Pros
FULL DISCLAIMER: I'm a part of the recruiting team. I'm writing this review not because I've been asked to (I haven't), but because I'm tired of seeing negative reviews showing up on this page that are recycling years-old data points and painting an inaccurate picture for candidates of a team that I'm very proud to be a part of. Toptal is a rapidly-scaling start-up, and like many companies, we made mistakes and broke some things early on. It happens. If you're trying to truly move fast and innovate, breaking eggs is a necessary part of the early recipe. Change is necessary and sometimes painful, but as someone who has watched things evolve firsthand for the last four years, I believe the changes have been positive. They’ve helped a good company strive for greatness, and achieve it regularly in departments across the organization. For the last two+ years, the executive leadership and overall direction of the company have elevated dramatically, and it’s made this a great place to work. The company has become much more people-centric, and as a result, over 40% of our hires last year were Toptalers referring friends and former colleagues. The benefits and perks have improved. The internal mobility opportunities are fantastic for autonomous, responsible people who thrive in dynamic organizations. Our communication is direct and honest, always with the intention of trying to help people grow. The feedback we receive from candidates who interviewed with us but didn’t end up joining the team is nearly unanimous in its positivity, both relating to how they were treated as people and their overall enjoyment of their interview experience. I encourage anyone curious about joining us to throw their hat in the ring and meet with us for a few hours: regardless of the ultimate outcome, I’d be shocked if you didn’t have a good experience with us (and I’d personally want to hear about it so we can continue to get better).
Cons
Toptal isn't for everybody. The company has a very high bar and pushes its people, and most of our teammates are committed to each other at a "sisters-and-brothers-in-arms" level. We don’t want to let each other down. In that vein, we look for people we can rely on when things get tough (and in a 40%+ YOY growth organization, things do get tough). It stretches all of us outside of our comfort zones. Toptalers need to be open to direct, constructive criticism and be comfortable defending their viewpoints with data, not just intuition. If that doesn't sound like fun to you, it probably won't be.
