My Facebook Interview Experience (software engineer interview)

[@clem]

I hope everyone’s staying safe during these scary times; things are pretty crazy here in NY. Hopefully this video can serve as a hint of normalcy in the midst of the craziness. And here are some timestamps for your convenience: - 0:00 | Introduction
 - 0:49 | Huge announcement - 3:15 | Initial recruiter phone call - 4:55 | Interview track - 6:38 | Onsite interviews - 12:40 | After the interviews - 14:57 | Conclusion Oh, and I forgot to mention in the video that I chose to do all of my interviews in JavaScript!

[@ifeanyi8325]

hi Clement, what tech stack do you use to develop web applications?

[@clem]

@ZeroFollowers At Google, I interviewed in Python because I had been prepping for coding interviews almost exclusively in Python. At Facebook, I went with JavaScript because I had spent the previous 2 years working almost exclusively in JavaScript (both at Google and at AlgoExpert); the only Python I had done in the previous 2 years was writing the actual Python solutions to AlgoExpert problems. So all in all, I just felt a bit more comfortable writing JavaScript.

[@stevenjake1751]

Can you please make a video of IT vs CS?

[@stevenjake1751]

@@AG-ur1lj thank you

[@VinayPotluri]

8:02 | 1st Interview - Coding 9:04 | 2nd Interview - System Design (API design) 10:16 | 3rd Interview - Coding 11:29 | 4th Interview - Behavioral + Coding 12:48 | Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Gelato

[@michaellouie7312]

For anyone who might possibly be doubting his experience, it was very close to mine when I was at the Facebook office last year. The only things that were different for me were that I did not have a recruiter tech "prescreen" (which I also found odd) and my interviews were behavioral/coding first, 2nd coding, lunch, 3rd coding, and system design. Four interviews total as a seasoned engineer.

[@markheight8291]

NegotiationExpert coming soon :-D

[@chiragsharmaYoutube]

Quite qood idea

[@theogpill]

11:40 amen to that, i have passed interviews even after not completing the coding task entirely or answering all the technical questions correctly.

[@applied_maths]

Жақсы бала екен, Рахмет! Thank you from Kazakhstan, we also having tragic times, have faitg, stay brave🙏 Rahmet sagan agylshyn karapayim bala

[@Alchemist168]

Just wanted to thank you for your transparency and in-depth vids!! I know its risky for you because companies that you work for (or apply for in the future) could see it as a bad thing that their employee divulges so much and this may affect future opportunities. But you've helped out a lot of people (i can definitely say that for myself at least). Smashing the like button for every vid!

[@LukaTim]

Love your channel. Been applying for my first internships and it's been made a lot harder cuz of the virus but hopefully something works out

[@hackweiser4127]

Hi clem Thanks You are helping us in Quarantine💯

[@umangtekriwal4879]

Hey Clem, I would request you make a video suggesting how a software engineer could do a startup and how to go about to convert it into a large company.

[@PrinceDavid]

What great timing. I am interviewing with FB today on the phone!

[@Anstroy95]

How did you do?

[@cbjueueiwyru7472]

No response means he probably failed. Rip prince david's career

[@PrinceDavid]

@@cbjueueiwyru7472 LOL yep I didn't get in. I passed the phone interview but failed the in person interview

[@PrinceDavid]

They are giving me another shot now. Just talked with a recruiter and setting up a technical phone screen again.

[@dev-skills]

Nice advice on choosing the right track out of front end or backend for your interview process.

[@fernandotoledo8093]

Glad to know the lunch wasn't really an interview.

[@Elementanimator]

Nice video as always Clement! Do you think you would perhaps do a video relating to Systems Engineering / being a Systems Engineer, and what that role entails / how it differs from being a Software Engineer?

[@georgesmith9178]

Thank you for sharing, Clement. It is nice to step into the ring with confidence and get out with confidence, too. This 1/2 tech 1/2 behavioral interview portion was a bit fuzzy. How was the tech related to the non-tech? If you could clarify that would be useful .... without disclosing confidential details of course. Thanks in advance.

[@Shelly888-s1r]

Ur vids are always amazing sir. The only thing I wanna ask is that, I'm just 18 and really passionate about coding and many other things relevant like developing etc. I saw u interviewing rachit jain and the only thought that blowed my mind off was that even though I was trying my best to get the concepts of those questions , my understanding was only upto erratic portions . so am I not able to get a job at any of those tech giants like google or Microsoft and many other coz my logic sense got a bit knocked off by those questions...pls reply sir..coz ur explanations are pretty top notched.

[@climbnexplore1187]

Hyped on the update!! If you want over 8/9000 smashes on the like button pls talk about your fav DBZ and DBZA characters :)

[@ani13492]

Hi Clement, What level were you interviewing for (E4,E5? ). I am starting my facebook interviewing screening soon. P.S. AlgoExpert is one the best places I found to learn about how to approach different kinds of problems.

