Is it hard to get a job with Facebook?

Getting a job at Facebook is widely considered to be challenging. Facebook regularly tops lists of the most difficult companies to get hired at. With thousands of applicants for every open position, the chances of getting a job offer from Facebook are slim. However, while it may not be easy, it is certainly possible to get a job at Facebook if you have the right qualifications and follow the proper steps in the application process.

Why is it hard to get a job at Facebook?

There are several key reasons why jobs at Facebook are so competitive:

Prestige – Working at Facebook is seen as highly desirable because of the company’s reputation for innovation and its status as one of the top technology companies.

High pay – Facebook offers very competitive salaries, even for entry-level positions.
Low acceptance rate – Facebook only hires around 1-3% of applicants on average, making it more selective than Harvard and other top universities.
Rigorous hiring process – Facebook’s interview process is notoriously challenging, with multiple rounds of technical and behavioral interviews.

High bar for technical skills – For technical roles, candidates must demonstrate exceptional coding abilities and computer science fundamentals.
Limited openings – With under 30,000 employees globally, there are just not that many positions available at any given time.

The combination of these factors means that Facebook jobs attract large numbers of highly qualified applicants from all over the world. Even outstanding candidates face stiff competition.

What are Facebook’s hiring requirements?

While requirements vary based on the specific job role, there are some key criteria Facebook looks for in all candidates:

Technical expertise – For technical roles like software engineering, you’ll need a very strong foundation in relevant areas like data structures, algorithms, object-oriented programming, and front-end/back-end web development.
Problem-solving ability – Interview questions and technical screens will assess your ability to analyze problems and develop optimal solutions.

Communication skills – You’ll need to clearly explain your thoughts, approach, and reasoning during the interviews.
Teamwork – Facebook values people who can collaborate effectively and maintain positive working relationships.
Passion and drive – Successful candidates are passionate about Facebook’s mission and show initiative to go above and beyond their core responsibilities.

On top of this, most positions require a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like computer science or engineering. Relevant work experience in software development is also valued.

How can you stand out in the hiring process?

With so much competition, you’ll need to go the extra mile to stand out and prove that you’re a strong match for the role. Some tips for getting noticed:

Highlight both the depth and breadth of your technical knowledge in your resume and interviews. For example, don’t just list the programming languages you know – demonstrate how you’ve applied them in complex projects.

Prepare extensively for the technical portions of the interviews. Practice on LeetCode, Cracking the Coding Interview, and other resources.
Show passion for Facebook’s mission of building community and bringing people together. Know about new Facebook products and features.
Demonstrate leadership experience such as managing teams or large projects. Taking initiative stands out.

Ace the behavioral interview questions by preparing stories that showcase your problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills.
Ask smart, thoughtful questions that show your understanding of Facebook’s business and technology.
If you have an inside connection to an employee, leverage their referral to get noticed.

The interview process is comprehensive and intense. You’ll need to perform at your very best across multiple assessments to prove you’re a strong hire.

What’s the step-by-step process for getting hired?

Here is a general overview of what you can expect when applying for a job at Facebook:

Initial application – Apply online through Facebook’s careers website. You’ll need a resume, cover letter, and links to any relevant projects or portfolios.

Coding challenge – Many roles require completing a remote coding test on HackerRank. This evaluates your programming abilities.
Technical phone screen – If you pass the coding test, you’ll have one or more technical phone interviews covering algorithms, data structures, object-oriented design, etc.
Onsite interviews – The final step is a day of in-person interviews at one of Facebook’s offices. This includes both technical and behavioral interviews.

Decision – If you successfully pass all the interviews, you’ll receive an offer! Otherwise, feel free to apply again down the road.

The process typically takes 2-3 weeks from start to offer. Be prepared to invest significant time prepping for the coding and technical interviews.

How can you prepare for Facebook’s interview process?

Succeeding in Facebook’s rigorous interview gauntlet requires thorough preparation:

Study computer science fundamentals like data structures, algorithms, databases, networking, and operating systems.
Practice LeetCode, HackerRank, Codility, and other coding challenge platforms.
Read Cracking the Coding Interview and watch tutorials to practice technical interviewing.

Develop side projects that showcase your programming skills.
Rehearse your stories and examples for behavioral interview questions related to leadership, teamwork, overcoming challenges, etc.
Practice whiteboard coding while explaining your approach out loud.

Research common Facebook interview questions so you know what to expect.
Prepare smart questions to ask your interviewers about their teams, technologies, and challenges.

Dedicate substantial time – potentially months – to sharpen your knowledge and abilities before interviewing. Persistence and hard work pay off.

What types of questions are asked in Facebook interviews?

You can expect a mix of technical algorithm questions, coding challenges, system design questions, and behavioral prompts during your Facebook interviews:

Algorithm Questions

These require analyzing a problem, discussing possible solutions, selecting an optimal algorithm, and then coding it up. For example:

Find duplicate elements in an array in O(n) time.

Check if a binary tree is a valid BST.
Given a string, find the longest substring with all distinct characters.

Expect complex logic, optimal efficiency, and clean code.

System Design

Senior engineers are often asked large-scale design questions like:

Design Facebook’s News Feed ranking algorithm.
Design Facebook Messenger’s backend infrastructure.

Scale Facebook Search to handle billions of users.

This tests your ability to build complex distributed systems.

Behavioral Questions

Examples include:

Tell me about a time you overcame an engineering challenge.
Describe a mistake you made and how you fixed it.
Explain how you deal with disagreements between team members.

Use specific examples that highlight your skills.

What technical skills are most important for getting hired?

