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Meta phone screen | UK | Feedback

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Hey Leetcoders,

I just want to share my unlucky experience with you. First of all, I would like to say, folks, that I'm feeling disappointed, but from my side, I really tried to do my best. I have more questions for the FAANG companies as a humble software engineer trying to ace their interviews.

A bit of context:

5+ years of experience  
Solved 650 LC problems  
Prepared for the last year (regular mocks 2-4 times per week, 2-4 hours of Leetcode 6 days a week)

Just so you understand, I'm familiar with the process and the rules of Meta coding interviews.

Regarding the phone screen interview:

  1. https://leetcode.com/problems/powx-n/description/ (simplified version without negative n)
    I offered 2 solutions (bruteforce O(N) and optimized O(logN)). The interviewer agreed with my assumptions, and I coded it in 6 minutes but stucked a bit with the verification step (spent 19 minutes in total).

  2. https://leetcode.com/discuss/interview-question/568482/facebook-phone-merge-3-sorted-arrays
    I offered a linear solution with 3 pointers and estimated TC O(N) and SC O(1). I coded it in 4-5 minutes, then started testing. The interviewer interrupted me, suggesting I start with the "right tests." He hinted that I had a bug, and I noticed it too, suggested a fix, and then our interview ended. I spent around 13-15 minutes on that problem in total and then had a chance to ask my questions to the interviewer.

Despite solving both problems in time, describing the ideas, and estimating time and space complexity, I received a rejection letter stating that my coding level was below expectations. It's quite weird, to be honest, since I was able to code two problems. For instance, they could have sent me feedback about "verifications" issues since I wasn't able to fully test them, but it's still not clear. As a candidate, I have a lot of questions.

I also want to add that my interviewer had poor communication skills (in my honest opinion). He was silent most of the time and didn’t communicate much. Maybe it's okay, but it felt super weird to me, as I expected a different level of communication from FAANG interviewers. In my view, a person should have enough soft skills to effectively evaluate candidates.

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