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Facebook senior software engineer interview

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Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#31

Post by endtime »

ori_b wrote: post #23
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't disagree more with your post. The author is basically just putting out a detailed study plan for passing an exam. If a doctor posted a plan for passing the medical boards would your first thought be "Wow, look at that massive medical monoculture problem!" That seems like a ridiculous stretch in my opinion. To your second point, I hear this all the time in threads about tech interviewing: "Tech interviews a…

> If a doctor posted a plan for passing the medical boards would your first thought be "Wow, look at that massive medical monoculture problem!" If the exam was used to determine seniority of both dermatologists and anaesthesiologists, instead of basic competency heck entering the field, it would indicate a problem.

The OP doesn't say it's for all technical roles at Facebook, it mentions one specific job title.

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#33

Post by ajg360 »

I've been programming professionally for 12+ years. I haven't had a need to look at CLRS since I took my graduate (!!!) algorithms course in college.

I don't work in FAANG, but I am a senior developer in another industry. It would take me way more than two and a half weeks to work through all of the problem sets in CLRS; two and a half weeks is more for someone who is a year or two out of college. I don't think being able to work through the problems in that book is indicative of a senior developer either...

Anyway, this is why I'll probably end up never changing industries. The barrier to entry is (too) high; especially for those of us who already make comparable money.

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#34

Post by tantalor »

tjr wrote: post #28

The author suggests studying Programming Pearls . Bentley wrote there: As soon as we settled on the problem to be solved, I ran to my nearest copy of Knuth's _Seminumerical Algorithms_ (having copies of Knuth's three volumes both at home and at work has been well worth the investment). Because I had studied the book carefully a decade earlier, I vaguely recalled that it contained several algorithms for problems like…

> Why is vaguely recalling an algorithm studied years prior and needing to look it up indicative of a poor candidate in an interview?

The article does not imply that it does.

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#35

Post by nyaloka »

gedy wrote: post #10
mberning wrote: post #5

Facebook have been contacting me for years on linkedin and email asking me to interview. This is exactly why I have never responded.

Unless these skills that are interviewed for are directly translateable to the job, it seems like this "prep work" filters out busy candidates who are already working and have families, kids, lives. Actually maybe that is the intention, QED

I'm absolutely distrustful of any companies where an interview requires prep work. Who is woth more? That who remembers 50% of a heavy algorithms book right after reading it or that who remembers 20% of it after having used it as a display riser for the last 5 years?

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#37

Post by xienze »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #8
onion2k wrote: post #2

There are two interesting things in this post. The first is that a senior developer at Facebook believes every single senior developer looking for a role at Facebook can revise the same things. Clearly the author believes that Facebook are looking for programmers who fit a very specific mould, to the point that they're willing to go out in public and state exactly that. I'd argue that points to a massive monoculture…

I couldn't disagree more with your post. The author is basically just putting out a detailed study plan for passing an exam. If a doctor posted a plan for passing the medical boards would your first thought be "Wow, look at that massive medical monoculture problem!" That seems like a ridiculous stretch in my opinion. To your second point, I hear this all the time in threads about tech interviewing: "Tech interviews a…

> The author is basically just putting out a detailed study plan for passing an exam.

My issue is that someone at a senior level (yes I realize at some of these companies "senior" means "two years of experience") should have to study for 30 days to pass an interview. It should not require the equivalent of preparing for an advanced CS course final exam to evaluate the abilities of someone who has presumably been in the industry for many years.

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#38

Post by drchopchop »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #8
onion2k wrote: post #2

There are two interesting things in this post. The first is that a senior developer at Facebook believes every single senior developer looking for a role at Facebook can revise the same things. Clearly the author believes that Facebook are looking for programmers who fit a very specific mould, to the point that they're willing to go out in public and state exactly that. I'd argue that points to a massive monoculture…

I couldn't disagree more with your post. The author is basically just putting out a detailed study plan for passing an exam. If a doctor posted a plan for passing the medical boards would your first thought be "Wow, look at that massive medical monoculture problem!" That seems like a ridiculous stretch in my opinion. To your second point, I hear this all the time in threads about tech interviewing: "Tech interviews a…

Agreed, just because you're a senior engineer with decades of experience doesn't mean you shouldn't brush up on general fundamentals every once in a while. Leetcode, while being pretty useless in the real world, does get your brain into "answer hard questions under pressure" mode. Systems design questions prompt you to architect things which may be considerably different than you deal with during your day-to-day.

Preparing for an interview, for more senior developers, is mostly mental - even if you know the information required, can you retrieve it quickly? Do you get flustered under time pressure? Are you in hour 4 and getting tired/sloppy? A bit of studying can help make some answers automatic, and help you present your best self.

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#39

Post by icedchai »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #6

Facebook stopped being a /cool/ company to work for about 4 years ago. How can they expect to attract the best when they’re so lacking in corporate ethics? Don’t say it’s the almighty dollar because anyone with the chops to make $200k/yr from Facebook could start their own SaaS and make $400k/yr without too much effort. So what’s left to be proud of about working at FB? You don’t even get a private office anymore. Do…

This sounds naive. I've been involved with several early stage SaaS companies. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to make any real money from it. Even if the business has good margins, the growth is often so slow, you'd do better getting a regular job and investing on the side.

Re: Facebook senior software engineer interview

#40

Post by ah88 »

I like their interview process (minus the leetcode grind that’s been happening lately). They focus on fundamentals and core CS knowledge. Other company interviews, like mine, focus on knowledge or current trends, which change over time.
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