Carto Interview Questions
& Process

Easy HR interview. Typical questions about your profile, interests, and motivations. They try to show you that they are a company that is on fire and that they are very good, repeating many times during the process how incredibly good the technical team is. At the end of the interview, they ask for a very high level of automation, which is not asked for at any point in the job description. I think it's a lack of respect towards applicants not to include this data, which is very specific and because of which many of us would discard the position and not apply. My conclusion is that I have wasted my time, the days of preparation for the interview and the interview itself.

It was a six step process. Started with an initial screening call with the recruiter, then a technical homework assignment. After that, there were two team interviews, one of which involved presenting the homework assignment. It concluded with two 1:1 check-ins. Overall, it was a really thoughtful and welcoming experience. The whole thing took about 8 weeks, though I bet it would've been faster if not for the holidays and my schedule being a bit tight with the time zone differences between the west and east coasts in the US.

The interview was a whole multi-step thing. First up was a chat with CARTO HR. Then, I had a take-home test that took a few hours. It covered GIS/mapping, databases, and the geospatial industry. After I sent that in, I talked to some people from the Customer Success team at CARTO. We went over my take-home answers and I got to ask about what it's like working there. Following that, there was another take-home assignment. This one was to prep a 15-minute presentation, kind of like a Customer Success QBR. It also took me a few hours to get ready. The next interview involved role-playing that presentation. I presented for 15 minutes to more members of the Customer Success team. During this chat, I asked more questions about CARTO CS, and they asked me about my skills and work history in both GIS and CS. The whole process stretched over many weeks because I was working full-time and it was hard to line up the next steps. It was definitely one of the more involved interview processes I've gone through. Even though it was long, the role-playing part really let me show off my soft and technical skills.

The interview process had 4 virtual meetings and 2 exercises in total. It started with an HR screening interview where they told me the process was tough and why they were careful with candidate selection, which I liked because it set my expectations. Then, there was a take-home assignment to check skills. The next interview was with two CS team members to discuss 'what-if' scenarios. After that, I had to prepare for a role-playing scenario, which the team then acted out with me for 15 minutes, and they gave good feedback afterward. The final interview was with the hiring manager and CSO to talk about culture fit and the company's future. It was a demanding process but ensured dedication and allowed me to interact with the team to see if it was a good fit. They were quick with scheduling and feedback, and always transparent.