A conversation with Wealthfront’s VP of Engineering, Avery Moon about what it takes to get hired as a software engineer at Wealthfront.
In 140 characters can you describe Wealthfront?
Wealthfront is the largest & fastest-growing software-based financial advisor. We provide low-fee, tax efficient diversified portfolios.
What annoys you most when looking through hundreds of resumes from engineers?
Resumes are most challenging when they exaggerate or have factual inaccuracies in previous technical experiences. Some cultures reward bravado, but at Wealthfront we focus on the best ideas and actual results.
What are some common mistakes you see engineers make when you interview them?
Successful engineering interview candidates exude enthusiasm, demonstrate their passion for software craftsmanship, and clearly convey how their interests and goals fit together with our company mission to use software to revolutionize the world of financial investments.
What are you looking for besides someone who just “sits down and codes”?
We look for three distinct aspects of fit for talented engineers at Wealthfront: functional, analytic, and cultural. Functional fit are the technical skills necessary to effectively translate ideas into high-quality software. Analytic fit is the creative intelligence to solve unfamiliar hard problems and inclination for continuous learning. Cultural fit are the collaborative and communication skills to work effectively with colleagues across engineering, design, and product.
Do you place a higher value on culture fit or talent?
If you look at our team, what you see is a strong combination of talent and passion. Wealthfront exists because we believe, through software, that we can help millions of people with one of the most difficult and important aspects of their lives: their financial well-being. Everyone who joins Wealthfront is technically excellent. They all also come in caring deeply about the idea that everyone deserves sophisticated financial advice, not just the wealthy.
Often times the people that you hire are a reflection of yourself, with that being said and with years of experience, what makes a candidate stand out?
Exceptionally talented engineers possess two traits which distinguish them above others: creative intelligence and passion. Creative intelligence combines both inductive and deductive analytic skills along with creativity in generalizing and synthesizing knowledge to solve unfamiliar hard problems. Passion is the holistic commitment to technical craftsmanship, continuous learning, collaborative teamwork, and attention to detail.
How should a candidate prepare when going into a job interview with Wealthfront?
Most effective way for candidates to prepare for Wealthfront interviews is to reflect on their own technical interests and career goals and prepare how to communicate and demonstrate how those align with Wealthfront’s hard technology problems, engineering culture, and company mission.
Do you take candidates from coding schools like General Assembly, HackBright, Dev bootcamp, and those who don’t have degrees in computer science?
Our evaluation criteria is consistent irrespective of candidate background, and we do have engineering team members whose academic degrees are not in computer science.
What advice would you give them when thinking of applying for a position at Wealthfront?
We believe the best way to build your career is to join a hypergrowth company for which you are deeply passionate about their mission and help build that company. Unlike large companies, at a startup your contributions are material to the success of the company, and the success of the company is material to both your financial success and future career opportunities.
When your passion is aligned with company mission, you can focus your interviewing and not fall into the mistaken trap of collecting offers. Our recently published ebook, called the Silicon Valley Career Guide, provides more advice on how to navigate your career toward success.
Great teams build great companies, and we’re building this one together.
For additional tips on how to get hired check out our workshop on “Building Your Street Cred” sponsored and hosted by Wealthfront on October 22,2013 at 6:00 pm.
