YNAB Interview Questions
& Process

So, like 6 or 7 months back, I went through this interview process. It started with a big cover letter and like 4-5 questions, plus my resume. I really put a ton of effort into my resume, the cover letter, and those questions. It worked 'cause I got to the next stage, which was answering way more questions, maybe around 20? Some were about fitting in with the company, some about my past work, and others were like, 'here's a situation, what would you do?'. I spent a crazy amount of time on this part, which seemed to be what they were looking for. After that, I had a video chat with two people from the team. One was the main interviewer, and the other just took notes. The vibe felt a bit weird to me, maybe it was the note-taker thing. YNAB sounds so cool, and I started with so much enthusiasm, but it kind of fizzled out talking to them. I noticed other people said the team gives the same canned answers about how amazing the culture is, and yeah, that's what happened to me. I tried to ask some slightly challenging questions about where their specific team was headed, but they just steered it back to, 'Working here is as great as it sounds. I'm so lucky to come to work every day.' I didn't make it to the next step, which was a paid project.

The interview process for YNAB is pretty long, but they're super communicative and always met their deadlines, so I always knew what to expect. The stages were: 1) Submit application with resume, cover letter, and writing samples (make sure to include the easter egg answer from the job description!). 2) Complete a written core values questionnaire (they prefaced this email with the salary range, so I knew it was in my budget before investing time). 3) First video interview (with 3 Marketing team members). 4) Paid homework assignment (for this writing role, it involved writing a sample blog post on a given topic, editing a current blog post for SEO, and redoing an email. This took about 4-6 hours). 5) Second video interview (with 2 more Marketing team members). 6) Third video interview (I was eliminated after the second video interview and didn't make it to the third round as one of the top two candidates). Everyone I spoke with was incredibly kind and wonderful, as expected from YNAB employees. The recruiters were great (shoutout to Amber!) and even sent me a potential job description a few months later. It was a very thorough process that taught me a lot about myself. I would've felt super confident I was a good fit if I had gotten the role because of all the steps involved (bye-bye Imposter Syndrome!).

It's a really thorough process. You start with a cover letter that includes a few specific questions, then a questionnaire to see if you're a cultural fit. After that, there's a chat interview where you'll work on a sample support email project. The final stage is a video interview. The interviewers were great and took time to answer my questions thoughtfully. For the sample email project, it's super important to study YNAB's support docs beforehand, especially if you don't know the platform well. They kept me updated on timelines and what to expect throughout. It was a lot of work and took time, but it made me sure I wanted the job, and I felt they were really sure about me too. It would have been rough not to get an offer after all that.

The interview process is long, but they are upfront about the timeline, which could be 6+ weeks. After submitting my resume, cover letter, and questionnaire, I completed an additional 15 questions, had 2 interviews, and finished a project. It was really disheartening to be told I wasn't selected and that they couldn't offer any feedback at all. After nearly two months of interviewing and putting in a lot of work for a role and company I was excited about, not getting feedback makes me hesitant to apply for their openings again. I think candidates who reach this stage deserve some takeaway, whether positive or constructive, since they were clearly considered. Not providing feedback leaves a bad impression on good candidates.