What to focus for interview prep for Fb/G in this case

Cadence
qwer09

Go to company page Cadence

qwer09
Jun 3, 2019 8 Comments

20 yoe + MS (top 20 US) + BS (one of topmost intnl uni)
Worked in SW (c++) tools used for chip design automation
2 yr ago began prepping for 1 yr off and on using LC, became p good. Solved ~300
1 yr ago, Rejected after onsite at Fb (for L5. Non-typical sys design, but was cited as reason for reject)
1 yr ago, Reject after onsite at Goog. L4 Thought did p well overall and they hadn't decided on interview level. Later told it was L4. The session i thought i did best on (my research area) recruiter came back saying was bad. I thought interviewer was not up to the mark.

Google experience was really bad, taught me interviewers can be childish and screw good candidates over. Recruiter didn't care, only knew buzzwords and pegged me for embedded sw interview without knowing finer tech distinctions.

G recruiter only spouting blanket tech terms without knowing what they do was disappointing. For the next go, i'd like to avoid mistakes. I think after so much LC i should be able to fetch a spot at these prestige companies and improve my worth/tc.
Currently at ICE in SF bay.

- What kind of roles, levels, interview sessions i should aim for 2nd attempt this year?
- How do i get them to interview me for "right" roles?

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TOP 8 Comments
  • Facebook
    Transforme

    Go to company page Facebook

    Transforme
    I would suggest taking a deep, hard look at what you could've done better in your G/FB interviews without ascribing blame to the interviewers.
    Even if the interviewer was 'not up to the mark' or 'childish', it is still the interviewee's job to make the interview a success.
    Jun 3, 2019 5
    • Intel
      FAANGS

      Go to company page Intel

      FAANGS
      To play devil's advocate, I've experienced interviewers with heavy accents that I could not understand (without the written problem), who would chuckle on any minor mistakes and go silent and get annoyed if/when I solved their LC hard problem. Then, they try to change/amend the problem to make my solution (which they did not understand at first) not work for the extension.
      Jun 4, 2019
    • Facebook
      Transforme

      Go to company page Facebook

      Transforme
      Interviewers can be terrible. It sucks when you prepare for an interview for months, and get an arrogant asshole on the other side.

      But focusing on how bad your interviewer is can be counterproductive to doing well in the interview. People can sense hostility and judgement.

      I find that if you're patient, non-judgemental, and focused on the end goal (doing well on the interview), you can convert a terrible interviewer into a merely below average one.

      It's hard to be an arrogant asshole when your one-word answers are continually met with calm, cheerful patience.
      Jun 4, 2019
  • Intel
    qmmm66

    Go to company page Intel

    qmmm66
    I'd suggest talking to recruiter to get interviewers who can do system design interview in a domain you're strong. I did this and aced fb interview. Did this with G as well but didn't get that probably coz of coding interviews. Coding interviewers were a bit condescending compared to fb. Also some of them told me they don't care about syntax and let me abbreviate my code; but a few others nitpicked the same syntax.
    Jun 4, 2019 0
  • Google
    AIMLOK

    Go to company page Google

    BIO
    I once served 5TB
    AIMLOK
    Any experience with distributed systems? What kind of swe role?
    Jun 3, 2019 0