High-growth fintech companies don’t struggle with attracting talent.
They struggle with reviewing it.
We recently spoke with Julie Ilchenko, Head of People & Culture at Zeller, a rapidly scaling FinTech company with 320 employees globally and growing every week, about how her team manages extreme inbound applicant volume, without missing top talent.
The Reality of Hiring in a Fast-Growing FinTech
Zeller isn’t just hiring.
They’re scaling.
As Julie explains:
“We are a team of 320 employees globally and are growing every week.”
But growth in fintech comes with a unique challenge:
“The biggest challenge for me and my team has been the volume of hiring, and in particular not just the number of roles we’re recruiting for, but the volume of applications.”
For some roles, they weren’t receiving dozens of applications through their ATS (Lever).
They were receiving hundreds, sometimes even thousands.
And when that happens, the problem isn’t sourcing.
It’s time.
The Core Challenge: How Do You Review Everything Without Burning Out?
Julie described the dilemma clearly:
“How do we make sure that we don’t miss out on top talent and review every application when we’re dealing with such volumes — and how do we keep it to a process that’s still manageable from a timing perspective?”
Manually reviewing every resume in high-volume fintech hiring is:
- Time-consuming
- Inconsistent
- Risky (top candidates can get buried)
- Draining for recruiting teams
When you’re scaling fast, you can’t afford bottlenecks in early-stage screening.
From Hours of Screening to Structured, Ranked Shortlists
This is where Brainner resume screening software changed the game (In a fully integrated experience with Lever):
Julie explained:
“Being able to go from taking hours to shortlist and review a huge volume of applications to being able to set a very specific, clear criteria, and see the candidates evaluated by Brainner, and then ranked in terms of their suitability for the role has been so helpful for us.”
Instead of:
- Opening resume after resume
- Comparing candidates manually
- Repeating the same screening logic for each role
Her team now:
- Defines clear, role-specific criteria
- Lets Brainner evaluate every candidate consistently
- Instantly sees ranked shortlists
The impact?
“It really has been life changing.”
Hours Saved = Higher Impact Work
One of the most powerful outcomes wasn’t just speed — it was what that speed unlocked.
Julie shared:
“You will be pleasantly surprised in terms of the hours in the day that magically appear for you.”
Those hours are no longer spent manually reviewing resumes.
They’re spent on:
- Connecting with top talent
- Improving candidate experience
- Partnering with hiring managers
- Driving strategic hiring initiatives
For fast-growing fintech companies, that shift is critical.
Time saved in screening translates directly into faster time-to-hire and stronger hiring outcomes.
Transparency Matters in High-Volume Hiring
Speed alone isn’t enough.
Fintech companies operate in regulated, high-accountability environments. Hiring decisions need to be explainable.
Julie emphasized what she values most:
“The product is incredibly transparent in terms of how the ranking works, and we’re in control of setting that criteria.”
And that control builds confidence:
“We’re able to go into every candidate and understand why they have been ranked highly, or on the lower side.”
That means:
- No black-box scoring
- No unexplained decisions
- Full recruiter control
- Clear justification for hiring decisions
In high-volume hiring, transparency reduces risk while increasing trust.
Why This Matters for Fast-Growing FinTech Teams
Fintech companies scaling quickly often face:
- High inbound application volume
- Aggressive growth targets
- Competitive talent markets
- Pressure to hire fast without lowering standards
Julie’s final recommendation says it best:
“I would definitely recommend Brainner to any team who’s dealing with a high number and particularly with high volume of roles.”
Because when you’re scaling fast:
You don’t need more resumes.
You need better prioritization.
Final Thoughts
For Zeller, Brainner didn’t just make screening faster.
It gave their People & Culture team back hours every week, without sacrificing transparency, control, or quality.
In a rapidly scaling fintech environment, that’s not just helpful.
It’s essential.
Save up to 40 hours per month
HR professionals using Brainner to screen candidates are saving up to five days on manual resume reviews.