Hi! I got a call from a Meta recruiter a few weeks ago, and I scheduled my phone screen for this coming week. However, my Practice Screening Interview did not go very well and uncovered certain gaps in my preparation.
Should I tell my Meta recruiter that I am not prepared enough for my actual screening interview next week and ask for a postponement? Or should I just go ahead with my interview and potentially squander a good opportunity?
In hindsight, I think I should have only scheduled the interview after (a) having done a decent amount of preparation, and (b) having assessed myself through some mock interviews. That's certainly a learning for the future, but I am not sure how I should navigate the current situation I am in.
Any advice, suggestions are most welcome. Thanks!
You should definitely postpone it. It seems like you have a lot to work on before you're fully ready and blowing the phone screen means you'll need to wait 6-12 months before taking another crack at Meta. Since you're a pretty senior hire (E5/E6), I imagine the recruiter will be fine giving you another 1-2 weeks. Getting more senior talent is hard, so Meta should be accommodating there.
The phone screen should be DSA, so I hope this helps: [Course] Master The Data Structures And Algorithms Interview
Check this out too: "How does the Meta interview work?"
I feel this on a visceral level and pretty much the same thing happened to me, my mock screen was just complete shambles, and my cortisol for the prior month of practice was completely over PEAK levels.
I just admitted to the recruiter I'm going to need another 3 months and hoped my interview wouldn't get rescinded.
It's currently not rescinded but the recruiter didn't respond to me but the opportunity is still open on metacareers, so 🤷🤷♀️
You should postpone the interview. Meta recruiters are generally OK with candidates postponing the interview. When I interviewed at Meta I was recommended by my recruiter that even if you are prepared for the interview but on the day of the interview you are not in a mood to interview you should request for a postponement. They truly want you to succeed.
If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe.
Preparation is key!