HOW IT WORKS
The Karat interview process
Everything you need to know about your technical Karat interview, video interviewing, Interview Engineers, and what happens after the interview.
What is a Karat interview?
Karat conducts live technical assessments as part of our clients’ hiring process. It’s our job to give you, the candidate, a technical interview that is fair, predictive, enjoyable, and above all, human.
Unlike take-home coding tests or automated tech screens, you will have the live support, guidance, and feedback of a professional Interview Engineer in a fully tooled IDE to show your skills.
Who are Karat Interview Engineers?
Karat Interview Engineers are senior software engineers who are passionate about technical interviewing. They are equipped with data-informed best practices, pre-selected questions, and an Interactive Developer Environment (IDE). Fewer than 2% who apply pass our rigorous evaluation. Each Interview Engineer must qualify to conduct interviews for each role and specialization.
Highlighting strengths makes interviewing more enjoyable
How to schedule your Karat interview
Your technical recruiter will send an invitation via email. Once you receive it, you’ll be able to schedule your technical interview anytime that is convenient for you, even nights and weekends. When scheduling, you can select text or email reminders.
What to expect on the day of your Karat interview
Preparing for your technical interview should be reassuring, not nerve-wracking. Before the interview you’ll get access to a landing page with information to help you prepare. See the IDE, perform an A/V check, access Frequently Asked Questions, and read information about the company you hope to work for.
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De-stressPick your clothes the day before, and reduce triggers by moving chores that normally stress you out.
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FocusCreate an environment where you can calmly focus. Clear your desk and have a spill-proof drink on hand.
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Fuel upIf you get “too anxious to be hungry” before interviews, try to eat a little snack 30 minutes before to keep your energy up. The brain consumes a bunch of calories when thinking, and you don’t want to get hangry!
What kinds of interview questions and formats does Karat use?
Karat technical interviews are 60-minutes and are designed to represent a real work environment. They’ve been selected by both Karat and the hiring company to get the most accurate hiring signal possible.
Interviews for a senior role may focus on business logic complexity and code review. Early-career candidates will spend more time on coding exercises. For those who are mid-career, you will see a combination of project discussions, coding exercises, and specific knowledge questions.
Your video interview and the Karat IDE
The technical interview takes place in Karat Studio, our fully-tooled interactive developer environment (IDE) and video interview studio. All technical interviews are recorded and accessible to the hiring team. You’ll have the choice of 26 different coding languages.
What happens after your Karat interview
Interview Engineers complete a write-up using a scoring rubric that aligns to the competencies needed for the job. The information creates a recommendation to the hiring team, which they use to take the next step. Don’t worry — the recommendation is only visible to the hiring company.
What do Karat technical interviews measure?