[@farazahmed448]

Hi Clem. I took a subscription at your platform a year ago for my wifes Microsoft interview. What i felt is that if you good focus some topics on other designations as well. As i am a data engineer by profession and landed a interview with Facebook. I would have loved to renew the subscription for myself but i could not find algo expert a useful platform for Data engineering interviews as FAANG.

[@RodrigoVillarreal]

Google Recruiters do the same about asking technical questions, it happened to me twice last year. I applied to Sydney first and after the phone screen they moved my application to Berlin. The questions were asked before the phone screen and after the phone screen with the new recruiter. It was odd indeed but it's becoming a standard

[@BlackIceSpa]

I had this "in-phone" surprise interview with human resources with Google too (despite I didn't put my CV there, they called/contacted me in LinkedIn), just saying :), thanks for the video. Maybe it depends on the person, rather than "company rules"

[@MrMadwyn]

Nice experience, just like what I read from the Internet. Was the offer worse than the KZbin payment? The margin should be around $280,000 as I heard?

[@JohnVandivier]

"our workspace went into the hyperbolic time chamber, and just got out" bahahahahaha awesome

[@AmoghSarangdhar]

So do we have to leave our current job before we give the interview for new job or can we still work at google and then apply to Facebook. And then leave google when we are hired by Facebook

[@clem]

You can definitely interview while still working at another company. In fact, I'd never recommend leaving your current job before getting an actual offer from another company; that would be too risky!

[@9fxhrlif9er]

Awesome content Clement! Just curious, for the FAANG interview process, at any point, are you tested/quizzed on your knowledge of GoF style software design patterns? Thanks!

[@lukascasebolt4589]

Hey Clément, I was wondering how important your GPA during college is accounted for during these coding interviews

[@mr.mystiks9968]

Lukas Casebolt Pretty irrelevant. I’ve had interviews from Google, Facebook, and Amazon despite having an awful 2.6 GPA from a state school. Just keep it off your resume. Recruiters are reading your resume for the experience.

[@pratikkumar939]

Very smart Marketing for algo expert. But very nice video overall

[@CardinalHijack]

To me, the entire problem with technical interviewing is summed up at 5:45-6:05. Wants to work on front end, enjoys front end, but hates front end interviews and knows he will do better at algorithms - so takes that interview process to get in. This is even more so an issue if the situation is reversed. Its ridiculous that in 2020 the weight of algorithms is so heavy that someone who doesnt even want to do them can get into a company because he/she is good at them. It's ridiculous that if you are good at them, you have a better chance interviewing for a different path, getting into the company, then changing paths - never to use said algorithms again. Image if an aeroplane pilot wanted to fly a plane but knew he/she would have a better chance of getting in by taking the helicopter test.....and then go over to flying planes once he/she is in. It shocks me that this is so prevalent at FANG companies and shocks me that people are willing to put themselves through it.

[@manojitht1538]

Wow interesting experience. Nice Clement..

[@humza__7723]

Hi Clem, Would you recommend doing taking a bursary with Amazon here in South Africa for my CS degree? They require you to maintain a 70% average and also require you to work for them for the number of years funded. They may also call you for internships. Hope to hear from you.

[@clem]

Hey Humza, I'd never heard of that before, but it sounds like a potentially great opportunity; of course, I don't know any details, but based on what I'm imagining, I'd say to go for it!

[@hat_awesome21]

can you discuss about work life balance in product based companies like google and fb.

[@vishnukumavat7489]

Earlier I thought you left facebook way back in 2019

[@bhanutadepalli]

Stop shaking your hands so much. Its irritating given how good the content is without all the hand movements

[@SophieBergerCreates]

Just curious, which language do you choose to write in during coding interviews?

[@clem]

JavaScript or Python.

[@umangtekriwal4879]

Literally..the first to destroy the like button

[@mr.mystiks9968]

Just wondering, what value does the certificate add? Do any recruiters know about it or do any companies value it? No offense but it seems like it really adds no additional value to one’s profile, unless AlgoExpert has some recognition for the recruitment process.

[@annsgal2025]

I checked out your Linkedin profile and was surprised to see that you stayed at Facebook for only 3 months. What happened ?

[@jaramanga3346]

I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT FREELANCE AND TAXES (please read and answer even though I clicked just to ask you this instead of *those two who must not be named whose asses u whooped hilariously in court*) If I spend a lot of money on a home office as a freelance / contract dev, I can write it off as tax-deductible business expense right?

[@gregclarkreasons]

I need a day or two in the The Hypercoding Time Chamber..

