Meta Coding Interview Guide in 2024
Coding round format (45 min): - 5/35/5 - 5 minutes intros, 35 minutes coding to solve 2 LC problems, 5 minutes questions Coding portion (35 min): - Problem by interviewer - Solution suggestion: data structure, algorithm, time/space complexity - "Ready to write code" - Write code - Think out loud as you write code ✅ - Trade-off's ✅ - Edge cases ✅ - Verification: hotspots in code - Can you improve time/space? - Find, implement optimization ✅ - New time/space. Explain why - Verification: Test case and Walk through example input Time/LC: ~15 min Red flags: - Receiving hints 🚩 - Handholding 🚩 - Interviewer repeats themselves 🚩 - Bugs 🚩 ----------------- Coding round tips: - "VERIFICATION" is a very specific term, and that's what it is specifically called. There are 3 types: test cases, hotspots in code, walk-through with example input/output - "Trade-off's" and "Edge cases" are both really important - REAL LIFE STICKY NOTES 📝. I know this sounds dumb. It's not. You need an obvious and not subtle reminder of the steps. I'd write this down using a sharpie and clearly visible: - Trade-off's - Edge cases - VERIFICATION: hotspots, test case, walk-thru - Interruptions. Depending on whether the interviewer likes you, he or she may interrupt often. Don't take it personally, it's just a test. However, be very mindful of time. Make sure to mention "I would like to do a Trade-off analysis", "These are the edge cases", "This is a hotspot in the code". And "I can also walk-through the code". You need to absolutely say this, do not expect to be prompted (s/he may or may not). If you DON'T cover these areas, you will be marked down for not providing signal. ----------------- System Design, Product Architecture: Design Facebook Newsfeed. Design Facebook Messenger. Design Instagram. Design WhatsApp. Design Live Commenting. Design Typeahead Suggestions. Design Google Docs. Design a distributed Botnet. Design Resource Downloader Library. Design a video-sharing platform. #Meta #Facebook #CodingInterview #TechScreen #Leetcode #Algorithms
Are the questions still top 100 tagged variants?
Top 50 during hiring surge, Top 75 otherwise
I had one at the bottom of FB tagged LC past 6 months
What about asking clarifying questions for the problem and memorizing all their tagged LC questions as that’s probably the exact one you’ll be asked
Requirements gathering, clarifying questions, scoping are concepts of a System Design interview, not Coding. If you ask "clarifying questions" at the beginning of the Coding interview, it means you don't know the optimal solution, in which case it'll be a bad sign. Don't start the interview on a bad foot. At E6+, you are expected to solve 2 LC in 35 min w/ optimal space/time
So if they tell you to do something with a string - no reason to ask ASCII or Unicode? Or do they give every constraint upfront? I’ve only done one Meta interview and got asked Next Permutation lol
Do you have the list of design problems for ML?
ML system problems are limited in scope: - feature eng - feature store - data infra - model registry - model training - distributed training - etc If Applied ML, that's a whole another set of problems. Probably out of depth if you have to ask.
when is Zillow hiring again :\
Thanks for sharing this guide! I have an upcoming interview with Meta and was hoping for SD guide or list of questions. Thanks OP!
There are two flavors of the System Design round, which one of those is this list for?
OP, similar to the coding round tips, do you have anything similar for the SD round?
Is it ok to provide the most optimal solution in the first go to save time ?
I've read to give at least 2 solutions. 1 brute force with time complexity, then the optimal.
No you are going to be marked as not enough signals
What is funny is that Meta's guide says: "Let us know if you’ve seen the problem previously. That will help us understand your context." The only way I can solve a problem in less than 15 minutes is if I've seen the problem before or a problem just like it. Of course I've seen the problem before if they ask questions from the top 100 tagged and I'm expected to be fast and nearly perfect at solving the problem.
Lmao
Yeah idk how you're supposed to be able to solve a LC in 15 minutes unless it's easy
How do you know this 👀
This was super helpful. I’m a week away from my interview . I feel strong with leetcode. This structure definitely helped relieve some of the nerves . And I can confirm my mock interview had a very similar structure to this