Kiva Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process involved three stages: a chat with HR, then with the hiring manager and the team, and finally a project. It was a pretty quick process, and the project was directly related to the job responsibilities. The whole thing took about three weeks.

The interview process moved very quickly through multiple rounds, then abruptly stopped when clearly I wasn't the candidate. The questions were VERY focused on telling a specific example of a time when XYZ. I found the format very limiting. Throughout the process, the scope of the role kept being expanded as well. First, there might be a direct report, then there was 1-2, then 3-4; it was different information based on who was interviewing.

Got contacted by Kiva recruiter under a week after applying to set up a screener. The first interview was super friendly and engaging, and the recruiter really sold me on the company and the role. Scheduling the next interview with the hiring manager had a hiccup; the meeting was changed to a time I couldn't make it, so we had to reschedule by a week. The interview with the hiring manager was just okay. We didn't really click. I think my ambivalence about continuing to work fully remotely came across, and the hiring manager likely had stronger candidates who fit her vision for the position. I've learned that if you don't click, don't take it personally; it works both ways. The recruiter followed up nicely a few days later, letting me know they had moved on to other candidates.

About two weeks after applying, I got an invite for a 30-minute phone screen for the next week. We used Calendly to pick a time. The interviewer called 15 minutes late on the day, saying they were in a lot of meetings. The interview itself was about 30 minutes. Three days later, I heard back and was asked to do a take-home exercise, which Kiva called a "Translation and Loan Review Exercise." I had six days to finish it but did it in two hours on the first day. It involved translating Spanish loan profiles to English and then checking other profiles for accuracy and policy compliance. The instructions included a link to Kiva's loan profile policies, a glossary, and translations. I submitted it through a link they provided. Four days after that, the phone interviewer called to let me know I didn't pass the test and wouldn't be moving on.