Practice your algorithms while talking through them.

Was approached by a Facebook internal recruiter on LinkedIn.

First, the TL;DR:

Good experience overall. Tough challenges. I made silly mistakes and didn’t emphasize the right things; this is why below I’m sharing these learnings in detail. Anyway, everybody I worked with was super nice, and I certainly may apply again. (Got a lot of technical, candid feedback and was invited to apply again within ~6-8 months rather than 12… probably because I was super friendly but persistent in showing interest in the company itself.)

DETAILS:

Got to the screening interview.

Two easy/medium algorithm questions. The first was harder (involved a more complex data structure); the second was easier (just arrays/stacks/queues type stuff). Overall, it went somewhat okay, but I was very nervous and made silly mistakes. The interview was very short too: 45 minutes scheduled; an error with Zoom caused a late start, but the interviewer did not let us go over! So, it was actually ~37 minutes, and I rushed and fumbled things. Also, for me, the main challenge was that it was hard to think clearly and talk through my solution while being watched. I was verbalizing the concepts/solutions decently well, but I felt a pressure to ‘keep talking’/‘avoid awkward silences,’ which threw me off. I would have much preferred if I could have simply worked in silence and submitted solutions when done (but that’s not how this stuff works).

TIP: While it’s true you should always ask questions as you go, e.g., “Does this assumption make sense?” etc. (as they advise), nevertheless, keep in mind: the interviewer probably cannot tell you how important certain things are. That is, whether what you’re doing “IS GOOD ENOUGH.” You should know that – e.g., whether something should be done the more efficient way rather than the naive/safer/less efficient way (it probably should!).

*DISCLAIMER:

Above, I said, “Everybody I worked with was super nice, and I certainly may apply again.” (So, while I should disclose my 'positive biases' here — the fact that I may apply again incentivizes me to say nice things! — still, swear to God, I'm being completely candid about the fact that everyone was really friendly to me. I think it’s fair to say Facebook has a reputation for treating engineers well, even those who apply then work elsewhere.)

Two algorithm questions were asked: easy/medium difficulty.

The first involved a more complex data structure and was harder. The second was easier, focusing on arrays, stacks, or queues.

The interviewer also used some of the already very short interview period to give me the opportunity to ask questions. Therefore, the total time I had to solve problems was only about 30 minutes.