I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Meta (San Francisco, CA) in Oct 2019
Interview
1. Phone interview
- statistics, sql, coding
-For the coding portion, you use R or Python
-For the statistics portion, if you encounter questions that you are less familiar with, try to propose a more informal ad-hoc solution if you don't remember exact terms or details.
-Communicate thought process and assumptions aloud to the interviewer and they will be able to provide any guidance on expectations.
-You should have a computer on hand for the interview as the coding portion will involve using a shared screen website, where you can select and switch between any of the languages available.
2. Onsite interview
- Several case studies, one basic probability question, quick lunch
Very smooth. Recruiters are kind and interviewers are friendly. Overall I enjoyed the process. There were two rounds of interviewers. It took about two months. Also there was a round where I got to hear from Data Scientist that works in Meta to learn about more.
From reviews here and chats with friends, it seems like great recruiters are the norm and my experience was no exception. The portal was very intuitive and the recruiters were constantly in touch and eager to provide advice and resources.
As for the tech screen, it seems like you roll the dice and hope to have an engaged interviewer. Mine seemed disinterested from the get-go and it probably got into my head. I practiced with several coaches and got really encouraging feedback, but the interviewers' questions were vague and they wouldn't clarify any follow-up points. I saw the same questions I got asked posted elsewhere, but with much more detail that the interviewer wouldn't clarify for me (even though I asked). So it might be the discretion of the interviewer how vague they want to be so prepare for anything.
The interviewer offered more guidance on the SQL prompts but they were easy either way, LeetCode easy to medium.
I got dinged two days after the interview.