While Meta temporarily became a trillion-dollar company in 2021, the IT powerhouse is projected to grow for years to come. Set to surpass a value of $136 billion in 2024, according to The Motley Fool, Meta will likely reach a market cap of $720 billion by the end of the decade or even retain its trillion-dollar status!

Either way, it’s clear Meta is still on the rise in the 2020s with a whole host of new ambitions in the works (e.g., the Metaverse and AI developments). 

If you’re interested in joining Meta, you’ve come to the right place. As a top AI and machine learning jobs board, we at AI/ML Jobs know a thing or two about the Meta interview process!

In this guide, we’ll explore the Meta interview process timeline and interview stages. We’ll also look at how you can nail the interview process with the right approaches and preparations. 

Let’s go!

Meta hiring process overview

Meta has a highly rigorous hiring process, with seven steps in total. That said, when compared with other powerful tech companies, Meta received a rating of 16% (or “Very Difficult”), putting it in the mid-range. Amazon and Google had a higher rating for Very Difficult, while Microsoft and Apple had lower ratings.

Meta hiring process timeline

The Meta hiring process consists of seven key stages, from submitting your application for review to negotiating your offer (if successful). In total, the process takes roughly four to eight weeks.

While some steps may feel more important than others, it’s essential to dedicate plenty of time to prepare for each. So, what are the stages?

Stage 1: Resume screen

The first step involves submitting your resume to Meta’s recruiting team for evaluation. If you have the skills and experiences they’re looking for at that time, you’ll hear from a recruiter to schedule a call.

Stage 2: Recruiter call (15–30 min.)

Next, you’ll speak with a recruiting team member to discuss the role in more detail. You’ll also be further informed about the experience of working at Meta.

Stage 3: Phone screen (30–45 min.)

At this phase, you’ll have your first interview either over the phone or via a video call. The purpose of this interview is to analyze your level of interest in the daily tasks involved in the role you’re applying for, as well as your ability to undertake them.

Stage 4: Onsite interviews (45–60 min. each)

Next, others relevant to the role will interview you (e.g., managers and potential teammates). The purpose of these interviews is so Meta can get a clearer idea of your skills and professional experience.

Once you’ve been interviewed by all relevant individuals, they’ll submit their feedback before you’ll be assessed for your suitability for the role. The first four steps will likely take two to four weeks altogether.

Step 5: Feedback

Once the previous stage is complete, you’ll hear from the recruiter to find out how your interviews went and any further necessary steps.

Step 6: Candidate review

Meta’s hiring committee will review all the information collected throughout this process—your resume, notes from your interviews, assessment results, etc.—to determine if they’ll move forward with an offer.

Step 7: Negotiation

If you do get an offer from Meta, firstly—congratulations! Don’t accept it immediately, though.

Upfront salary negotiation is one of the most important things a new hire can do. Studies show that by not negotiating your starting salary, you’re missing out on $1 million to $1.5 million in lifetime earnings. The latter four steps will probably last 4–8 weeks.

Meta interview stages

On-site interviewing with Meta consists of several interviews broken up into three distinct stages. However, the ‘on-site’ interview process is now virtual and you can undertake these interviews remotely.

The three stages are as follows:

• Ninja: Coding
• Pirate: Systems & Product Design
• Jedi: Culture Fit & Behavioral

Stage 1: Ninja – Coding Interviews (1-2 × 45 min.)

This stage generally comprises two or more coding interviews. You’ll receive wide-ranging coding questions, meaning that a broad knowledge of varying coding topics is critical to acing this phase in particular. Questions relate to algorithms and data structures.

During the interviews, you’ll notice the questions getting increasingly difficult. If things don’t go as you hope, you’ll be asked to answer more questions. Please note that you can pick what coding language you’d like to focus on. Each interview will last approximately 45 minutes.

Stage 2: Pirate – System & Product Design (2-4 × 45 min.)

Next, you’ll have a minimum of two system and product design interviews. Again, each will last about 45 minutes. For this stage, interviewers will ask high-level design questions (e.g., “How would you design a real-time messenger that supports millions of users?”). 

Coding is unlikely to come up, here. Instead, you’ll be working through problems theoretically through a back-and-forth discussion with your interviewer. Get comfortable, speak confidently, and show off your deep understanding of the systems that make Meta products work.

Stage 3: Jedi – Culture & Behavioral (1 × 45 min.)

There’s usually only one culture fit and behavior interview round, and once more will probably go on for 45 minutes.

While this round may not feel as high-pressure as the others, it’s still important to demonstrate you have a fitting mindset and values for being hired at Meta. Further, you’ll want to show that you can work well in cross-functional teams.

How to ace your Meta interviews

Whatever AI or ML job you have in mind at Meta or elsewhere, AI/ML Jobs is the best place to browse thousands of relevant jobs. You can also search by top locations, top skills, and top salaries. Check out our website today and explore our high-end and focused AI job board!

Use the STAR method to convey your potential

The STAR method (which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result) is the perfect way to convey your skills and experience to potential employers.

Here’s how the STAR method works:

• Situation (S): First, you’ll want to discuss a past situation (relevant to the role) that you faced to emphasize your skills and knowledge.
• Task (T): Next, convey what challenges you came up against with the aforementioned situation.
• Action (A): It’s important to also explain what actions you took and why.
• Result (R): Finally, communicate the outcome of your actions (in concrete terms) as well as what you learned.

You can use the STAR method to frame answers to questions where applying this method makes the most sense. STAR can let you show off a range of skills including reasoning abilities and your capacity to adapt and learn over time.

Practice answering behavioral & technical questions

You’ll also want to practice a range of relevant potential questions ahead of the interview. You can employ the STAR method to frame answers to behavioral questions although it’s not generally fitting to frame technical questions. Let’s explore some examples.

Behavioral questions

• What is your greatest achievement?
• Describe a situation where you took ownership.
• What skills/processes did you learn at your previous job that will be useful at Meta?
• When facing challenges, how do you ensure your team stays motivated and engaged? Further, what steps do you take to support your team through adversity?
• Provide an example of a task where a deadline was missed. How did you communicate and manage the situation?

Technical questions

• Explain the difference between a UNION and a UNION ALL.
• What are some of the advantages of opting for Python? 
• Tell me what you know about the life cycle of software development?
• Explain how you’d design a distributed Botnet.
• If you were to design Meta’s corporate network security from scratch, how would you go about it?
• Discuss the nature of an SQL foreign key and the role it plays.

Ask your own questions 

Asking questions is a great way to show interviews that you’re engaged in the process. Here are some questions you may want to ask your interviews:

• How is success measured in this role?
• Can you describe a typical day in this position?
• What are the opportunities for growth and professional development at Meta?
• What challenges may this role face in the short-term future?
• How does Meta create a collaborative culture and foster teamwork?
• What challenges do you anticipate this position facing in the near future?
• Can you explain a little about Meta’s style of management and how it may differ from other companies?

Conclusion

In today’s guide, we’ve explored the Meta interview process in detail. Along with exploring the timeline, we’ve also discussed the three interview stages and how you can best approach the interview process to maximize your odds of success!

Whether you’re looking for jobs at Meta or a wide range of IT companies, AI/ML Jobs is the ideal place to browse thousands of AI and machine learning jobs. You can use AI/ML Jobs to look at various jobs based on locations, skills, and salaries!