[@adhoc3018]

Me too!

[@Dan-tg3gs]

At what point after which you got the offer did you tell them you wanted to do front end engineering? Was it during your first day of work? I imagine that it came as a surprise to them since you told them you wanted to go the generalist route?

[@DeboRaj-lb2dk]

Thank you for sharing

[@piggy8435]

Why did you only work at Facebook for 3 months (fired, laid off, or did you quit)?

[@jnana1985]

I am curious how you were to able to interview candidates in Google.You had around 2 years work experience when you quit Google.I would imagine one needs more work experience to become an interviewer at google.But obviously I am wrong lol. What's the main criteria to become an interviewer at google?

[@theogpill]

Behavioral interviews are kind of tricky even tho they sound simple, they can make you really weird questions.

[@codesling3421]

“If you are familiar with Dragon Ball...” Hahaha... you are talking to programmers, remember?

[@hamoodhabibi7026]

Weeb nation rise

[@davidkezi6086]

what did you work on at Facebook ?

[@jacktrainer4387]

Remote interviews now use codepad, for obvious reasons.

[@panosgk7131]

nice vid, for some reason it just popped at my feed, could you make a video about apple and how to get there since no one talks about it and It's a life long dream of mine to work there as swe ? because I'm just getting into college

[@theguy77777777]

I think the smartest thing to do is to get hired for any FANG job, leave after a while and then milk the experience for KZbin with the occasional educational video.

[@Dashdonkey]

Love your content. Hope you don't call yourself "ex-google, ex-facebook, billionaire entrepreneur youtube influencer."

[@irvinge4641]

Two months later is the start date :o thats a long time, haha. Did you ask for that start date and they are pretty flexible with it?

[@clem]

Yes! And to be honest, two months is fairly standard for these big tech companies. I've met people who pushed out their start date even longer!

[@shivampatel5989]

Hello Clement, I have seen some of your Videos on Interview questions, and it's very helpful, I would be happy to join algoexpert. But, How is it actually useful to crack the Interview

[@MidniteSon]

Good video, but it seems like your interview process was accelerated due to the following reasons: 1) Your were already working at FAANG, and considered "crème de la crème" 2) Referred by an internal employee 3) FB could use your Google "Trade Secrets" to deploy into their tech stack

[@rohann.]

In india people says " 12 ghat ka pani piya hai " Celement 1200 companies ka interview crack kiya hai 😂😂🤣

[@SacredDiety]

Do you plan on making an app that could be used on the go?

[@Voidroamer]

Damn it, some software companies use the term "facebook interview" for their process, and i have no idea what that means :( this video helped a little though? I am an SDET..

[@MegaSurya1992]

bro.. hints are removed.. you'll be adding them right?

[@MidniteSon]

Curious if that "FB refereal" was Joma or TechLead (pre algo-gate)

[@lms702]

It was tech lead. They did a skit about it awhile ago

[@adityagautam1664]

Hi clément, why there is no separate section of queue problems on algo expert

[@sarthakgupta9513]

Hey Clement, I am into Machine Learning and want to apply for the same role at Facebook. Can you let me know how is the interview process different. Or is it the same as General Software Engineering Interview + Some ML questions?

[@rohitbtsarmy4356]

How to get in any of elonmusk company without getting into any college ,what course should i take

[@AbhishekSharma-si8ui]

AWESOME VIDEO

[@shelbyclan8801]

Where and how you learned programming?

[@deebeat2009]

I really love your videos, alos how easily and timely you plug AlgoExpert (algoexpert.io)

[@vic__5378]

You also wore that very shirt too.

[@astayuno862]

Thanks a lot Clement for sharing your interview experience at Facebook. After watching your videos, I feel very motivated to purse software engineering as a career option. But I am currently a high school student and one thing that I want to ask you is what laptop would you suggest anyone to start their journey as a software engineer, like I have always seen you using a Mac. Is Mac the best option for it or like a windows PC would also suffice my needs.

[@tahseenrahman2922]

I am not Clement but I would like to answer. I have been both sides and honestly both works. But I would definitely advise you to choose mac if you can afford it, macbook Air would be fine for normal coding practices. Why MacBook? Great Battery life. And also the fact that it's built on Unix, so it has a lot of similarities with other unix based systems such as Linux, and thus at once you get familiar with both of them in terms of bash scripting ot just commands.

[@2222-z7t]

Hi , i know its random but i saw your name "Mihăilescu" and i was wondering If You are romania or a part romanian . Also great content 💪

[@hanjie3667]

Congratulations on a copy and paste for LC.

[@JayJay-ku8gp]

I'm trying for an internship there. I wonder what that interview is like.

[@shankarsuman8801]

Do I need to be super-talented like good at competitive programming or have 4 - 5 years of experience to land a Google L3 software engineer job?

