Humbly Confident Seasonal Customer Support Specialist

About Us and Why We’re Hiring

We’re YNAB (“why-nab”), a financial education company with a budgeting app. We teach Four Rules that create a new relationship with money—one where you love how you spend and celebrate how you save. For more than a decade, people have been using YNAB and then telling their friends what a difference it has made in their lives. Check out our community on Facebook, TikTok, or Reddit (really!), or read some of our app reviews, and you’ll see what we mean. We love building something that has a huge positive impact on people’s lives, and we have an impressive education ecosystem that includes live classes, not to mention stellar support (if we do say so ourselves!).

Speaking of our awesome support team, January is our busiest month! We receive thousands of messages from experienced and new YNABers who want to have a good start to the new year. So, we’re looking for tech-savvy, friendly, Seasonal Customer Support Specialists to help make that happen. This is a temporary, part-time (23-30 hours per week paid at $18 USD per hour), remote position beginning early November 2023 and ending mid-February 2024. If you’re known for being genuine, proactive, and a clear communicator, we want to hear from you!

We have one overarching requirement when it comes to joining our team—even temporarily: our original Core Values Manifesto has to really click with you. If you’re nodding emphatically while reading it, you’ll probably fit right in!

Requirements (these are real, actual requirements)

• Willingness to use and learn YNAB
• Excellent written English
• You’re available to work our required schedule:
• A total of 23-30 hours per week, beginning November 6, 2023 and ending mid-February 2024.
• Your weekly hours will be split across 4-8 hour shifts for 4-5 days per week, and each week you’ll need to work a Saturday or Sunday.
• Please note that although we are fully remote, we do have some location restrictions for this temporary role—we can only hire people who live either:
• In the U.S., in one of the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California,  Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.
• OR, in a country that is not the U.S. or the United Kingdom.

A Little Bit More About Us:

We live our Core Values every day at YNAB, and we mean it when we say we are an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a diversity of backgrounds, abilities, beliefs, and experiences is critical to our success, and we are passionate about creating a welcoming, supportive, and collaborative environment for all employees. All are encouraged to apply as we continue to grow a smart, hard-working, and diverse team that loves working together to build something that matters.

We also work really hard, together, to make working at YNAB an amazing experience, and we’re (humbly) proud to have received many of Fortune’s “great place to work” awards over the last several years. We have a team full of truly exceptional people—the kind you’ll be excited to work with. We’d love to tell you about a few of them!

Dela (she/her/hers) is our onboarding team leader and will be your manager during your time at YNAB. She and a skilled crew of trainers and experts will teach, guide, and support you, ensuring you feel confident each day. You’ll have lots of opportunities for questions, feedback, and celebration!

Your team of fellow seasonal support specialists will likely be some of the best people you’ve ever worked with. You’ll get to know folks from across the globe and learn with them through collaboration.

The support team will be your peers, and you’ll have opportunities to both have fun with and learn from them.

We all can’t wait to meet and learn from you, too!

Now back to you, our new Seasonal Customer Support Specialist…

You’re enthusiastic about joining our dedicated support team. You’ll help us answer every message in a way that’s friendly, timely, and accurate.

You’ll be the face of YNAB. We’ll teach you how to answer the questions YNABers most often ask. You’ll feel confident even in your first conversation!

You don’t mind answering the same question many times in one shift. Each new customer is a chance to brighten someone’s day!

You have a knack for swift transitions, switching between topics with grace.

You exceed expectations even when your answer isn’t what the customer was hoping for. You can artfully blend directness and friendliness in one sentence.

You know that speed of response is important. And, you balance speed with accuracy and giving a personalized experience every time.

You self-manage well, knowing your contributions impact the whole team. You continually pursue growth and connection for yourself and your team.

You are humble in knowing what you don’t yet know and you seek help when it’s needed. You keep an open mind and invite feedback.

You love taking that one little extra step beyond what’s expected. You’re creative in that way and enjoy delighting others.

