So I wanted to post my views once I had sufficient time to reflect on my experience. Also, since interviewing with Revolut, I've interviewed with other companies, which has solidified my views on Revolut's interview process.
I interviewed with Revolut between late January and all of February 2023 and had the following interviews:
Initial screening interview with Revolut's
Internal Talent Acquisition - 30 minutes
Australian AMLCO interview - 1 hour
Internal Talent Acquisition Debrief - 15 minutes
A live AML problem solve with Fincrime Ops Manager in Poland - 1 hour (scheduled for 7 pm on a Friday) Internal Talent Acquisition Debrief - 15 minutes
A live business problem solve with Australian COO- 1 hour
Internal Talent Acquisition Debrief - 15 minutes
'Culture fit' interview with Australian CEO - 1 hour
Final Internal Talent Acquisition Debrief - 15 mins
These interviews were scheduled weekly on average, and from the above timeline, I hope you can see the significant time investment required when interviewing with Revolut.
As someone who works in Big4 and has worked in well-known and large Australian companies, I can tell you, I did not have to use up so much of my time to prove that I was worthy of employment at any of those companies.
I was not offered a role in the end because I was not 'fluent in data analytics', which was a decision made by the CEO despite me having the same conversation about analytics at the beginning of the process with the AMLCO, whose response was 'don't worry, we all have different capabilities and play to each team member's strengths (not verbatim).
This demonstrates two things:
1.Senior leadership are not aligned on what skills they are willing to negotiate and which skills are necessary.
2. The CEO's opinion, whom you'd spend the least time with daily, weighs more than the AMLCO, who would be your direct manager.
The CEO also made it clear he had not looked at my resume as he quoted the length of my employment by what was on my Linkedin profile (general without specific dates). I wonder why he's in the interview process when he clearly does not have time to read resumes.
Revolut should consider reducing the number of interviews or combining the two problem solvers as they both intended to assess communication and problem-solving skills.
Revolut also justifies its interview process by saying they're trying to create 'high-functioning teams' and uses a bunch of MBB-esque buzzwords. This is great; however, Revolut should also consider its position in the market; it is a fintech with a negative reputation in the financial crime compliance world. At the time of my interviews, I'd actually already reviewed their policies and procedures as an independent reviewer in Big4 and can confirm, there's a lot of work to be done. The external ego does not match the internal issues.
I felt some relief when I was not offered a role, and after reflection, I've realised it is because the interviewers did not foster a safe, relaxed and conversational tone in which you could be your most authentic self.
As each interview went on, it became more high-stakes because of the time and energy spent preparing and going through the interviews.
Therefore, I have written this review of their interview process so that future candidates are aware of the time requirements. I recommend that candidates continue interviewing with other organisations simultaneously. Personally, I did not have the energy to do that. Still, I don't think the 9 conversations I had with Revolut was the best use of my already limited time.