Facebook onsite - whiteboard vs laptop

Amazon
jOuA65

Go to company page Amazon

jOuA65
Jun 2, 2019 7 Comments

I am getting ready for a Facebook onsite software engineering interview at Seattle. The recruiter asked me if I want to use whiteboard or laptop. I chose laptop, but have been wondering if I signed up for harsher evaluation by setting the expectation that I have to run my solutions to coding problems. What are your thoughts/experiences? Should I stick to whiteboard?

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TOP 7 Comments
  • Oracle
    strong20

    Go to company page Oracle

    strong20
    If they expect you to compile and run with the laptop, I would just stick to whiteboard. It's just one more thing that could hurt you in the interview. If not then it might be to your advantage as it is easier and neater to type out code.
    Jun 2, 2019 0
  • Facebook / Eng
    UnND55

    Go to company page Facebook Eng

    UnND55
    Facebook uses the same setup for screens and in-person laptop interviews, coderpad with execution disabled. There's no official guidelines currently about evaluating laptop vs whiteboard, mostly because it's newish to have the option.
    Jun 3, 2019 1
    • Amazon
      jOuA65

      Go to company page Amazon

      jOuA65
      OP
      Ok, that's a great relief to know that I won't have to execute solutions. Do you know if the use of laptops during onsite is on the rise and if it has any correlation with the success rate?
      Jun 15, 2019
  • Google
    nrvD43

    Go to company page Google

    nrvD43
    I don't think FB runs your code though? Or did they change it recently?
    Jun 2, 2019 1
    • Amazon
      jOuA65

      Go to company page Amazon

      jOuA65
      OP
      I am not sure. I asked my recruiter the same, to which he said it wouldn't affect the evaluation, without giving me a straight answer
      Jun 2, 2019
  • Amazon
    Nkbf63

    Go to company page Amazon

    Nkbf63
    Can confirm. I asked for laptop and there was a person waiting for me who’s only role was to provide the laptop. First interviewer didn’t know what to do despite the sticky with instructions on it since this was his first time - so we lost 5 minutes but thankfully i gained back the lost time due to massive speed gains relative to whiteboard.
    Second round interviewer had done this before so we didn’t waste any time. Each time they hooked it up to the TV and took a picture with their phones.
    Aced both coding rounds and received an offer. More companies are realising coding on a whiteboard is dumb and have no concerns with a laptop but may ask you to bring your own.
    Sep 26, 2019 0
  • LinkedIn
    boringdude

    Go to company page LinkedIn

    boringdude
    FB can’t be so stupid to run code for those who choose laptop but not whiteboard!!
    Jun 2, 2019 0