[@levibeam100]

You need to know data structures and algorithms. And no, you don’g need work experience, Google Hires New Grads all of the time.

[@charan775]

BehaviouralExpert NegotiationsExpert incoming

[@GrandpaKiwi]

Hey clem any tips for front-end interviews, I actually have one with FB and don't really know what to expect

[@clem]

As far as I know, the front-end-specific interviews at FB and Google tend to be problems along the lines of "Implement a Connect-Four Game in JavaScript" or "Implement a Snake Game in JavaScript." But I unfortunately don't know the full breadth of the kinds of front-end questions you can get asked. And then of course, you'll have a few normal algorithm questions (i.e., coding-interview problems like those on AlgoExpert).

[@Worldtimes1]

How long are you planning to work on Algoexpert?

[@clem]

As long as it takes!

[@moadben5933]

You are the best

[@humza__7723]

This haircut👌

[@clem]

😎

[@stevenjake1751]

Can you please make a video of IT vs CS?

[@mayankmittal9305]

Hey Clem! I have seen same behavioural questions, want to hear your answers to them

[@bitupon10]

So the new coding workspace is like the Leetcode workspace, for solving Leetcode problems.

[@codingmonk5606]

Hey thanks alot man👍🤟

[@Shmack_]

Free month of algo expert due to corona virus!!?!?! Whaaaat

[@meghnathpillay463]

what language did you use? Being a UI developer primarily did you use JS? or did you go with python just curious

[@clem]

When I interviewed at Google 3 years ago, I used Python. At Facebook, I went with JavaScript!

[@OMFGLazzey]

What a great guy!

[@brocklebeau3007]

"why do you want to work for Facebook?" Gelato.

[@kevinzurita9907]

F A Z E B O O K

[@huthayfaainqawi4348]

Can you share your resume you used to apply to FB

[@SameerSk]

*_Did u meet any Indians at facebook?_*

[@Huy_Nguyen_USA]

Sounds like you're saying "PhazeBook".

[@shiuryuu]

Liked for the DBZ reference.

[@ifeanyi8325]

Do you believe that anybody can be a programmer? If not, why?

[@cUser691]

@Ifeanyi Okeke, you’re putting Clement in a tough situation by your question. Do you think he’s really going to say “ No, not everyone can become a programmer.” ?Think about that. You can become whatever you work hard at, Ifeanyi, but will you become good or excellent at it, will you stick with it to craftsman- level? Will you DELIGHT in the barrage of new info, tools, and learning? In my view, if one has the learning, growth mindset and discipline, one can become anything... an accountant, a surgeon, a writer, a poet, an inventor. Your question is too generic... it’s like asking “Can a 12 year old, 22 year old, 45 year old, 60 year old become a (insert career here)?” You can become whatever you want. Get it? The REAL point is, will you have the learning/ growth mindset? Will you naturally be drawn to hard mental tasks? Will you give up and whine when mental ugliness gets hard or will you be resourceful and have grit and resourceful to find solutions? Will you have the ability to focus deeply for 2-4 hours on 2 lines of code? Will you GENUINELY be excited by your work, despite periodic frustration? If you don’t have tenacity, grit, patience, drive, motivation, enjoy mental challenges ( ie chess or building things or tackling difficult musical pieces for example), like tech at least on a bare minimum level, are very curious how things work, are snalytical and like deconstructing ideas, and themes, then maybe you could research other careers.

[@ifeanyi8325]

@@cUser691 I believe I have met you before. I can recognize your tone but I am trying to remember where I have met you before...

[@AmanKumar-nz5kl]

Wow your hairs are different now

[@ayushniroula1781]

No no no say with me no no to interviews

[@umangtekriwal4879]

Literally...the first

[@clem]

How did it feel?! 😛

[@umangtekriwal4879]

@@clem Well it encouraged me to be it always....😄

[@topratiksharma]

All he talks about his content on Algo Expert its more of a show off video to take you to algo expert nothing more. havent got a single word help from this video.

[@cheikhsaadbouh5847]

Thank you

[@varanbby3738]

do you know your eyes look crazy?

[@czerox16]

this is an advertisement video

[@irvinge4641]

Nice 👍

[@priyo1460]

19th like is mine

[@avr4h]

45th here reporting for duty

[@clem]

19 is totally the best number.

[@clem]

@@avr4h Ok maybe 45 is.

[@avr4h]

@@clem I mean 45>19... But yet again 19 IS a prime so it has that going for it 🤔

[@JonathanMiz]

Dragon Ball Software

[@emanuelpark1499]

you'll have to edit your KZbin's channel banner xd

[@sahilajmera1290]

Algoexpert : That is me copying LeetCode's UI design