You’re who we’re looking for if you:

• Can commit to a set schedule of 4-5 work days per week (including at least one Saturday or Sunday) for a total of between 23-30 hours per week (with shifts between 4 and 8 hours)
• Have a reliable laptop or computer you can use for YNAB work (a tablet or Chromebook won’t quite cut it for some of the programs we use)
• Are a productive and independent self-manager who can meet the performance expectations set by your manager
• Are considered an excellent communicator in written English
• Are digitally fluent, which means you’re comfortable learning and navigating multiple programs at once and applying your curiosity to learn new systems and troubleshoot technical issues
• Can embody YNAB’s values in your interactions with customers and your teammates—and understand that every support response is an expression of the YNAB culture and brand
• Value excellence and continuous improvement—at the same time
• Are curious and enjoy trying things you haven’t done before
• Can tactfully deliver difficult news and get a thank you for it (you’re that good!)
• Aren’t afraid to ask questions and come to every one-on-one with your manager with topics to discuss
• Love brightening someone’s day!

A Day in the Life:

Today, you’re scheduled for a five hour shift. You know that about 75% of your day will be invested in delighting customers and about 25% will be invested in personal growth and team connection.

Before you jump into what we call the “queue” to respond to YNABers, you start by checking for updates. Any announcements or changes? Any sweet emojis to lay down in celebration of a teammate’s success?

Once you’re caught up, you close Slack to minimize distractions and head into the queue. You set yourself to Available and get routed conversations one by one. Some are chats with YNABers, and others emails. Some are live, some asynchronous. Some are new and some are ongoing conversations. You reply with care to each one, or you pass it along to experts. When a question is complicated or you feel unsure, you know a knowledgeable team is there to support you.

As you work in the queue, you drink plenty of water and take breaks. After your first stretch break, you begin to see replies from folks you wrote to earlier in your shift. You chat live with them and wrap up conversations with open issues. As you go, you get lots of thanks from YNABers whose lives you’re impacting for the better.

Outside of the queue, you research our knowledge base and marketing website to level up your learning. You talk about what you discovered during an impromptu hangout with teammates. And, you share recent vacation pics! (So fun!)

Today you also have your weekly one-on-one meeting with your manager. You hop on a video call with her and can’t wait to talk about a new podcast you’re obsessed with! After catching up, you check in on your goals and get coaching on tricky conversations.

Before you know it your work day is over! You say goodbye to your team in Slack, change your Slack status, and do some quick planning for tomorrow. Satisfied, you close your laptop and move on with the rest of your day.

How to Apply

• Apply below by 11:59pm ET on Saturday September 30, 2023.
• Attach a PDF cover letter. In your cover letter, please:
• Introduce yourself and explain why you’d be a great fit. (Please limit this to 1 page at most.)
• Then, on a new page, please answer these questions:
• What attracted you to this position? (This is not about what attracted you to the software.)
• What is your secret to great customer support?
• Tell us about a time you had to learn something new to excel at your job.
• Have you ever made a mistake in handling a customer issue? What did you learn?
• What hours of the day work for you? What days of the week are off limits?
• We need seasonal employees who can work from November 6, 2023 through mid-February 2024. Do you have any time off needs during this period?

• Attach a PDF resume.
• Though we know it’s customary in some areas, we’d prefer it if you didn’t share a headshot anywhere in your application materials. Thank you!

We’ll send you a confirmation email once you apply. Please add that email address to your safe sender list to ensure future emails from us come through. (If you don’t receive it, check your promotions inbox, junk folder, or any filters you may have set up.)

Our goal is to make the recruitment and hiring process as accessible as possible. If we can help you with an accessibility need, email us at [email protected] and indicate in the subject line that you’re applying for the Seasonal Customer Support role. (Please note that we can only respond to messages related to accommodations.)

We’re excited to hear from you!

P.S. Please be aware that while we’ve historically kept a group of seasonal support specialists beyond the initial seasonal time period, this year we do not intend to convert any temporary contracts into permanent ones. You can expect this role to last a maximum of 16 weeks.