What would be your best advice for a Software Engineering Manager joining Facebook, in order to be as effective as possible from week 1? What do you wish someone else had told you when you were in the same situation? Edit: No TC yet, still in the works
This^
Be transparent. Act like you're serving your reports - they ask, you provide. Don't try to assert power through information assymetry. You're part of the leads meeting and know all the top level goals and calibration notes of your reports, not because you're special or exceptional. But because it'd be chaotic to have that many people in those meetings. You're a messenger and a necessity of convenience for the team. Act like it. The moment you start behaving like you know better, people will start bailing your team. Starting with the brightest ones.
Ahhh this is pure gold, thank you sir/ma’am!
I'll boil it down to three things; 1/ trust your team members judgment and their ability to do their job independently. They are smart - maybe smarter than you are in their respective areas. 2/ your only job is to be a cheerleader, and pick people up when they fall. 3/ your second job is to speak of their achievements (and help them make more money)
This is great advice, thank you! Follow up question - how often do you feel that you team(s) need your technical guidance?
I wouldn't say "how often", as it could vary from all the time to never. Rule of thumb is to share your perspective/guidance and be very open to other people's opinions and counterarguments. One of the toxic traits I noticed is the following: manager asks IC for input, IC provides input, manager makes the final decision regardless of the input. Instead, a better approach in my opinion is to 1/ only ask for input if you'd seriously consider it (and better have a solid alternative if not taken into account) 2/ don't ask for input if you feel that you're married to your idea.
Make sure to attend the classes and research all the resources on career development. If you want ICs to trust you, you need to understand their career goals, product goals, and personal needs (some ppl like micromanagement which goes against the grain). Don’t miss a 1:1 (always reschedule if you do). Make sure you understand your space/product/metrics deeply so it’s easy to converse about roadmap. Always give clear/actionable feedback as often as possible to keep ICs on track.
I agree about the 1:1s. They’re like vaccinations: nobody loves them, but everyone’s gotta have them.
Curious how many years of experience you have and what company you came from? I’m also looking to apply to management role at Facebook.
OP, can you share your interview experience and prep? I am also in the process and would like to know what exactly to expect (in addition to what recruiter already shared)
TC or GTFO
No TC yet, still working that aspect out :)