Here are some important things to know if you’re applying for a job at Locket.
Sending your CV off into the void, not knowing what an employer is looking for, can be a daunting, frustrating, and at times, demoralising prospect. We hear you! This is why we’ve written this guide. We can promise you that your application will be read and carefully considered by a carbon-based human being, and whatever the outcome, you will receive a response from us.
This blog is to help you understand what it’s like to work at Locket, what we’re looking for in future team members and if we’re the right fit for you. That way, if you choose to apply for a position with us, you’ll know what to expect and be equipped to smash it.
What does Locket stand for?
We have the following four Core Company Values that we try to embody:
Be obsessive about customer experience.
We call our customers ‘members’, and they are at the heart of everything we do.
Be a great team player.
It takes a great team working together to build an amazing business.
Out-innovate the competition.
To make a meaningful impact, we need to innovate, experiment, learn faster and then work smarter than our competitors.
Leave a positive mark.
This doesn’t just stop with the business. It’s about making a positive and lasting impact on our communities and the world around us.
What is it that Locket actually does?
We’re the crazy lot that wants to make insurance something that’s actually interesting, so much so, you’d even want to chat about it over dinner with your friends and family.
Most insurance providers lie. They say they’re an umbrella, there to protect and prevent you from getting soaked in the rain. The reality is, they’re a towel that dries you off once something bad has already happened, and you need to make a claim.
Locket is turning the insurance industry on its head by using behaviour-changing gamification, educational tools, rewards and smart technology to both prevent you from needing to make a claim in the first place, or, if you do need to, prevent the extent of the damage. So while we’re still here to help you dry off after a downpour, we want to be the first insurance provider to properly shield you from the rain in the first place.
….Still with us?
We’re replacing the idea that insurance exists simply to replace your stuff, and we price our policies according to the smart tech you use to keep your home secure. There are no cancellation fees, no admin fees, no long phone calls, just rewards for using preventative smart technology to keep your home safer.
What is it like to work at Locket?
Honestly? Insane!
We move at a million miles an hour. We’re a passionate, quirky, dedicated, ‘all-in’ kind of people. We’re not a standard, one-size-fits-all, 9-5 company. As a fast-moving start up, it’s exciting, thought-provoking, exhausting, challenging and exhilarating all at the same time.
We all roll up our sleeves; no job or title is too important to be sweeping the floor with the rest of the team. We challenge each other, respect one another and push each other to continually improve.
And while it might not be for the faint-hearted, we’re also not machines. Some of us have kids, A LOT of us have fur babies, most of us have hobbies, we all have families, and we know that life happens (as it should!). So, of course, school runs, doctor appointments, vet appointments, and getting out in the fresh air can and should all take place during the ‘working’ day. We believe in flexibility, but we also believe in hard work and delivering tangible results – mainly because we really care about what we do.
So, while some of us have been known to take a three-hour lunch to catch up with family we haven’t seen since the pandemic, we’ll also all jump in on a project at 9pm at night when the chips are down, and the deadline is 9am the next day.
Who is Locket looking for in future team members?
You may have heard an elusive HR figure talk about ‘cultural fit’ in previous interviews, and to some extent, there will be a litmus test of how well we think you’ll fit in with our values.
Let’s be absolutely clear; this doesn’t mean you need to look a certain way, have a particular accent, come from a specific background or fit a mould. If we’re all the same, most of us are redundant. We appreciate and actively encourage diversity and a difference in opinion. The right cultural fit for us is someone who will align with and promote our Core Company Values.
You tick our boxes if:
- You use initiative and can actively demonstrate this
- You’re resilient and get stuck in
- You’re not afraid to take risks, and you can accept constructive criticism
- You’re driven and set on making a difference
- You genuinely care
- You’re willing to find creative solutions rather than just state problems
- You show up for others – preferably with a smile
We also hold ourselves accountable to be the same kind of support to you, too. It’s not necessarily about having the most experience, the strongest academic background or all of the listed skills – having the right attitude is a key part of the evaluation process.
What does the application process look like?
Of course, it differs slightly with every role, but here’s a general idea of what to expect:
Step 1
Send your application to Locket
Step 2
Attend an initial intro chat
- This is typically 15-30 minutes long with a member of the TX (team experience) group, to see if you’re the right cultural fit.
- We’ll touch upon points in your CV, and cover letter and find out who you are as a person.
- We’ll also want to know how much you understand what Locket is trying to achieve and why you’d like to be part of it.
- We will touch upon skill-specific questions.
- We reserve time at the end for you to ask us any questions – it’s important you interview us, too!
Step 3
Complete a task
- This will vary with each role, but it will be used to assess how you approach a task, what your working style is, how you interpret instructions etc.
Step 4
Meet with a specialist in the team
- If you’re applying for an engineering role, you’ll most likely meet our CTO, if it’s for the marketing department, it could be with the CMO etc.
Step 5
Depending on the role, and who we have shortlisted, we’ll either inform you of the outcome at this stage or, sometimes, we like you to meet our Founder and CEO first.
How can I make my application stand out?
Each team member who has joined us has had a completely different approach, and we value individualism.
Here are a few pitfalls you can avoid:
- Check spelling, grammar etc. It sounds obvious, but we care about people who care – the effort made and care taken in an application tells us a lot about who you are as a person.
- Write a cover letter — a personalised one. You don’t need to be Shakespeare — just be yourself, but without it, we won’t know what makes you, well, you.
- Make sure you’re in the right time zone. We’re remote-first, but we need to be working to a similar schedule; if you are more than an hour or so ahead or behind, it makes meetings tricky.
- Check you don’t accidentally send in a photo from your private collection. We don’t ask for photos, but sometimes people send them anyway. That’s fine — but seeing you super drunk dancing on top of a bar with a feather boa round your neck might make us want to socialise with you, but it will also have us question how diligent you are when it comes to emailing investors, customers, Board members etc.
Here are a few things that make us sit up and pay attention:
- Addressing your cover letter to a relevant team member shows you’ve done your homework.
- Showing your personality, whether that be in a personalised cover letter, a video, or an alternative to a CV, will grab our attention.
- Researching Locket, picking up our tone of voice and conveying that is a huge plus.
- Not sounding like a robot. Please be yourself and not what you think we want you to be. You might be able to ‘work well in a team and also independently’, but it’s one of the top opening lines we receive that doesn’t tell us much about what makes you tick.
What are the benefits?
If you join us as a UK employee, you can expect:
- Unlimited holiday (no holiday policy)
- Three personal days a year for Mental Health Wellbeing/Digital-Detox Days
- Life Assurance at x3 times your basic salary, which also covers:
- 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
- 24/7 Access to a virtual GP
- An online will with Farewill for a year
- Wellbeing Product Discounts
- Company laptop
- Support for training and development
- Work in a dynamic and vibrant environment
- Rewarding career path
- Hybrid and flexible working
- Employee Pension Scheme
- Opportunities to contribute to charitable causes
- Food on the company when working after 7pm or over a weekend
- Some roles have the potential to be given share options within the company after the probationary period
What if I don’t get the job?
Please apply again if something else suitable comes up in the future. We have the privilege of meeting some incredibly talented, very funny and really kind people that we don’t always get the opportunity of hiring the first time around, as we’re fortunate/unfortunate enough to receive a high volume of strong applications. Please don’t take it personally or lose heart. Let us know if you’d like us to keep your details on file, and we’d love to hear from you again.
We’re stoked that you’ve shown an interest in Locket, and if you’ve read this all the way through, you’re already a legend.
Should you have any questions, feel free to reach out to careers@locket.insure.
All the best,
Kirsty