Carta Strategy Analyst Interview Questions
& Process

I was contacted by the company in early March 2022 and had a pretty bad interview experience. Overall, there were six rounds of interviews spread out over three months. They kept emphasizing the role's priority, but the process took way too long. They also made false promises about matching my compensation. After the first round, I stated my minimum salary expectation. A week later, they assured me they could match it, and we proceeded with the three-month hiring process. However, when they finally gave me an offer, they said they couldn't match my minimum base salary. The scheduling was also inefficient. At times, there was complete silence from the recruitment team regarding the next steps, and I had to reach out myself to find out what was happening. I wouldn't recommend interviewing with a company that doesn't value a candidate's time and effort.

I talked to a recruiter and the hiring manager, and decided to withdraw my application after our conversations. Here's why: - I didn't like that HR tried to lowball me on salary from the start. While I appreciate transparent salary discussions early on, calling the first number 'best and final' felt disingenuous and aimed at reducing the interviewee's leverage. Other startups offer better salaries with less manipulative dialogue. - The hiring manager I spoke with took the call outside, and when I mentioned it was hard to hear them, they didn't seem particularly concerned or accommodating. Candidates invest time and effort to present themselves professionally; it's reasonable to expect similar courtesy in return. - Based on the conversation, I didn't feel confident that the hiring manager had thoroughly reviewed my resume or understood my background. This, combined with HR's 'best and final' salary approach from the outset, didn't convince me this was the right firm for me.

Applied online and then had a 30 min recruiter screen, followed by a 30 min interview with the hiring manager. After that, there was a case study where I had to create about 5-6 consulting-style slides about a potential new product launch. I withdrew from the process during the case study because I decided I didn't want the role anymore.