The interview process was lengthy and thorough. Two days after submitting an app through the Gusto website, I received an email to set up a time to speak with a recruiter about the position. The first phone interview was very casual and informational in nature - only 20 minutes or so - and I received an email invite for another phone interview about an hour after. This was scheduled for later in the week and was with one of the hiring managers. Pretty standard phone interview - we discussed my past work experience, education, what drew me to Gusto, etc. The following day I received an invitation for a three hour long on-site interview! I interviewed in the Denver office the following week, and had a series of 45 min/1hr sessions - two with current team members, one with the manager of the team, and finally a cross functional interview that seemed to focus on culture fit. I left feeling really positive about the entire experience - everyone I spoke to was extremely friendly and laid back and the interviews felt conversational in nature. A week later I received an offer and accepted. Although the process took 3.5 weeks, I'm glad Gusto's Invite team is as thorough as they are. I feel as though I have a deeper understanding of Gusto, its values, and their product than I have had with previous firms.

I was initially contacted by Gusto almost immediately after applying. The recruiter was friendly, and right off the bat they were sending me fun little quirks of the company as I went through the interview process. Such as "look at our cute company dog!" "Check out this perk we give employees when they hit their one year anniversary!" I completed a quick assessment and was quickly contacted for a preliminary phone interview- it went great! Within two days - I was set up with a second interview. One with my "would be" manager. Once again, the call went great. The manager was extremely friendly and kept the tone of the conversation light hearted. They stated before the call was over that they would like to invite me in the office for the final interview. Sure enough- the recruiter sent me an email to set up a time for an in-person and sent me all kinds of helpful materials read up on for the interview. I spent hours in the days leading up to the interview reading them and researching the company on my own. I really wanted this job. I took the time off of my current position to go into the office for the four hour interview. Once I arrived, they explained it would actually be longer as I would be eating lunch with the employees. Fair enough- I definitely understand wanting a culture match. I was matched up with four different interview groups - each being of a different topic with 1-2 employees each time. The interviewers were friendly and I was extremely confident that it was going well. When it was time for lunch, I had some great conversations with the employees who were also on their break (however as a word to the wise- when people are interviewing they are most likely going to be too nervous to have an appetite- which is exactly what happened with me.) I walked out of the interview feeling really good about things and couldn't WAIT to hear back from the interviewer. He said within the next two days. Well- he got back to me three days later. After all the time and energy I spent preparing and talking to people on the phone and in person, I was met with simply an email from the recruiter with a short generic message saying "not a fit". When I asked to learn more about why I "wasn't a fit", the recruiter who was always so upbeat and friendly during the process sent back a short snippy message asking my availability for the next two days. I was really upset so I didn't want to talk until the next day, and when we didn't get a chance to connect the next day due to scheduling issues, I never heard back from the recruiter. I feel as if I wasted a lot of time and my image of the company has been tarnished. It seems as if some of it may be phony. I have been following Gusto for a few years and I'm still pretty upset that this unfolded this way. I completely understand if I wasn't a fit - but just as a hint for the future- when you have someone enthusiastic about the job get this far through the interview, for the love of god give them a call and let them down nicely.