Xero is a technology company that provides cloud-based accounting software to small businesses. The company serves businesses across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom and has nearly 4 million subscribers.
In addition to helping small businesses succeed, Xero is committed to creating an environment where its employees can thrive. The company is proud of their work and gives employees the freedom and support to shape their careers. Five core values define the way Xero employees work and interact with each other and their customers:
Beautiful: Employees go the extra mile to create experiences people love, deliver high-quality work, and inspire others.
Challenge: Employees embrace change and seek new and better ways to accomplish their goals.
Human: Employees are authentic, kind, and inclusive of others.
Ownership: Employees deliver on their commitments, own their mistakes, and take positive action.
Team: Employees work together to do what is best for the company and its customers. They appreciate each other and celebrate successes together.
What Is Xero’s Hiring Process?
If you are interested in working at Xero, you will need to go through a simple but rigorous hiring process. Xero wants to ensure that their employees are not only talented in what they do but also embody Xero values and fit in well culturally with the existing team. Therefore, before entering the recruitment process, you will want to research the company to get a better idea of the type of person they are looking for.
Online Application
The first step will be the online application. Job seekers can search for open positions on the Xero website and complete the application form when ready. Prepare to enter your personal details, such as educational history and prior work experience. You will also upload a current CV and may answer other job-specific questions.
Once you submit your application, it will go through a screening process to ensure you meet the minimum qualifications, and then successful applicants will be contacted with the next steps.
Xero’s Assessments
Some Xero candidates must complete a few aptitude and personality exams to show the hiring team they have the skills and personality necessary to do well in the role. Some examples of assessments you may take include:
Verbal Reasoning Tests: The verbal reasoning test will assess your ability to comprehend written information. You will read through several text passages and answer questions about the content.
Logical Reasoning Tests: The logical reasoning exam will test your critical thinking skills and ability to draw conclusions. The test will present pieces of information that you must use to draw logical conclusions. For example, you may receive several statements taken as true and you must decide if a given conclusion is true or false, or if you do not have enough information to determine either way.
Skills-Based Tests: Xero may also ask their candidates to complete a skills-based test tailored to the position they are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a software engineering position, you may need to take a coding or programming test.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT): The SJT test is a way for Xero to examine your fit with the team. The test will present situations similar to ones you may encounter in your position at Xero and potential response options for you to choose from. How you respond in these situations will indicate your values and how you typically behave in the workplace.
Interviews
Candidates who do well on the pre-employment assessments will graduate to the interview process. These discussions will be with human resources or a hiring team member. They will be to confirm your credentials, learn more about how your specific experience can support the Xero team, and why you are the best fit for the company over the other candidates.
Becoming Xero Certified
In addition to their pre-employment assessments, Xero provides proficiency exams to accountants and bookkeepers who work or want to work at other companies to test their ability to use the Xero software. This benefits other companies because they can ensure that their candidates can use the Xero software before hiring them to serve that role.
The Xero assessment will evaluate three critical areas of the software:
Bookkeeping
Navigation
Reporting
To do well on the exam, you must have a good feel for navigating the system, processing transactions, and knowing which reports to run from the software and how to do so.
Xero Courses
Xero offers several courses and webinars to help people become Xero-certified. These are available on their website under Learning and Certifications. The online course option is self-paced and includes smaller lessons to work through.
The webinar or classroom options include live events that you must register to attend. These are followed by an assessment you must complete to earn credit for your certification. These do not need to be done consecutively, but all sessions must be completed to receive the certificate.
If you are already familiar with the software but need to complete the certification, there is a fast-track option to go straight to the assessment without taking the pre-requisite courses.
How to Prepare for the Xero Assessments?
Whether you are applying for a position at Xero or just want to become Xero certified, you must prepare for the exams you will encounter. The best way to do that is using online resources such as practice tests.
Online practice tests are great resources because they provide sample questions and answers that you can practice working through to better understand what you will be expected to complete on the exam.
Candidates who take the time to prepare before the recruitment process and the Xero qualifying exam tend to do better on the tests, resulting in a higher chance of being hired for their dream position.
