CARET Interview Questions
& Process

Applied and got a screening interview with the recruiter, which I passed. Then I had an interview with the manager, and passed that one too. The third interview was with the dev team. After that, I didn't hear back for a few days. The recruiter told me I was a top candidate but the VP needed to do a final interview, but he was going to be out for a week. I followed up a week and a half later via email and got no response. I followed up again another week later, still no response. It's fine if I didn't get the job, but a rejection email would have been professional instead of just ghosting me.

I spoke with the Director of Talent on the phone first, and then she had me in a group interview. After that, I had a face-to-face meeting with her and then met the CSMO. Honestly, I was pretty skeptical about a group interview for an executive role, but it turned out to be a great experience overall. I really got a feel for what Abacus is all about, and they gave me one of the best office tours I've ever had. I'd definitely recommend this process for anyone looking to join Abacus, at any level. They're super transparent and make you feel really welcome.

So, interviewing with Abacus was quite the experience, and honestly, it left me with a pretty bad taste in my mouth about how they handle recruitment. It started with a phone screen, then I had an onsite interview. The weird part was, the hiring manager I was supposed to meet wasn't even there. I went ahead with someone else who turned out to be from a totally different department and clearly wasn't prepped. They even asked for my resume during my 'tell me about yourself' part! Then, out of nowhere, they hit me with database questions, which made no sense given my background and the role. After that, I chatted with three other team members, and those conversations were great. We had a good discussion about the role and how I could fit in. But then, surprise, they told me they weren't moving forward, even though I thought I was a perfect fit with all my experience. It felt really unfair. Fast forward a few weeks, and they have this big group recruiting event. It involved resumes, cover letters, being sorted into groups, and a long speech from the CEO, basically a 3-hour ordeal. Then, we were broken into groups with a leader, but there wasn't really an interview. We were just told to send an email explaining why we wanted to work there. I did that, and guess what? Another rejection email. I'm still not sure what they were even looking for. I felt like I met all the requirements. My advice? Don't aim too high with them. They say they want top talent but seem to prefer people they can underpay. And for the company's sake, get prepared. If a key interviewer can't make it, reschedule so candidates have a fair shot.

The hiring manager seemed to be actively discouraging me from taking the job from the very beginning. Then they asked if I was certain about wanting to work with younger people, which felt like an inappropriate and age-based discriminatory question. This made me feel quite uncomfortable, and I didn't hear back from the hiring manager afterward. I wouldn't recommend this company if this is how they treat potential candidates.