I went through the interview process with Gusto in February 2019. I received an offer from Gusto but ended up declining it. Nevertheless, I was extremely impressed by Gusto, and I'm a big fan of this organization. Therefore, I'd like to share my experience here in the hopes to benefit other prospective candidates.

There are a couple of areas where Gusto excelled, and I'll discuss them separately. Please note that my opinions are solely based on my interviewing experience with them, so please take my words with a grain of salt.

Culture

Gusto has a very strong sense of culture. It is a mission-driven company. My onsite interview left me with a very strong impression of Gusto. Everyone I met was kind and passionate. People truly seemed to believe in the product and what Gusto stands for. The energy was high and genuine. This was my favorite part about Gusto.

Employee Happiness

Gusto takes really good care of its employees. It has by far the best benefits amongst all the startups I've seen. Most importantly, people just seem happy to come to work.

Transparency During the Offer Phase

A time that Gusto really stood out to me was during the offer discussion phase. In addition to the standard numbers and benefits, they made sure to provide me with the information I needed to objectively better understand my offer. I felt confident and clear about my Gusto offer through this process. This sense of clarity meant a lot to me as a candidate.

Practical Interview

In addition to some standard DS&A questions, I also encountered a pair programming exercise. It was an actual problem that one of the engineers had to solve a few years back. The interviewer and I worked together to read docs, bounce ideas off each other, and lay down the high-level structure of the code. The discussion was fun and exciting! It actually felt like a typical interaction in the office.

Attention to Detail

It's hard not to notice and appreciate the little things that Gusto does.

• For my onsite, I received a personalized PDF packet with nice graphics and details about my day. It was a small gesture, but it got me really excited about coming onsite to Gusto.
• They are also a shoeless office because the founders wanted to emphasize and maintain a "home-y" feel to the company, so people would wear slippers or just socks around the office. I thought it was a pretty unique staple of their culture.
• After I received the offer, the recruiter called me and gathered all my interviewers. Each one of them went around congratulating me and talked about something they enjoyed about interviewing me. It was a very nice and warm experience.

There are so many more details like this. I will not go on and list them all.

It was one of the best interviewing experiences I've had, and I am truly impressed by this organization and grateful for having had the opportunity to connect with them. I'm sad that I did not end up joining Gusto, but I am certain that they will continue to do incredible things. I genuinely wish Gusto all the best in the future.

Hope this is helpful :)

Standard DS&A, as well as a pair programming exercise.