How to Find the Right Fintech Job for You

It is easy to find a fintech vacancy that looks good on paper. It is much harder to know whether you will actually want to do that job every day.

When the job market feels complicated, it is tempting to open a job board, search for your title and apply to anything that looks relevant. Anastasia Zencika, Founder & CEO of Evotym, recommends starting from a slightly different angle.

When we asked what she would do if she were looking for a fintech job today, her first step was simple:

"I would try to understand what I actually want and what kind of job would make me happy."

Below, we break down how to approach your fintech job search in 7 steps. So if finding a new role is on your list before the end of the year, keep reading.

1. Decide what you actually want to do

Many candidates start with the job title they already have.

They have always worked in marketing, sales, compliance or finance, so they automatically search for the same title again. A familiar title does not necessarily mean the work is still right for you.

Before looking at vacancies, ask yourself what you actually want from the next stage of your career:

• Do you want to stay in the same function or change direction?
• Do you want more responsibility?
• Do you want to build something from scratch, manage people, work closer to a product or move into a more specialised area?
• Why do you want that change?

Anastasia says this part is especially important for people trying to move into a completely different function.

At Evotym, candidates often approach us after working in one area for years and deciding they want to move into something completely different. To make that transition successfully, they need to understand why they want to make the move and which parts of their existing experience can support it.

The clearer you are about the role you actually want, the easier every next step becomes.

2. Check which skills can take you there

Once you know where you want to go, look at the gap between your current experience and the role you want next.

Anastasia recommends asking yourself:

• Which skills do I already have that are relevant?
• What experience proves I could do this job?
• Which important skills am I missing?
• If I do not have them yet, how can I get them?
• How will I show an employer that I am ready for this move?

This is particularly useful if you are changing functions, industries or levels.

To make the move, you need to give an employer a reason to believe that you can do the job and that they can trust you with the responsibility.

3. Decide where you would really like to work

Only after understanding the role does Anastasia suggest moving on to companies. Her advice is to become specific:

"The clearer you are about what kind of company you want to work for, the easier it becomes to find the right job."

Think about the companies where you could realistically see yourself being happy and doing good work. Consider things like:

• company size;
• geography;
• product;
• industry;
• business stage;
• people you would work with;
• working environment;
• culture.

The aim is to have enough clarity to distinguish between a vacancy that happens to match your title and a company you would genuinely like to join.

4. Apply selectively

This is where Anastasia's approach becomes quite different from mass applying.

With more than 10 years of experience in fintech, she does not recommend sending applications to every vacancy that looks remotely relevant.

In her view, if you apply to every remotely relevant vacancy, it becomes much harder to explain why you want this particular job and why you are a good fit for it.

Once you know what you want and where you would like to work:

• research those companies;
• look at their products and culture;
• understand which skills they need;
• follow their open roles;
• approach them with a clear reason.

You should be able to answer 2 questions, at least for yourself:

Why this company?

Why you?

Direct applications do work. According to our internal data, 24% of placements came from inbound candidates – people who had applied or entered our candidate database themselves.

The point is to make your applications more intentional.

5. Do not wait for the perfect vacancy if you really want to join the company

Anastasia also believes candidates can be more proactive than simply monitoring job boards.

If you genuinely want to work for a particular company and you have relevant skills, you can approach them directly. Explain why the company interests you, what you can bring and what type of role you are looking for.

The exact vacancy may not exist today. The company may still have another relevant opening, be planning to hire later or simply remember you when the right opportunity appears.

6. Use recruiters strategically

Recruitment agencies can also be part of your search.

Anastasia particularly recommends specialised agencies and local recruiters if you want to move to another country. They may know companies, vacancies and hiring managers that are difficult to reach through public job boards alone.

Even if the right opportunity is not there immediately, a good recruiter can keep you in mind for future roles.

7. Learn to talk about your achievements

The final part of Anastasia's advice is about interviews.

Knowing what you want and finding the right company will not help much if you cannot clearly explain what you have done before.

She recommends learning to speak about your achievements in a structured way and specifically mentions the STAR method.

STAR stands for:

• Situation – what was happening?
• Task – what were you responsible for?
• Action – what did you personally do?
• Result – what happened as a result?

The method is also recommended by MIT Career Advising & Professional Development for answering behavioural interview questions with specific examples.

Anastasia's advice is similar:

"If you can answer key interview questions using the STAR method, that's really powerful."

Before an interview, prepare several examples from your career where you can clearly explain the problem, your responsibility, what you did and what changed afterwards.

"I was responsible for business development" tells an employer very little. A stronger answer explains which market you worked in, what problem you faced, what you personally did and what result you achieved.

Use the interview to check whether the role is really right

Once you reach the interview, the process works both ways.

The company is assessing whether you fit the role, and you should also be checking whether the reality matches what you were looking for in the first place.

Ask questions too, focusing on the things that actually matter to your decision:

• Why is the role open?
• What would you be expected to achieve?
• What would you actually own?
• Who would you work with?
• What are the biggest challenges in the role?
• What would success look like after 6 or 12 months?

Pay attention to the answers. If the job sounds very different from what you expected, that is useful information too.

Before you start your search

You probably will not find a role that ticks every box. One opportunity may offer more responsibility but less flexibility. Another may give you a great manager and a strong product but require a move to another country.

That is why doing this work before you apply matters. It helps you understand which things you are willing to compromise on and which ones could eventually make you start looking for another job again.

And when the right opportunity does appear, you are in a much better position to recognise it and explain why you are the right person for it.

Ready to see what is currently available? Explore open fintech roles on the Evotym Careers Page.

For more fintech vacancies, career advice and hiring market insights, follow Evotym on LinkedIn.