I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Meta in Mar 2016
Interview
Have been recommended twice by former co-workers/current employees. Passed the phone screens 4 times with 4 different HR people only to have the hiring manager not want to do the phone interview with me. I'm 40+ so and it feels like I haven't made it further because the hiring managers are uncomfortable working with people older and/or more experienced than them. I'm in tech, haven't had a boss older than me since I was in my 20s, it doesn't bother me. And, if they met me and didn't want to hire me I could understand that too. Not being able to get an interview is a real problem.
The HR people were very nice and efficient.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
We discussed a specific product and what I thought of it. They picked the product where I had the most experience and asked about how I would make their product better. Also asked a couple of questions about my personal strengths and weaknesses. They wanted to know about my technical experience and my experience launching products.
I didn't interview. I was asked to be reference for a candidate who was about to receive an offer (which given my roles as a senior leader at a consulting organization happens pretty frequently).
I received a request to fill out 12 open ended questions, which were more extensive than the recommendation I wrote this person for Business School. It was insane and delivered in by the "University Recruiter" with a request to fill it out in less than 24 hours. All that despite the fact that the form was clearly meant for internal use at Facebook.
I hope Facebook treats its employees with more respect and empathy than its recruiters treat references.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Asking to have 12 questions filled out on everything from strengths, weaknesses, interactions with teams, communication style, etc. etc.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Meta (Menlo Park, CA) in Apr 2016
Interview
Phone interview with a recruiter, then two in-person interviews to assess "product instincts" and "execution." One interviewer was rude and kept interrupting me as he was questioning me, then when I asked him about how Facebook handles complex cross-functional projects, looked like he was ready to cry. "It's total chaos," he told me.
The other interviewer was totally disengaged, and, although I had been guided to treat the interview as a "brainstorming session," she simply wouldn't give me any back-and-forth. I asked questions, she refused to answer. I tried to clarify points, she simply said, "what do you think?" I came away convinced that the interview is focused on testing candidates who have very little real-world experience, and therefore can't give examples of real situations in which they've had to use their product instincts or execute under tough conditions. Consequently, the questions focus on hypotheticals that don't provide an accurate picture of a candidate's skills, and, in fact, provide a warped picture of an experienced candidate who is accustomed to working with facts and real situations.
I know that Facebook thinks they're very "data driven" about this hiring process, but I think they've headed down the wrong path for more senior PM candidates (I have 15 years of product management experience).
After the interview, I didn't receive any call back from the recruiter. I didn't pursue it, because the negative experience I had led me to conclude that I don't want to work there. But, the lack of follow-up isn't a particularly good sign either.
We're sorry to hear about your negative experience with our interviewers and for the lack of follow-up from our recruiter. Every candidate moment matters to us, and we'll leverage this feedback to improve our experience.
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