Spruce Interview Questions
& Process

They called me without an email first to set up a time to talk about the position. There was zero transparency into their interview process and it was never communicated. I met them for an onsite interview and interviewed with two people in the HR department. Interview went well and went over by an hour. The hiring manager (also in HR) asked if I was expecting an offer from another company within the next 48 hours. 120 hours passed and her assistant asked if I could return to meet with 2 additional people and the interview would take an hour. I agreed and received an interview line up via email to meet with 4 people. When onsite, it was chaos and was kept waiting and was in their offices for 2 additional hours. I finalized this round of interviews with the hiring manager (in HR), where she gave me a verbal offer and said she'd send over the written offer on Monday (this was an end of day interview on Friday). I never heard another word from this company.

The interview process kicked off with two phone screens focusing on skills, background, and mission alignment. One of these calls was with the team's VP, and the other was with the Head of Talent and HR. Following that, the interviews progressed to an in-person stage. This involved five 45-minute 1:1 interviews, scheduled from late morning to early afternoon, with a provided lunch break in between. Each of these interviews was tailored to the interviewer's personal approach, largely conversational and centered on skills, with a few standard interview questions sprinkled in. The interviewers included individuals from various levels within the team, as well as a member from a closely related cross-functional team. My time at the office was managed efficiently, with no unnecessary waiting or feeling rushed. After successfully completing this initial set of five interviews, about a week later, I had a second day of 1:1 interviews with three key members from cross-functional teams. To wrap up the interview process on that same day, I met again with the team's VP. These later interviews were designed to assess my broader capabilities in collaborating with other departments in the organization. A notable aspect of the interview process was the candor with which interviewers discussed the company's recent challenges stemming from the merger of CPF and Kilowatt, acknowledging the difficulties it caused. I joined the company after the merger's turbulence had subsided and Spruce was solidifying its identity. While morale had improved by the time of my interviews, it had evidently been a tough period. The Head of Talent and HR extended a verbal offer over the phone, with a salary at the higher end of my expectations and stock options nearly matching my expectations. It's worth noting that the salary offered in San Francisco is adjusted for the local cost of living. After considering the offer for a few days and evaluating my options, I reflected on the company's mission and the evident respect, camaraderie, and professionalism displayed throughout the interview process. This experience was exceptionally professional and straightforward compared to others I've encountered. I appreciated the clarity regarding my standing, the prompt responses to emails, the punctuality of interviews, and having a dedicated point of contact. I accepted the offer and am honored to join Spruce. My initial experiences with onboarding and early days have validated the positive perceptions formed during the interviews. The company has well-established processes while maintaining a personal atmosphere despite its size.

The interview process was very direct and straightforward. They asked a lot of challenging questions, and I was impressed by the caliber of the questions. It started with a Skype interview, which was pretty challenging because I hadn't done that before. Then, there was an over-the-phone interview, which was also challenging. The toughest question I had to answer was about organization, my strong characteristics, and my weaknesses.

I had a 1.5-hour phone interview and then a 3-hour in-person interview with four different people. It's been 5 weeks since the interview, and I haven't heard back from Spruce. It's disappointing because a quick email or call to let candidates know they weren't selected goes a long way. The fact that they don't follow up with candidates after interviews creates a really negative impression of the company.