The Top 10 Doma Interview Questions and How to Answer Them Like a Pro

Doma formerly known as States Title is a leading force in the real estate tech industry. Their use of machine intelligence and predictive analytics is revolutionizing how home closings are done. With their focus on making the process faster, more efficient and affordable, it’s no wonder Doma is one of the hottest tech companies around.

So it’s not surprising that landing a job at Doma is very competitive. As a Doma job candidate you need to come prepared to answer some tough interview questions that will highlight your skills and experience.

I’ve put together this guide to the 10 most common Doma interview questions along with tips on how to ace your responses. With the right preparation, you can show hiring managers your value and land the Doma job of your dreams!

1. How would you handle a situation where a closing is delayed due to legal complications?

Closing delays can happen for many reasons, but legal issues are some of the trickiest to navigate. With this question, interviewers want to see your problem-solving abilities and how you’d communicate with clients during stressful times.

• Do:
  • Emphasize staying calm under pressure and keeping clients informed with transparent communication
  • Outline steps to fully understand the legal issue by consulting experts
  • Suggest solutions to move the process forward as much as possible
  • Highlight how you’d learn from the situation to improve risk assessment
• Don’t:
  • Speculate on solutions without having all the details
  • Downplay the urgency of the situation
  • Blame others for the complications

Example answer: “First, I would do a full analysis with our legal team to fully understand the problems.” Then I would be honest with the client to explain what was going on and set realistic goals. My priority would be exploring workarounds to keep the process moving forward. This might mean closing on certain portions while postponing affected areas. During the wait, I would keep the client and our team informed often. My goal is to use this as a chance to learn how to make our risk-reduction plans better. “.

2. Describe your experience preparing and reviewing settlement statements.

Settlement statements contain the all-important financial details of a real estate transaction, so accuracy is crucial. With this question, hiring managers want to see your meticulous attention to detail and ability to handle large, complex settlements smoothly.

• Do:
  • Provide specific examples of preparing settlement statements
  • Emphasize double-checking figures and identifying/fixing discrepancies
  • Discuss your collaboration skills in working with title companies, lenders, attorneys etc.
  • Mention your strong proficiency with industry software and tools
• Don’t:
  • Give vague, hypothetical examples instead of real experiences
  • Imply that you work on settlements independently without cross-functional collaboration
  • Downplay the importance of accuracy in preparing settlements

Example response: “In my past roles, I have prepared and reviewed countless settlement statements to finalize purchase and refinance transactions. I take pride in meticulously verifying all figures, which has helped me catch errors on multiple occasions. For example, I once noticed a $15,000 proration charge that was calculated incorrectly. By catching this prior to closing, I prevented delays and headaches for all parties. I have become adept at using SoftPro 360 to generate settlement statements and work seamlessly with title officers, lenders and attorneys to ensure accurate information on all statements.”

3. How do you prioritize software tasks when facing tight deadlines?

Juggling feature requests and technical debt under tight deadlines is tricky. Hiring managers want to know you can utilize frameworks like Agile to work efficiently. They also want to see that you understand how to weigh the benefits and risks of scrapping certain features or delaying technical improvements.

• Do:
  • Explain how you categorize tasks based on importance and urgency
  • Discuss working closely with stakeholders to align on priorities
  • Give examples of times you had to cut features to make a deadline
  • Show you understand the balance between new features and technical debt
• Don’t:
  • Imply you make prioritization decisions in a silo without stakeholder input
  • Give vague answers about following Agile principles without specifics
  • Suggest that you would sacrifice code quality or stability to make deadlines

Example response: “I use the MoSCoW method to prioritize tasks by labeling them as Must-have, Should-have, Could-have or Won’t have. For tight deadlines, I focus on Must-haves that are critical for launch and high priority Should-haves. I collaborate closely with stakeholders to ensure our priorities align with business needs. If we need to sacrifice some items, I communicate transparently so we’re all on the same page. Throughout the process, I balance our technical debt backlog with new feature requests to avoid accumulation of tech debt that could hinder future work.”

4. Explain a complex technical problem you solved along with the business impact.

With this behavioral question, interviewers want to understand your technical skills and problem-solving abilities. But they also want to see that you grasp the bigger business context around technical work.

• Do:
  • Briefly explain a complex technical issue you faced without getting too technical
  • Focus on the logical steps you took to diagnose and address the problem
  • Quantify the tangible business impact such as money saved, efficiency gained, etc.
  • Showcase both your technical and communication skills
• Don’t:
  • Ramble on about technical details that may lose non-technical interviewers
  • Boast about solving the problem independently without mentioning collaboration
  • Neglect to connect the technical solution back to business outcomes

Answer example: “As lead engineer, it was my job to move our old servers from on-premises to a cloud-based infrastructure.” Migrating the databases was technically complex due to deprecated drivers and compatibility issues. I was in charge of a group that came up with a plan to migrate in stages using a hybrid approach to keep downtime to a minimum. The staged migration went well and cut our hosting costs by 30% while increasing availability. This solved a major technical roadblock while delivering significant business value. “.

5. Discuss a time you handled a difficult client or customer.

Client conflicts are inevitable, so interviewers look for candidates who can maintain composure and strengthen relationships, even during disagreements. You want to demonstrate emotional intelligence and accountability.

• Do:
  • Choose an example that highlights your patience, empathy and conflict resolution skills
  • Explain how you made an effort to see things from the client’s perspective
  • Share how the difficult experience ultimately improved the relationship
• Don’t:
  • Blame the client for being difficult or unreasonable
  • Fail to take any accountability for your part in the conflict
  • Dwell on the negatives without explaining how you turned things around

Example response: “A client was upset about a delay in closing and became hostile with our team. I listened patiently to understand their frustration. I then explained the legal holdups we were facing and how we were exploring options to get things back on track. Instead of being defensive, I apologized for the delay and thanked the client for their understanding. This shifted the tone of the conversation. The client ended up sending flowers to our team after closing for our hard work. It was a good reminder of how patience and empathy can turn angry clients into happy ones.”

6. What strategies do you use to maintain accurate records