What It Was Like To Join N26

When Mexico and Germany meet in Hong Kong

During my year abroad in Hong Kong, I discussed entrepreneurship in Europe vs. Mexico with a German friend of mine. He mentioned several interesting ventures, and, since I’m studying Computer Science, the one that stood out the most to me was an online bank startup called N26. My friend really liked the company and was an early adopter of their product, so he encouraged me to apply.

After having a look at the Careers section, I applied and got accepted to the the Cybersecurity Intern position. I still had to overcome an arduous visa application process: applying from Hong Kong to get a visa for a German company while almost all the official paperwork must be done in Mexico is not an easy task! Luckily, the People Team at N26 helped every step of the way, and I finally made it to Germany.

Getting the full picture

At the beginning, I thought I was going to focus on tech and on tech only. After a couple of days, I realized I’ve never been so wrong. Beside the “obvious” onboarding sessions that I had (such as security, site reliability, product and backend), I also had the opportunity to be onboarded to other departments such as Data, Legal, and to the Anti Money Laundering (AML) team. After all, I am working for a bank and not for a pizza delivery restaurant.

People make places…

Since I quickly realized that I was going to be exposed to many departments, I approached a lot of people with my questions and, so far, it has been a pleasant surprise to find out how open and approachable they are.

You want to know more about how a specific microservice work? No problem, just ask. Want to know more about the technologies that the company is using? No problem, just ask. Want to know more about a specific product feature? I think you already got the point. Similarly, it’s amazing to know that I’m surrounded by really talented people, who come from so many different countries. For example, having a brainstorming session in which every single person in the room has a different background makes me feel that all the ideas are being broad as they can be. I think this adds a really particular, yet important, essence to the company’s culture.

… and so do dogs

Speaking of office culture, I’ve never been in a workplace in which dogs are more than welcome. You can find them in meetings, hallways and even as emojis. It never hurts to be walking around after a meeting and seeing that a dog is coming to you, it definitely adds a unique vibe to the workplace.

Pass it on

Having a cool company culture is a must in today’s business world, but keeping it, specially when you are in an hyper growth phase, is hard. So far, my experience has been that even though the company is growing at a very fast pace, the traditions are being kept. There is one area in which the company really goes an extra mile when it comes down to culture: Knowledge sharing.

Every team has a weekly knowledge sharing session. I find this amazing, since I learn a little bit more about what my colleagues have been working on, or which technology they are using to develop a new product or service. Sometimes those sessions involve people from another team, which is just as valuable, since I can learn about a service that is not directly related to my daily work life at N26. Of course, as a security engineer, every insight that I get from someone else helps me have a better understanding of the company as a whole.

Interns are people too

Furthermore, there are many people within the organization that really push forward for personal growth and they organize events in which people are encouraged to participate in. It doesn’t matter if you have been in the industry for a short or a longer time, people know you can teach them something new. And although it may seem challenging and intimidating to talk to a roomful of experienced engineers, especially since I’m in the early stage of my career, it enables me to grow both personally and professionally.

Get Sh… Stuff Done

Last but not least, I also had the chance to participate in Getting stuff done days: two days a month, we can work on new ideas or learn a new skill. No meetings, no standups, no tickets, just doing what you want to do.

What’s next

My journey at N26 has been an amazing: I feel that I’ve been challenged and empowered on a regular basis. After only 3 months, I have already learned a lot, but every day, it feels like there is a whole universe to be discovered. Luckily, I know that I will not be alone on this journey since I’ll be able to rely on the people (and dogs, of course!) that surround me.

Finally, If you’d like to join us on the journey of building the mobile bank the world loves to use, have a look at some of the roles we’re looking for here.

Also published on Medium.

Written on September 28th, 2018 by Sergio Diaz