How to hire in fintech and get an offer there as a newcomer: a bill_line HR and new employee talk

How hiring in IT and fintech has changed and where the ‘warm offers’ have gone

There has long been a consensus in the HR community that 2021 was the last year in IT when the market was on the candidate’s side.There was an atmosphere of ‘warm offers’ at that time: demand in the market prominently exceeded supply, which meant applicants were the ones making the decisions. Recruiters mostly made the first move themselves, the hiring process took days rather than months and included a bunch of additional ‘perks,’ from relocation compensation to sign-up bonuses that could exceed $5,000.

However, over the past four years, the market has experienced:

• the outbreak of the largest war in Europe since World War II, which virtually paralysed the entire industry in Ukraine for a year;
• a 35% drop in venture capital investment in 2023, which led to massive layoffs at big tech giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon;
• AI tools integration into almost all processes of tech-first companies. This has led to the automation of some tasks, which means further job cuts — well, because why pay six people when two and some AI tools can do the job;
• ongoing mobilisation, which can put the work of any specialist on hold.

All this means there is significantly less money and, as a result, fewer vacancies on the market, while demand — after a slight decline in 2022 — is growing steadily, especially after the layoffs. 

On the one hand, recruiters and HR managers hardly ever conduct mass hiring in such conditions and donэt try to ‘sell’ a vacancy to a candidate. Why? Well, because he/she is most interested in it. On the other hand, in order to get (and keep) a really valuable person on the team, you need to think strategically: conduct a more qualitative selection process, update the system of critically important benefits in the new reality, and think one or two more steps ahead.

Hiring preferences in fintech today — and why the ‘perfect candidate’ no longer exists

Is this the case in fintech? According to the bill_line payment orchestration platform HRD, which has been operating in the fintech market since 2019 and experienced active growth in 2022-2023, most of the limitations or red flags have existed for a long time, as the biggest problem is the narrowness of the niche. 

«It is not only technical or manager competence that is important in fintech, but also knowledge of specific processes and terminology. How does acquiring work, what is a chargeback and who is a merchant, what are the differences, what does PSD2 regulate, what does the KYC/AML process look like and how is PCI DSS security organised? You can’t learn all this overnight before an interview. Especially if you want to be fluent in this topic. You need to be ‘in the field,’ understand the industry, and grow in it,» — says Oksana Kireeva, bill_line HRD.  

That’s why HR should look for people who are not just suitable for the current position, but who can learn faster than the industry changes. And there’re not many people who know technology and understand the financial logic of products at the same time. Often, companies compete not for the ‘perfect candidate’ but for the ‘only candidate’ who has a truly relevant experience. That’s why many fintech companies nurture their talent and do everything they can to reduce staff turnover, because niche specialists often go to competitors. 

Of course, attrition changes in IT like ‘they want more from me, but they want to pay less for it’ have also affected fintech. According to DOU, almost 30% of IT specialists combine several roles at work, and the median salary has decreased for almost everyone, except for middle managers and a few business niches. 

However, competition for experience, skills, and truly unique knowledge makes salaries in fintech some of the most competitive among IT companies. And this has always been the case in this niche. The partners of this article understand the value of personnel well — you can view bill_line vacancies and see for yourself!

Switching from another field to fintech: pros and cons

IT is a very broad concept and a large industry. Fintech, on the other hand, is one of the most regulated areas of IT. A person with experience in e-commerce or SaaS products may be very strong technically, but will lose time adapting to complex legal, financial, and tech processes.

bill_line’s experience shows people who have proven themselves as top specialists in other fields (logistics, retail, etc.) often take more time to integrate into a new field, despite the extensive experience they have gained during their careers. bill_line HR Director said that some positions in the company remained unfilled for months — mostly due to the fact the match didn’t happen during the interview with C-level management. She highlighted the main criteria for why related experience may not work: 

• The longer a candidate from another field has worked in it, the more difficult it is for him or her to understand the dynamic fintech niche;
• What may be the norm when developing or implementing a solution in one field may not only fail, but also be detrimental in financial technologies.
• A candidate may have unique, specific experience in one field that has created value for him or her in the market, but it may not be suitable for a fintech company. This is easy to determine among developers (because they have a product stack), but much more difficult to identify with non-technical vacancies. 

However, it all depends on the motivation and learning skills of the individual. Maryna, a member of the bill_line support team who joined the company from one of the product IT companies, shared her experience: 

«I made a conscious decision to move to fintech. It was a level up from IT: entering a field where accuracy, responsibility, and speed are of particular importance. I was well aware of what a dynamic environment and constant change meant. However, fintech opened up a whole new level of depth for me — here every detail matters and mistakes can have real business consequences.

For me, the adaptation period was primarily about active learning: I asked a lot of questions, even if they seemed simple, to observe, analyse and gradually build my own understanding of the fintech context.

Yes, I’m only at the beginning of my journey in fintech, but I already see a big room for development here. I’m interested in delving into products and processes, gradually forming an understanding and taking on more responsibility. For me, it’s about moving forward — step by step, with attention to detail and a genuine interest in what I do», — Maryna Osadcha, bill_line Support Line 1. 

Fintech as a career choice: who will feel comfortable here and who won’t

bill_line usually looks for people from related fields, as this is where it sees the optimal skill set for effective adaptation.

«If it’s not someone from fintech and the vacancy is not a head-level position, the advantage will be with someone from an outsourcing company or a bank. In the first scenario, the candidate had the skill to quickly switch between different projects and constantly learn new things in different fields. In the second scenario, although banks have more bureaucratic processes and conservative tasks, they still provide an understanding of how the financial system works in general and the transaction business in particular», — Oksana Kireeva explains.

With this in mind, we’ve identified the ‘basic minimum’ of what a person needs to be able to do in order to receive an offer:

• Demonstrate a basic industry understanding — even at the level of self-study and reading specialised resources;
• Do a terminology check — so that HR can see the candidate is not starting from scratch;
• Demonstrate responsibility and attentiveness — these traits can be more important than experience;
• Structure your communication. It’s acceptable to be unfamiliar with some terms, but not with your own arguments.
• Demonstrate the ability to learn quickly — through courses, certifications, and participation in hackathons.

Fast onboarding \ adaptation and a stable team

Despite the above-mentioned limitations and a fairly high entry threshold, most employer branding cases in Ukrainian fintech are based on technological capabilities and rapid development. And the main selling point is stability.

People in this niche work for a long time, steadily growing either to head positions in management or with constant salary reviews for developers. And it’s no surprise: according to UAFIC, more than 75% of fintech companies have passed the break-even point, and more than 80% are self-funded. Teams rarely undergo reorganisation, and the narrow niche stimulates them to be as stable as possible. The heroes of our article have been betting on the same strategy since 2019, as evidenced by bill_line DOU reviews.

This means a person quickly integrates into the team, receives interesting tasks, and regularly grows — both professionally and financially — in a developed corporate culture, from onboarding and personal career tracks to holiday parties. 

«For me, fintech turned out to be not only about processes and numbers, but first of all about people. When you have a team that’s ready to explain, share context and support you at the start, you gain confidence in your actions and understand you‘re not alone in difficult situations. This helps you understand the product faster, work more responsibly with users, and grow organically in a new field. It’s this human-first optics that makes fintech an environment in which you want to develop,» — emphasises Maryna, who has just started her career at bill_line but is motivated to continue developing in fintech.

Fintech values quick thinking, responsibility, independence, and healthy proactivity. If you have these traits, the domain will adapt to you much faster than you think.