Cleo (United Kingdom) Interview Questions
& Process

I was first contacted by an internal recruiter who asked about my availability for a screening call with the talent team, which was quickly scheduled. During this initial screening, the talent partner was a bit late, but we proceeded with the conversation. They inquired about my background, my knowledge of Cleo, and my motivations for leaving my current job. They also asked about my salary expectations to see if they aligned with the role's compensation. Following this call, I was informed I'd be meeting with the previous training and quality manager soon and was asked for my availability. I didn't hear back for about a week, then they proposed some dates, and I picked one. The day before that meeting, I received a call stating the team had decided not to proceed with the role. The talent partner apologized and mentioned the team had been looking forward to speaking with me.

I interviewed with Cleo and went through a few rounds, even having a good chat with the Creative Director. But then their recruiter left, and I just never heard back about what happened. It was about six months later when they reached out again for a different role and set up an interview. It got called off just a few hours before it was supposed to start because they'd already given the job to someone else. Honestly, the whole hiring thing seemed really messy and not well put together. How a company handles the first steps of hiring really shows how they operate, and based on this, I wouldn't suggest putting a lot of effort into interviewing with them.

The interview process started well, with positive feedback from interviewers in similar roles. I went through four rounds, including technical assessments and a culture fit interview. However, the culture fit round felt disorganized and out of context. The questions were generic and seemed to lack a clear purpose. I wasn't advanced because of the culture fit, and the reasoning didn't seem logical. Overall, the process seemed structured, but the culture fit stage felt more like an attempt to get answers than to genuinely evaluate compatibility. This approach might discourage authenticity and lead to a weaker team dynamic.

The interview process involved an initial call with the recruiter, followed by a technical ML interview, a system design/ML reasoning interview, and finally a live Python and ML coding assessment. Throughout the process, the recruiter consistently provided updates, outlined upcoming stages, and shared general feedback after each round. Despite not receiving an offer, the organized structure and consistent communication made it a standout interview experience. The company emphasized its fast-paced nature, suggesting potential for rapid learning and impact, but also hinting at a high-pressure environment and possibly challenging work-life balance.