Very long and thorough process.
I was reached out by two recruiters AR/VR & Core Facebook to go through the loop with both pillars. I was more interested in Core and scheduled AR/VR interviews before Core.
Core Facebook recruiters were amazing and super helpful. AR/VR did not help prepare me and ghosted me after I didn't pass a step. Instead, they let the Core recruiter tell me I didn't pass. Since they're different divisions, that recruiter had no access to notes or feedback.
First call was the recruiter screen. Very simple & basic: just about what the teams are, what design is like at Facebook, who I am, what I'm looking for etc. Got feedback within a day to move on to the next step.
R1 was a 45 minute design presentation with designers via BlueJeans. You're presenting 2-3 pieces (more likely 2) within 30 minutes and then 15 minutes to allow the interviewers to ask questions throughout. Right after the presentation was an App Critique. Your interviewer will ask you to pull up an app and you walk through it together. I was able to combine AR/VR and Core app critique to one. Got feedback within 2 business days for Core Facebook. "Ghosted" by AR/VR.
I passed Core but didn't do so well at AR/VR. I think I organized my presentation wrong. Prior to the presentation Core facebook's recruiter hopped on a call with me to help prepare me for the presentation/app critique. He gave lots of great tips and tricks and what the designers were looking for. If your recruiter has not done so, ask them to. He was SUPER helpful:
6 different areas that they’re going be looking out for:
1. Product Thinking: the ability to find and solve problems. How to successful build a product.
2. Interaction Design
3. Visual design
4. Proactivity and drive, work autonomously and take ownership
5. Intentionality, realizes the intended out come
6. Self Awareness, understand strength and weaknesses.
You DO have to take what they say with a grain of salt. Being recruiters their feedback is based off of what other designers struggled with/what helped other designers pass. My recruiter told me to "show your work in as high fidelity as possible" because he saw a lot of UX designers fail with weak visuals and to "avoid spending too much time talking through or showing images of process." Again, I think other designers showed too much and it wasn't a compelling story. These are great tips but you really need to trust your gut and imagine the interviewer as a user. If you're senior designer, you know yourself better than your recruiter so trust yourself in what you are presenting. What would you want to be presented to if you were reviewing an interviewee, why, how? I took his feedback too literally in the first presentation and the process was weaker and too focused on what was shipped. I changed my presentation prior to Core to focus on process more and I got great feedback.
App critique, mine chose Amazon Alexa. It's fairly straight forward. We discussed business goals, design choices, etc.
Onsite was one 30 minute presentation. They will not ask any questions during this. Make sure you time it correctly to end exactly at 28 minutes. Mine had people outside our meeting room trying to get in at exactly 30 minute past and kicked us out. We started late because one of my interviewers was a couple minutes late, so make sure you give a couple minutes for buffer. After the presentation I had a 1-1 lunch with a designer. One whiteboarding session (redesign ATM), one app critique (they let me pick this time), and finally a behavioral chat with the hiring manager. All were 45 minute sessions.
My recruiter was awesome before onsite and actually listened to my presentation and gave feedback. Super great Core FB recruiters, they really help prepare you. I felt like they were on my side and not scary door keepers. Be honest & reach out to them if you have questions. Your recruiters want you to succeed as well.
I got a verbal offer (call within 3 days) but declined to join Facebook for another position. If I was moving on with the process, you will then have hiring manager calls after the verbal offer to help match you with a team.
