Engineering Manager Interview Experience - London, United Kingdom
Process
This happened in late 2019.
Recruitment got in touch; I wasn't openly looking. After recruitment and technical screenings, I was invited for an onsite in London.
There were 5 interviews:
- 2 system design
- 1 algorithms
- 2 focused on team management/behaviorals
- 1 project retrospective
Tough rounds. I thought I didn't do too well, but the truth is they were probing me hard. The interviewers were generally nice, except for one.
I want to flag that the HR person assigned to me throughout the process was world-class. He was very supportive, helpful in negotiations, and always available to clarify my doubts and explain the process. He was the star of the process for me. One piece of advice he gave me for the onsite was really great: "Remember, the folks interviewing you were in your exact same seat a couple of years ago."
It was a great process and very tempting. After a couple of weeks, I received an offer. Unfortunately, due to a mix of factors—Brexit (I would have had to relocate to London and didn't like where things were going), a competing offer, and the fact that there weren't many interesting teams to join (I spoke to a few hiring managers, but honestly, nothing caught my attention)—I eventually decided to decline the offer.
The interesting news is that their offers are valid for one year, so I had the whole of 2020 to think about things. The recruiter kept in touch for months, wanting to know whether I could change my mind. After six to nine months, I eventually told them it wasn't going to happen, even later, and they insisted they could keep the offer open for a little longer. They were very accommodating; it just couldn't work out for me personally.
Questions
Interviews:
- 2 system design
- 1 algorithms
- A couple focused on team management/behaviorals
- 1 project retrospective
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 8 interview experiences for the Meta Engineering Manager role in London, United Kingdom.
Success Rate
Meta's interview process for their Engineering Manager roles in London, the United Kingdom is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Meta's Engineering Manager interview process in London, United Kingdom.
Meta Work Experiences
- 5.0Best employer you could find in the tech worldEngineering Manager • Current EmployeeJune 30, 2021Pros: Fast career growth. Pays very well. A+ quality coworkers. Great internal mobility if you don't like your team.Cons: Internal processes are creeping up, making things slower. Performance reviews are brutal. If you slack off, you will find yourself getting the lowest rating.
- 5.0Build your career hereEngineering Manager • Current EmployeeMenlo Park, California, United StatesSeptember 14, 2021Pros: Do the best work of your life. Management supports each individual. Expectations are high, and so is the compensation, both monetary and personal.Cons: Everything we do is examined under the microscope of public scrutiny.
- 5.0Facebook set me up for successEngineering Manager • Former EmployeeMenlo Park, California, United StatesSeptember 26, 2014Pros: Facebook is a top tech company like Google, LinkedIn, Apple, and many others. All of these companies offer basically the same thing: great engineers, good money, free food, impacting zillions of people, and interesting tech problems. Facebook has a few things that set it apart: 1. Openness. Root on every box, access to every source repo. I very rarely had to wait to receive credentials to do anything. At other jobs, you're often blocked sitting at your desk for a few days waiting for access to some repository. 2. Control over your career. You don't get hired into a specific team – you choose it. (In recent years, they've added a list of teams you can choose from, but there's still a lot of variety.) And if you get bored or feel stalled, you're encouraged to switch teams. I don't think other companies offer those things. The real list of pros is huge, but since they could be applied to other companies, I don't include them here. The only reason I left is because I always wanted to start my own startup. Otherwise, I would have stayed forever.Cons: With everyone switching teams all the time, there is often a lot of lost tribal knowledge. So there are parts of the codebase that no one understands anymore. Since the Great Shift to Mobile, there has been a focus on quality at the expense of moving fast. I really liked the "Move Fast and Break Things" mentality of Facebook when I joined, and though people disagree with me, I prefer it to the "don't ship it until it's perfect" mentality. I think many of the independent Facebook apps waited too long to launch. Another thing that no one will agree with me on is the work-life balance. I have noticed a trend of people working less, hackathons running during the day, etc. I think your average employee is less driven and moves slower than a few years ago. This used to be a place where people were obsessed with shipping above all else. It isn't that anymore. This is a pro for some people but not for me. I'm giving it a 5 because I think it's good for your life, not because I agree with that balance.
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