Top Hat Interview Questions
& Process

This was one of my first interviews during my job search, and I was super nervous. Even though I prepared a lot, I didn't do as well as I wanted, which was really unsettling and made things worse. The interviewers could tell things weren't going smoothly. What surprised me was when one of them got openly frustrated. This really messed with my confidence and left me with a bad impression of their lack of empathy. The fact that the others didn't step in or, as far as I know, didn't report it later makes me question the company's culture. From my experience, it seems like they don't really care about empathy and courage. So, I'd suggest people think about this before applying.

The whole thing took about 5 days. It started with a recruiter call, then a chat with the team manager, and finally a third interview with the team manager and his boss. The first interview with Kelly Zhu, the recruiter, was amazing. She was super open and asked direct questions. She was really engaging and made me feel valued, showing interest in me as a person and what I could bring to Top Hat, but also what the company could offer me. Honestly, she made me feel like Top Hat would be a great place to work, and that's a big reason I accepted their offer. After the call, Kelly clearly laid out the next steps and said the team manager would be in touch soon to set up another interview. She even followed up to make sure I was contacted. The second interview was okay. The team manager focused on my skills and what a typical day would be like. We did a quick roleplay, and he said I'd move on to a final roleplay the next day. The only downside was that the manager seemed a bit distracted, which wasn't ideal. But again, Kelly jumped in and addressed my concerns within an hour. The final interview was mostly roleplay (like 90%), with a few questions from my side (10%). It was very direct and to the point, which I liked. Overall, the process was clear, quick, and felt like a good use of everyone's time.

The interview process involved 3 rounds. First, I spoke with Kelly Zhu from the recruitment team, who was really great and made me excited about Top Hat. Second, I had a 1-on-1 with the CFO where we talked a lot about my background and Top Hat, with a big focus on their investment approach for businesses and tech. The final round was with corporate development executives and the FP&A team. This part involved a case study presentation and a deep dive into an investment model, which was the most challenging part, with some tough technical and detailed modeling questions. Overall, it was a really good, well-organized, and timely process. I ended up getting the offer and accepting it.

The interview process was typical of what you find from a tech company. The first step was a short phone screen and from there a more formal 1st interview is scheduled. Following the first interview, I then got to sit in with the hiring manager as I detailed my experience as well as why I thought I was the right fit for the position. There was one more step in which I met with the sales director after that and had to walk through a role-play situation with the chief HR coordinator on the call as well. After meeting once more with the sales director and a VP of revenue, I was offered the position quite quickly. Kelly Zhu from recruiting was outstanding to work with and highly communicative through the whole process. She was able to be my liaison between navigating the steps of the interview process and also cognizant of my needs as a potential employee. She represented the "first impression" of Top Hat and was one of the main reasons that I accepted the position once offered. People like Kelly are why I am happy to call myself a Top Hatter!