TLDR; I had a one-hour "coding exercise" interview where the interviewer didn't show up for the video call. They met with me 45 minutes late, were unprepared, hadn't read my resume, and didn't follow the previously communicated guidelines for the "coding exercise." Consequently, they passed on me.

The interview process included:

• Applied online
• 30-minute phone conversation with a recruiter
• 30-minute phone conversation with the Director of Engineering
• 1-hour technical video meeting with an engineer from the team

The first two phone calls were satisfactory. The initial call served as a "human check" to ensure I could communicate coherently and that my salary expectations were within their range. The second call was a "technical human check" where we discussed my resume, my career aspirations, and the team's current and future projects. After successfully completing both phone interviews, I was scheduled for a one-hour technical screen via video conference with an engineer. The instructions stated I could use any programming language of my choice, though Python or React were preferred. In preparation, I set up a local React environment that could render to the browser and run tests, feeling confident about the upcoming technical screen.

However, the interview began poorly. I joined the video call five minutes early and waited for another 20 minutes without anyone appearing. I emailed the recruiter to report the interviewer's no-show. The recruiter located the engineer, who claimed to have been "heads down" and unaware of the interview (red flag #1). Approximately 30 minutes later, the interview finally commenced.

The interviewer immediately stated they had not reviewed my resume and were unaware of the scheduled interview (red flag #2). After introductions, they explained the task. I mentioned I had a fully functional React environment ready, but they insisted I use Python for the exercise. Despite my preference for JavaScript/React, they remained firm on Python (red flag #3). They allowed me to look up syntax as needed, and we proceeded. During the problem-solving phase, the interviewer asked questions about my approach and reasoning, attempting to find flaws in my solution. After about 30 minutes of working with Python, they suggested switching to React for the remainder of the session, citing my frequent lookups. I agreed. We spent the next few minutes getting the React code to a similar stage as the Python code, and then we ran out of time. Five days later, I received a rejection email without any specific feedback.

I have experienced challenging interviews as both an interviewer and an interviewee, but this one was inherently set up for failure. The interviewer was unprepared, and I was not given the opportunity to prepare for their actual requirements. It appears Carta has communication issues between those managing the interview process and the engineers conducting them. I hope they resolve this gap to prevent more qualified candidates from being overlooked. Had I known they would insist on a Python exercise, I would have prepared accordingly.

Using Python, create a RESTful GET API endpoint that takes JSON data from Reddit and manipulates it. They asked about array/dictionary manipulation, such as sorting, filtering, and pagination.