If you are interested in applying for a position with Facebook or you’re already engaged in the interviewing process, you may find my insight helpful. A Facebook recruiter contacted me within two week after submitting my resume to schedule an online writing sample. One week after I took the writing assessment, my recruiter contacted me to schedule a 30-minute phone interview. Takeaway#1: For the writing assessment, be clear, concise, and manage your time effectively. My first phone interview, which was more of a screening call, was with a Facebook recruiter. The call lasted around 30 minutes and entailed a discussion of my resume. She was very thorough and asked very detailed questions about all aspects of my experience. I was surprised at the level of detail sought, considering she didn’t work in the area for which I was applying. After the screening, she told me to expect a follow-up call from someone working in the department for which I applied. Takeaway#2: Be prepared to discuss your resume in detail and relate your experience to the Facebook job for which you are interviewing. The next day, a recruiting coordinator from the local Facebook office e-mailed me details for the next phone interview, which was with someone working in User Operations. This phone interview was more traditional and lasted around 30 minutes. I received an e-mail from my recruiter the next day inviting me to an on-site interview. I accepted. Takeaway#3: Know what Facebook is all about, express your excitement, and be prepared to articulate in detail what makes you a good fit for the position AND Facebook in general. The on-site recruiting coordinator contacted me to schedule the two-hour on-site interview. She also asked me to complete the Facebook employment application and nondisclosure agreement and bring both to the interview. Upon my arrival on-site, she took me to a very small room, with just enough room for three chairs, and asked me to wait for the first interviewer. The first interviewer arrived with her laptop in-hand, and proceeded to ask me standard interview questions, typing notes as I gave responses. The interview lasted 30 minutes. In fact, all subsequent interviews lasted 30 minutes. Takeaway#4: Be prepared to provide interesting stories about your most positive and negative work-related experiences, including lessons learned. Make sure you don’t throw anyone under the bus! The second interviewer’s questions were about personal and professional goals, why I was interested in Facebook, why I wanted to leave my job, etc. Takeaway#5: Be prepared to articulate the importance of life goals, why you’re interested in Facebook, what you will offer Facebook in the first 90 days/five years, and what skills you will take away from working at Facebook. The third interviewer’s questions focused on the position and asked philosophical questions about what role Facebook should play in ensuring safety on the site. He also asked for specific solutions to scaling User Operations support as the business continued to grow. Takeaway#6: Be prepared to offer suggestions for improving the Facebook user experience for both novices and experts. The final interviewer was older than the previous ones. The other interviewers were in their early 20s to very early 30s. I’m sure he was a manager in that office. His questions focused on team dynamics. This entailed what kind of team I prefer, what role I fill in a team, what I think is destructive for a team, etc. Takeaway#7: Be prepared to reveal professional criticism you received from peers while working on a team, and explain how you dealt with the criticism. This was the end of my interviewing experience with Facebook. The recruiting coordinator told me I should receive word from my recruiter in about a week. A week later, I received an e-mail from my recruiter indicating I was not the right fit. Final Takeaway: If you didn’t receive an offer, find something positive from the experience. It’s only natural to feel the sting of rejection when losing out on this kind of opportunity, but rest assured that you wouldn’t have made it that far in the interview process if you didn’t have the right skills. They simply found a personality that would be a better fit for the team they’re trying to build (or you were too old – kidding – sort of). My goal here is to share a more complete understanding of Facebook’s interview process so others may spend less time trying to anticipate the process and more time thinking about why they are right for Facebook. I am more than happy to share other aspects of my interviewing experience with Facebook. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section below...I will respond there so everyone has the benefit to learn from my experience. Remember, it’s anonymous… Note: Some things I will not be able to comment on due to my NDA with Facebook.

Spoke with a recruiter who then set up a video interview with a member of the community operations team in Austin. Mostly asked about my experience and how I would help people with different user issues. Most of the experience questions were related to problem-solving and steps I took to solve them. I was also asked to explain how to use an existing Facebook feature, some of its benefits, and how I would see if it was being adopted by users.