What I've Learned After My Interview at Facebook
- 4 minsNear the end of spring break of my sophomore year in college, I flew to California to be interviewed onsite for Facebook University for Analytics 2016. As a freshman I was rejected first round when applying for Facebook University for Engineering, so it was quite an excitement to actually make it to Facebook headquarters this year, even if it was only an interview trip and not an offer. I learned a lot, but this post will only contain the highlights.
Long story short: I didn’t get the job. But best thing: being physically inside the walls of Facebook and talking to the people behind it (very, very inspiring). Second best thing: I had a shot at putting my foot through the door, and met my peers from other colleges who had the same opportunity as me there. Third best thing: I didn’t have to pay for it.
As unhappy (for me) as I was for the last few hours since the decision email arrived, here are the three main pieces of wisdom I have learned from this experience:
1. Once I send in an application (or even before), I should start preparing for the interview.
I was on vacation with my best friend in New York City when I received the email from Facebook telling me to fly over to California for my interview. I was in panic mode because the last few weeks before spring break had been full of homework and midterms that I didn’t think about getting a mock interview with my college’s Career Planning office. It would be my first interview with a tech company as well. And the worst thing was that I actually didn’t expect to be selected for the interview at all. One week between receiving the email and getting on my flight was absolutely not enough for such a newbie inexperienced interviewee I was. I might know the technical things well, I might be able to write code and solve math problems, but right after the interview, I knew that I didn’t talk about everything that I felt the interviewers need to know to have a relatively complete picture of me. It could have been better if I had had a mock interview with someone more experienced, especially when most of the questions I got asked were quite general.
2. Facebook knows how to make prospective employees feel comfortable, but I should keep a level head with me at all times.
This might contain a little bias, because Facebook is currently the first and only company I have been interviewed at. But the impression they created was great. First they took care of your flights, hotel, transportation, meals, and other related costs. Once we were there, specifically for FBU for Analytics, we had a discussion with a panel of data scientists who gave us an overview of their job and their experiences, and answered some of our questions. At this point, I felt quite comfortable and excited already. Then the tour around Facebook campus really pointed out the openness and flexibility of their work environment, as well as all the perks of working at Facebook. Now I was sold, which was bad for two reasons. One, I would not be able to answer the question of what product(s) I think Facebook should improve as objectively and completely as I had thought about before. Two, it increased my nervousness before my interviews, because subconsciously, my brain switched from, “How do I show them my passion for solving problems with technology?” to, “How on Earth am I going to convince them to let me into this place?” Well, the second mindset was simply horrible. When I was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight back and my head was clear, I wished I had talked more about how I love doing math and solve problems, not tried to give the “right” answers.
3. Keep learning; and believe more in myself.
I enjoy learning and new knowledge. This opportunity has taught me many little things about myself, the tech industry, and the data analytics career that I would not have known by only sitting in lectures in college. Often, I blow up the first times I do things (especially if a large portion of it involves human factor), but I almost always improve on the second, the third, and so forth. Hopefully, this should apply to interviewing and getting internships/jobs as well! Also, I’m more confident in the path I’ve chosen. At least among those who were present on Facebook campus that day, I was the only kid from a small liberal arts college that is never on the recruiting radar of large tech companies. My school might be less well-known, and the probability that my interviewers graduated from the same place might be much lower than MIT or Stanford, but my resume can still pass the screening and land me interviews, as long as I keep adding interesting projects and experiences to it. After all, there is hope!
P/S: Big thanks to my parents, brother, best friends at NYU, Cornell University, Wooster, and everyone who’ve given me the greatest support throughout all of this from the beginning. It’s not the end yet :)