Software Engineer New Grad Interview Experience - San Jose, California
Process
It was a 45-minute technical phone screen. The interviewer called right on time, at 11:00 am, and it lasted exactly 45 minutes.
The pattern was as I expected and as it was presented on the Facebook interview prep page.
The interviewer started by introducing himself and telling a bit about his role at Facebook. He then asked a couple of things about my resume and the projects I worked on and was proud of.
(I suggest not to spend too long explaining this because that would mean less time for the coding questions. Just a couple of sentences should be fine.)
The main chunk of the time was for coding questions, and the last few minutes were for questions.
Questions
Question 1: Given two sorted arrays, write a function to find the kth smallest element among both arrays. (This was required to be solved in constant space without using any additional data structures).
Question 2: Three Sum Problem. Given an array of numbers, write a function to find groups of all three numbers such that their sum is 0. The numbers can be repeated.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the Meta Software Engineer New Grad role in San Jose, California.
Success Rate
Meta's interview process for their Software Engineer New Grad roles in San Jose, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Meta's Software Engineer New Grad interview process in San Jose, California.
Meta Work Experiences
- 4.0Former intern turned full-time employeeSoftware Engineer New Grad • Former EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesNovember 30, 2022Pros: A large company with lots of different opportunities and benefits.Cons: I was laid off during my training period.
- 4.0Bottom-up engineering cultureSoftware Engineering Manager • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesOctober 27, 2020Pros: For those who appreciate a bottom-up engineering culture, this place is great. People throw together (hack) prototypes, and the most successful ones win. Everything is about the results. Things like documentation and reliability, which some engineers bristle against, are secondary. Bureaucracy is nonexistent.Cons: Engineers who prefer a more "design first" style will find it infuriating. The "don't talk to me unless you've got a prototype in hand" culture can feel like it's stifling ideas, even though it's a very reasonable reaction against pie-in-the-sky proposals. Proper architecture and code quality can be big problems. There's a strong emphasis on social networking as a means of getting things done. For introverts, this can be unduly difficult, and even for extroverts, it can come across as a triumph of personality and schmoozing over sound engineering principles. There is a strong emphasis on trying to fabricate relationships in order to have impact, which can feel extremely deceitful.
- 3.0Well paid and burned outiOS Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesFebruary 18, 2025Pros: Good benefits, great paycheck.Cons: Fighting for impact projects, pushing people to work overtime to meet expectations.
Meta Interview Questions
