What would you do if you were the single survivor of a plane crash? If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?” And do you know how many Big Macs Mcdonald’s sells per year in the U.S.?
These are just some of the questions that have reportedly been asked during Big Tech interviews at companies such as Airbnb, Facebook, and Google. Of course, these questions are designed to throw candidates off, and make them think on their feet. They are the kind of left-of-field queries that you can’t really prepare for or research.
However, there are plenty of other things you can do to put your mind at ease before a big tech interview. Then, when the interviewer throws you a curveball, you’ll be able to handle it calmly––and hopefully with a bit of humor too.
The timeline
The first thing you need to understand is the timeline. Big Tech interview processes have gained a bit of a reputation for being long and arduous. Usually, the full process will take at least several weeks, and often several months, from your initial application through to the offer stage. In fact, research has found that it takes companies an average of 24.4 days to find the right hire, but often this can take much longer.
Most of the time, the hiring process will start with an initial phone screening with a recruiter before multiple interviews, which could be one-on-one or as part of a panel. During these discussions––and good interviews should be a discussion, not an interrogation––you might meet with managers, HR, and your potential teammates.
The questions
While many companies will use brain teasers like the questions above, it’s important to focus on the bread-and-butter questions too. Prep for the usual questions such as “tell us about yourself”––aka, give us about your relevant professional experience.
It’s key to prepare for other questions around your abilities and results. These can range from your core technical competencies, such as programming, to other softer skills such as communication, negotiation, and management skills.
Prepare to answer technical questions with solid examples from your own experience––this way you can showcase that you not only know how to do the job, but get results too. Did you lead a website redesign or create a new app? Be ready to talk about your technical tasks, challenges, and contributions––and have the stats to back up every answer.
Often, one of the final stages of the Big Tech interview process will involve a technical task or trial that you’ll have to complete to showcase your skills and understanding. Sometimes this is done in a controlled environment where you’ll be timed. Other times you are given a task to complete on your own time, with a set deadline.
Culture fit interviews are common too––this is where you’ll meet members of the team you’ll join, and you’ll be asked questions about your preferred work style and environment, for example. Prepare for this by researching the company: has it recently changed from a remote to hybrid work mode, and do employees take part in a lot of extra-curricular activities?
Now that you know what to expect, discover three Big Tech jobs that are currently on the Fossbytes Job Board.
Software Engineer, Meta, Remote
Do you want to solve unique, large scale, highly complex technical problems that can change the way we all work? Then, take a look at this fully-remote Software Engineer role at Meta, where you will drive the team’s goals and technical direction, effectively communicating complex features and systems, and understanding industry and company-wide trends to help assess and develop new technologies. You’ll need experience leading projects, mentoring senior engineers, and communicating and working across functions. Get all the information here.
Machine Learning Engineer, Apple, Seattle
Apple is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer to solve complicated problems with its digital content, such as music, podcasts, movies, and TV shows. The day-to-day will involve building novel models, methods, and algorithms to improve the current workflow. You’ll also have the chance to convert brilliant ideas all the way from prototypes to final products with the help of Apple’s engineers and infrastructure team. Key qualifications include skills in deep learning fields, such as image classification, recognition, object detection, segmentation, and OCR. Apply for this role here.
Data Center Operations Manager, Amazon Data Services, San Antonio
Amazon Data Services is currently expanding its infrastructure management team with the recruitment of a Data Center Operations Manager. You will hire, manage, and develop the operations management team including DCO site managers, Decom managers, DCO technicians, and Decom technicians. You’ll also oversee the safety, security, availability, quality, and performance of the team while driving a positive customer experience.
Candidates need to have at least five years’ of experience in a data center environment, network certification, and hardware architecture knowledge and troubleshooting experience. You can apply online today.
Find your next Big Tech role on the Fossbytes Job Board right now.
By Pippa Hardy
