Using the example of Exness. Material prepared with the support of Exness.
In 2014, Exness, a Russian fintech company from Tomsk that started its currency broker business in the late 2000s, decided to move its development team to Cyprus.
According to the experience of other IT companies that have previously moved to Cyprus, this is the place where effective coordination of processes can be established at the international level. Exness, however, also came in handy with another advantage of the Cyprus location – it is easy to hire new employees in Cyprus, firstly from the EU, and secondly, from Russia and the CIS countries.
Moving to Cyprus (and working at Exness) takes five steps.
Step 1. CV
The Cypriot team of Exness welcomes primarily programmers, testers, data engineers and analysts: among the open vacancies are developers of applications for Android and iOS, specialists in Python, C ++ and front-end development.
The HR department considers experienced applicants with already implemented projects and achievements, by which it is possible to determine the professionalism of the candidate, the willingness to develop, to acquire new knowledge and skills.
“When making a decision, the company pays attention to the existing experience and potential of the future employee, and not to the lines with the indication of major brands in the track record.”
CVs are considered by recruiters, and then by department representatives who need new people. Applicants who fit the company are scheduled for an interview. If the company has additional questions, it will preliminarily ask the applicant.
Step 2. Interview
The interview takes place in several stages. Since most of the time the company considers employees who are ready to move, interviews are conducted via Skype. The first stage is an interview with HR, during which they tell in detail what kind of specialist is required, clarify the candidate’s experience and the specifics of working in the company.
Next – a technical interview with the team via Skype to get to know the applicant and understand his qualifications. Based on the results, a decision is made whether to proceed to the test task.
“We talked about project management, about what difficulties can arise in this case, what usually I did in difficult situations. I went through a lot of interviews, and already got used to the fact that you never know in advance what an employer might not like. Therefore, I always tell it as it is, without embellishment.
To my surprise, the interlocutors were very polite and sympathetic to my stories that some projects turned out well, and some did not. I liked the directness of the questions and answers, I liked the fact that they took the time to talk about the company and at the same time did not torment me with two hours of questions.
Artem Sukhoroslov
Scrum Master Exness”
Those who successfully complete the interview and test assignment are offered a final conversation. In addition to the technical director and the head of the department, HR is joining it again. The greatest interest is shown in how a future employee will be able to prove himself in business. Will it be possible to work in a new team, adapt to the specifics, is it possible to entrust a new employee with complex tasks and important projects. The purpose of the stage is to get answers to these questions.
Interviews for executive and key positions are conducted directly in the Cyprus office so that the applicant can communicate with future colleagues and see a potential job. Exness takes care of the travel expenses.
At this stage, knowledge of English is also checked; a separate interview can be devoted to this. “I was expecting a light conversation in English, but the interlocutor immediately started talking about product management. At the same time, the interview took place in a rather pleasant and friendly atmosphere”, says Scrum Master Exness Eduard Dulich.
The final decision on hiring is made by the head of the department and HR. Most often, those interested manage to get an offer in a week – the company guarantees quick feedback. Only the work on the test task may require time.
“The interview was interesting. There was no tension – everything was calm and friendly. In the first days it was hard because of a lack of understanding of what was happening in the company and how the processes were arranged. This went on for several months.
Then everything began to clear up – the company does a lot for employees, provides opportunities for both professional development and the convenience of living on the island.
Lucie Nazipova
QA engineer”
Step 3. Moving
Preparing for the move will take about a month. If an employee has circumstances due to which the arrival must be postponed, the company can accept it.
The key moment in the moving process is the collection of documents, which are not so much required. In addition to a CV filled out according to the sample, a letter of recommendation and a diploma of higher education, you need:
- International passport.
- Certificate of no criminal record and criminal prosecution.
Already in Cyprus, Exness draws up another necessary document – a work permit. You won’t have to deal with it in advance at the embassy.
Step 4. Employment
A contract with a new employee is concluded for three years, the work begins with a probation period. For the first two weeks, each employee undergoes personal training, which immerses the beginner in work processes and gives knowledge about the aspects of the business and products.
Sometimes fresh employees come from totally different areas of business. They have to get to know the market from scratch. But a month, which includes both study and the beginning of work, is usually enough for a full acquaintance.
“The first two weeks pass side by side with a mentor who meets with you once a day and speaks out what you have learned during the day. If something is not clear – he explains, and in great detail, until you understand. At this time, they are not loaded with work, they are given time to study. The correct approach and, most importantly, effective.
Ekaterina Mironova
recruitment specialist”
The standard schedule at Exness is five working days and a weekend, with one hour for lunch. You hardly have to get used to the operating mode, because you can adjust it for yourself. Larks leave for the office by eight, owls start around eleven.
The schedule is flexible and agreed with the management, the main thing is to be in the office for at least 40 hours a week. This is not only individual work on their tasks, but also meetings, group discussions, for which departments are selected on the roof of the office.
There are other nice things too:
Team building. Legion Run and Dorians Challenge that test team cohesion. Quad bike rides, parties and carnivals, family and children’s parties – the team has many opportunities to spend leisure time together.
Business trips. Employees are regularly referred to other Exness offices in cities from London to Shanghai. Here colleagues exchange experience and knowledge in order to effectively solve the assigned tasks.
Experience exchange. The company supports those who want to share their professional interests. This is easy to do in the format of internal meetings, sometimes on the roof of the office. Meetings of department employees are often held there, as well as speeches by invited speakers. Exness also encourages speakers at major conferences and other IT events.
Diverse tasks. The starting point for working with this or that employee is not his position, but knowledge and skills. “When a person has unique experience and knowledge in some area, for example, cryptography or Big Data, he will most likely be involved in several projects,” says Vladimir Tatarinov, CTO of Exness.
Step 5. Perspectives
The new employee is not limited to the scope of job responsibilities. At the same time, Exness notes the importance of independence and expects candidates to be ready for development and provides opportunities for this.
People with outstanding managerial skills are also recruited in several ways. Keeping project managers in the loop on all fronts eliminates potential risks and allows more efficient use of resources.
“The rapid growth of the company gives each of us great opportunities: every day you do what you do best and learn something new. We are especially interested in specialists who do not see the boundaries of their knowledge: they easily learn and grow together with the company.
The company has a huge potential; there will be new tasks and interesting projects for everyone. This is probably why our employees recommend our company to their friends and network.
Elena Krutova
recruitment manager”
Exness is currently working on a p2p investment platform in which both the investor and the borrower are individuals. As well as the launch of a service for organizing forex platforms for banks and stock brokers.
The development department will be tasked with creating an automated document verification system, ensuring the protection of customer data and developing a financial monitoring system.
Who Exness is waiting for in Cyprus today
The team requires: senior Python developer, full stack PHP developers, front-end developers, business systems analyst, data engineer, product managers, specialists in the field of manual and automated testing and others.
