Meta | IC5 / E5 | Frontend | London

Hello,

I have applied for Meta frontend software engineer position through their careers website in January 2024. I got an email for an HR phone call. The recruiter asked some questions and then gave me a date for a phone screening interview after 2 weeks.

Phone screening:
I was asked 2 questions, both JavaScript-related questions:

Write a function to clear all setTimeout.
Optimize a function that filters an object of arrays based on another object of arrays.

Verdict: I have passed it, but there were some concerns about my coding performance.

After that, they gave me 1 month to prepare for the final interview loop which will be 4 interviews done on the same day.

Interview loop:
First coding interview:
I was asked 2 questions are JavaScript-related questions:

Write a function to implement Array.flat().
Write a function to find corresponding node in two identical DOM tree.

My feedback: I think it went well and we have discussed multiple approaches and chosen the best approach based on time and space complexity.

Recruiter's feedback: It went well, but they felt I lacked some deep JavaScript knowledge. (Passed)

Second coding interview:
I was asked 2 questions are JavaScript-related questions:

Write a function to implement classNames as in React.
Write a function to implement Test() and expect() as in Jest.

My feedback: I think it went well, and I had implemented the required but needed one hint for implementing Test().

Recruiter's feedback: It was good but first interview was better. They had an issue with the hint given by interviewer as it shows I lacked some knowledge. (Passed)

System design:
I was asked to design an autocomplete widget.

My feedback: I think it went well and I have provided what they are looking for.

Recruiter's feedback: They had a massive concern as my solution was too perfect to be real without cheating. The interviewer gave a feedback saying that I had access for their internal wiki pages which I copied the answer from. No idea if it's a concern for me or their security team \uD83D\uDE02 (Failed)

Behavioral interview:
I was asked typical behavioral questions regarding past experiences, specific situations you have been in and future plans.

My feedback: I think it will depend on your interviewer mindset and what answers they are looking for. So I felt it went good.

Recruiter's feedback: They had 2 issues regarding my answers. First, I have said that I like to work in a structured and organized work environment and they said it doesn't match Meta as they are unstructured and ambiguous work environment. Also, I was looking for work-life balance culture and prefer moderate workload and Meta prefers employees who can handle high workload. Interviewer recommended me for IC4 but not IC5 (Failed)

Final Verdict: They rejected my application because I failed my system design and behavioral interviews. They asked me to wait for a year then re-apply again if I'm still interested.

If you are looking to apply for a position in Meta, I have some learnings to share with you:

For coding interviews, you can find their coding questions in the most asked questions by Meta and they won't change them but they focus more on the speed and accuracy. Solve as much questions from the most asked questions by Meta.
For behavioral interview, try to read a lot about Meta's culture and what are they looking for because their culture is totally different than other FAANG companies.
For system design, you can find their system design questions by reading interview experiences written in the last 6 months and it won't be more than 5-6 questions asked with some variations.
For preparation, I have found shared interview experiences on LC more useful than the preparation tips on Meta careers website and preparation tips sent by the recuriter as my recuriter didn't know the difference between backend and frontend questions or DSA and JavaScript related questions. Make sure you go through shared interview experiences on LC for at least the last 6 months before your interview.

Wish you best of luck in your interviews and I hope my experience will help you :)