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02 / Hiring process
Three stages, and one of them decides it
3 stages from application to offer. Online technical assessment is reported to be the one that decides it.
3stages
01
Recruiter phone screen background and foundational coding ability
Reported to run 30 to 60 minutes, sometimes handled by a third-party technical screening service, covering background, motivation, and foundational coding ability.
02
Online technical assessment a self-timed coding assessment used as a top-of-funnel filter
Reported to be a self-directed CodeSignal or HackerRank assessment covering easy-to-medium data structures and algorithms problems, used as a top-of-funnel filter before any live technical round.
03
Onsite or virtual loop two coding rounds, system design, and a bar-raiser round
Reported to include two 60-minute coding rounds, a system design round weighted heavily for senior and staff-level leveling, a 45-minute behavioral or bar-raiser round, and a closing 15-minute informal chat with a random engineer about team and company culture.
Ask before the interview: what will this round cover, who will I meet, and is there anything I should prepare?The question almost nobody asks
03 / Question library
Interview question practice library
The online assessment, the onsite loop, and the two most consistently cited values apply broadly across departments, so the core set below covers that ground. Each department then adds the depth specific to it.
61questions
Asked in every interviewAsked in every Instacart interview
01 Instacart sits between three groups with different needs at once: shoppers, retailers, and households ordering groceries. What draws you to that specific three-sided balance, not e-commerce broadly? Motivation Open guide
Find your angle. Checks for a reason tied to Instacart's actual three-sided marketplace structure, not generic interest in e-commerce or delivery apps.
Build your answer
- Name the specific three-sided balance. Not generic.
- Tie it to something real you've done or seen. Concrete.
- Say what you'd want to work on here. Specific.
Bring the evidence
Anchor the answer in the real three-sided tension between shoppers, retailers, and households, not general enthusiasm for delivery apps.
What weakens it
I order groceries online myself and think Instacart is a great product.
Likely follow upWhich of the three groups' needs do you think is hardest to balance against the other two?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.02 Tell me about something significant you accomplished that genuinely required other people, not something you could have pulled off solo. Relying on Others Open guide
Find your angle. Maps directly to Instacart's own consistently used value phrase 'Go Far, Together,' testing a real instance of collective, not individual, achievement.
Build your answer
- Describe the significant accomplishment. Concrete.
- Explain specifically why it required others, not just preference. Specific.
- State what your own individual contribution actually was. Honest, not overstated.
Bring the evidence
Name the specific reason the outcome genuinely required other people, distinct from a solo effort you simply chose to share credit for.
What weakens it
I generally get more done when I focus and work independently.
Likely follow upWhat would you have done if one of the people you relied on hadn't come through?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.03 Describe a time you did something genuinely generous for your team or community that went beyond what was formally asked of you. Going Further Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.04 Tell me about a time you used an AI tool to help with real work, in a way you'd be fully comfortable disclosing to whoever reviewed the result. AI Disclosure Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.05 Describe a time you had to work quickly and still get every detail right, with no real room for a second pass. Precision Under Pressure Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.06 Tell me about a time you had to justify a technical or design tradeoff to someone who wanted a simpler yes-or-no answer. Tradeoffs Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.07 Describe a time you performed well on part of an evaluation but fell short on another part, and what you did with that gap afterward. Partial Pass Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.08 Tell me about a time you had to make a real decision knowing you didn't have all the information you would have liked. Incomplete Information Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.09 Describe a time you caught your own mistake before it affected someone who was relying on your work. Catching Errors Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.10 Tell me about a time you had to collaborate closely with someone whose communication style was very different from your own. Communication Styles Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.11 Describe a time you had to tell someone directly that a mistake of yours had affected them. Owning Mistakes Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.12 Tell me about a time you improved something that was working fine, and nobody had actually asked you to touch it. Unprompted Improvement Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.13 What's a real, current gap in how you work that a fast-paced, three-sided marketplace like this one would probably expose quickly? Self-Awareness Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.Marketing6 to practise
6 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 6 are specific to Marketing, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountWhat you get
Less than the cost of one lunch, for a great deal more confidence.- Unlimited tailored interview preparation
- A massive database of actual questions and answer guides
Role specific
Pick your role and the list narrows to what that role tends to get asked.
A guide for every answer
What the question is testing, three steps to build your answer, and the evidence to bring.
Prepared, not guessing
You walk in knowing the shape of the round and which of your own stories fits it.
04 / In the news
Worth mentioning in the room
The strongest answer to why this company is something that happened last month.
4stories
Free account
What happened at this employer this month
Stories screened from everything published about this employer, chosen because they can be used in the room rather than because they are recent.
- Each one carries a line on how to use it in the answer
- Crime, recalls, litigation and share price moves are excluded outright
- Refreshed daily, so it is different the week of your interview
05 / The two values
What is actually being scored
Instacart does not currently publish one clean, numbered list of company values the way some employers do. 'Go Far, Together' is the one value phrase used consistently across its careers site and in public leadership commentary, and 'Serving Generously' is the one named directly in its community-impact section, so bring a real story for each of those two rather than guessing at a longer list.
2stories
Go Far, Together
A time you achieved something significant only because you relied on other people, not by working alone.
Serving Generously
A time you extended real generosity to your community, beyond what was formally asked or scoped of you.
06 / Before you apply
Where candidates lose it
Pro
Where candidates lose this before anyone meets them
The part of the process that eliminates most people is not the interview. It is what happens around it, and almost none of it is written down anywhere.
- The assessment answers that read as dishonest rather than confident
- What the availability question is really deciding
- The application detail that cannot be edited once submitted
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