While Facebook looks for well-rounded engineers, these technical capabilities tend to be most important:

Skill	Description
Data Structures	Extensive knowledge of arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, and other structures. Understand runtime tradeoffs.
Algorithms	Ability to select optimal algorithms like sorting, searching, dynamic programming for different scenarios.
Object-Oriented Programming	Designing reusable, maintainable classes and interfaces. Expertise in languages like Java, Python, C++.
System Design	Architecting distributed, scalable systems to handle large amounts of data and traffic.
Concurrency	Using threading, parallel processing, and asynchronous programming to maximize performance.
Coding Skills	Writing clean, well-tested, maintainable code following best practices.

While not always mandatory, knowledge of web development, mobile app development, database systems, and operating systems is also helpful.

What programming languages are used at Facebook?

Facebook uses a wide variety of programming languages across its multiple products and services:

PHP – Facebook’s original backend codebase is primarily PHP. It powers the main news feed.
JavaScript – Used both on the frontend with React and on the backend with Node.js.

Python – Used for machine learning, analytics, artificial intelligence, and product infrastructure.
Java – Java and C++ are used for Android app development.
C/C++ – Used for core iOS app development and performance-critical backend systems.

Hack – A language developed at Facebook for both frontend and backend use.
GraphQL – Facebook’s own query language for retrieving data from databases.

So while you don’t need to master all these languages, being comfortable switching between different languages and frameworks is important.

How important is a computer science degree?

While it’s possible to get hired without a CS degree, most software engineering candidates do have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field like electrical engineering. Some key advantages of having a CS degree:

Strong computer science fundamentals like data structures, algorithms, discrete math, and operating systems.
Hands-on programming experience from class projects.

Internship opportunities that give industry experience.
Referrals from alumni who are Facebook employees.
Recruiting pipeline gives access to on-campus interviews.

A CS degree from a top program like MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, UIUC, Caltech also carries prestige that makes candidates stand out.

Self-taught candidates or those from coding bootcamps can get jobs at Facebook but may need a stronger portfolio of apps and contributions to open source. Overall, a CS degree makes getting hired much easier but is not absolutely mandatory.

How can you get internship experience at Facebook?

Completing one or more software engineering internships at Facebook is one of the best ways to boost your chances of getting a full-time job offer. Here are tips for landing an internship:

Apply early in the fall recruiting cycle, ideally September/October.
Target summer internships between your junior and senior college years.
Highlight CS coursework, coding projects, and any prior internships on your resume.

Ace the technical phone screen and onsite interview which is similar to full-time but a bit less intense.
Demonstrate excitement about Facebook’s mission and products.
Perform well during the 10-12 week summer internship to get a return offer.

The acceptance rate for Facebook internships is still competitive, but better than full-time roles. Having an internship on your resume can make a big difference.

What soft skills do Facebook interviewers look for?

In addition to assessing hard technical skills, Facebook interviews evaluate soft skills related to culture fit:

Communication – Explaining complex ideas clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing.

Teamwork – Sharing credit, supporting teammates, resolving conflicts constructively.
Leadership – Inspiring others, taking initiative, mentoring coworkers.
Ownership – Taking responsibility for projects, admitting mistakes, following through reliably.

Curiosity – Eagerness to learn, coming up with creative ideas, tackling hard problems.
Grit – Persevering through challenges, not getting discouraged by setbacks.

Showcase these soft skills by including diverse experiences beyond just classes and past jobs on your resume, and drawing on compelling anecdotes during your interviews.

How can you build connections for referrals?

Getting an internal referral from a current Facebook employee is one of the best ways to get your resume noticed and have a leg up in the hiring process. Here are some strategies for finding referrals:

Network with Facebook alums from your college program – join alumni LinkedIn groups.
Talk to Facebook employees at career fairs, company info sessions, or local tech events.

Reach out to Facebook engineers over LinkedIn or social channels, sharing common connections.
Get referrals from previous summer interns who have returned full-time.
Contact Facebook recruiters to ask about employee referral programs.

Leverage online communities like Teamblind to connect with current employees.

Focus on building authentic connections and demonstrating your genuine passion for the company. If there is a good mutual fit, employees will often be willing to refer promising candidates.

What’s the best way to prepare your resume?

To maximize your chances of getting an interview, craft your resume strategically:

Highlight 2-3 major CS projects with brief summaries, GitHub links, and technologies used.
Include any software development internships along with your specific contributions.
Tailor your experience and skills to the specific role by mirroring keywords from the job description.

Cut irrelevant or outdated information to keep it concise at 1 page length.
Describe leadership experiences like mentoring new hires or leading a campus group.
List relevant coursework in CS fundamentals like operating systems, algorithms, and databases.

Quantify achievements and results like “increased test coverage by 35%”.

The resume should make it easy for the recruiter to see why you would be a strong candidate for the specific role at Facebook.

How can you ace the technical interviews?

Preparation is key for tackling Facebook’s rigorous technical interview process:

Study computer science fundamentals – Review data structures, algorithms, OS, databases.
Practice coding problems – Train on LeetCode, HackerRank, Codility, etc.
Rehearse behavioral stories – Reflect on successes, challenges, and key skills.

Mock interview – Do practice interviews with friends or a coach.
Research common questions – Look at Glassdoor, Careercup, and Quora for clues.
Prepare smart questions – Show your interest in the company and role.

Get sleep – Rest and recharge before your interview day.

Persisting through many practice problems and mock interviews will pay dividends in improved performance.

Conclusion

While it is highly competitive getting a job at Facebook, candidates with the right technical abilities, soft skills, and preparation can succeed in securing a coveted role at the company. If you methodically build expertise, practice for interviews, network for referrals, and demonstrate passion for Facebook’s mission – you have a strong chance of passing the hiring bar. With determination and hard work, you can land your dream job at one of the top technology companies to work for.