are happy to explain how we make our decisions. As always, we are also happy to receive feedback on our process and encourage you to leave us a review at our Glassdoor page.

Still unsure? Any outstanding questions? Then of course feel free to reach out to us at jobs@billie.io, and we will be happy to help. Happy applying!