Finally Made It to Meta L4!!

Finally Made It to Meta L4!!

I failed Meta last year, but I made it this time. I couldn’t be happier! That rejection taught me everything I needed to know to succeed this time around.

My Journey

I graduated in 2018 and worked at a mid-sized SaaS company. Meta was my dream, and I aimed for it in 2023 with what I thought was solid prep. Spoiler: I wasn’t ready.

What Went Wrong Last Year

Reflecting on my previous attempt, several key issues stood out:

  • Coding: The first problem was a substring search problem, and I froze halfway through. Later I found out it was actually a Dynamic Programming (DP) problem. The second was a graph problem that required using a heap for optimization. While I got a working solution, it wasn’t efficient enough.

  • System Design: I was asked to design a rate-limiting service. I approached it without a structured methodology, which led to failures in scalability considerations and edge cases. I felt like I barely scratched the surface.

  • Behavioral: I underestimated the emphasis on Meta’s values. My responses lacked a smooth storytelling flow, and I failed to connect my experiences to their core principles. I was uncertain if I had passed this section.

How I Prepared

Determined to succeed, I dedicated six months to prepare properly this time:

  1. Coding: I focused on solving problems by identifying patterns (such as sliding window, topological sort, and dynamic programming).

  2. System Design: I studied important case studies, including newsfeed, rate limiter, and URL shortener. I read all case studies on Grokking the System Design Interview and engaged in mock interviews.

  3. Behavioral: I crafted detailed “STAR” stories for my projects and rehearsed extensively. I practiced common questions related to conflict resolution, influencing decisions, and delivering results under ambiguity.

Interview Loop in November 2024

Thanks to a referral this year, my interview loop consisted of three main parts:

  • Coding Rounds:

    • The first round involved a medium-level graph traversal problem. It wasn’t super tricky, but the follow-up added constraints that required creative use of priority queues.
    • The second round was a hard TRI search problem, which tested my problem-solving capabilities under pressure.

  • System Design: I was tasked with designing a search newsfeed system. I followed a structured approach by gathering requirements, designing the high-level architecture, and discussing trade-offs for caching, indexing, and database partitioning. Although I stumbled a bit on caching strategies, I recovered by focusing on scaling considerations.

  • Behavioral: The questions delved into teamwork and conflicts. I shared a story about managing a project where a senior engineer resisted my proposed solution. I felt that I performed reasonably well in this section.

The Offer

A week later, I received the email with the offer for L4. The feeling of finally achieving something I had worked so hard for is indescribable.

Key Takeaways

  1. Failure is Feedback: Use rejections as opportunities to identify your weaknesses and improve.

  2. Prep Strategically: Focus on what matters most—coding patterns, frameworks for system design, and rehearsing behavioral responses.

  3. Referrals Help: Don’t hesitate to reach out to friends, former colleagues, or even strangers on LinkedIn for support.

If you’re still grinding, keep at it. I was in your shoes not long ago, wondering if I’d ever crack FAANG. We’re all going to make it! :)

Community Reactions

  • Congratulations!! - A common sentiment among readers who resonate with the journey.

  • Were the LC’s all meta tagged questions? - A question that highlights the specificity of interview preparation.

  • Can you share your resume after hiding the details? - A request for insight into successful resumes.

  • I thought Meta doesn’t ask DP questions. - An interesting perspective on the types of questions typically encountered.

  • What does hard TRI mean? - A call for clarification on terminology used in technical interviews.

  • What’s L4? - A question about the levels in Meta’s hierarchy and what they represent.

  • Nice! Did they let you use Elasticsearch in the ‘search newsfeed’ question? - A technical inquiry related to the specifics of the system design question.

  • Would you be willing to refer once you join? Thanks in advance! - A hopeful request for future networking opportunities.

Thank you for following my journey. Your support means the world, and I hope my experiences can help guide you through your own path

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