I am in the process of preparing for Facebook PM interviews. All their product sense and product execution “tips” hyperfixate on goals, metrics, and tying to the North Star.
In one sense, it seems as if the interview process is to indoctrinate a cult from the onset. I’m willing to bet there are people who go through this process, get rejected, and think the Facebook framework is THE right framework.
As a non Facebook user, I’m conflicted between hating their products to the core… on the other, their TC is salivating.
Yeh honestly being an SWE at FB just killed my soul (in part) because the job became so fixated on quantitative measures and experimentation...what we cannot measure cannot be important, surely....! :/ I think the only PMs/ICs who survive at FB are those who are either numbed or not aware of data fallacies like Campbell's Law.
>>what we cannot measure cannot be important, surely
Which concisely explains why the algos have zero correlation with moral compass, societal value, common decency, or caring for the commons upon which FB earns its wealth.
None of that can be measured, so it is all cut down and falls at the feet of the engagement algorithms. The result is an org whose business model is poisoning the common well for profit.
> the interview process is to indoctrinate a cult from the onset
Yes, I would say this is true in general at all companies, though I prefer the phrase "company/team culture" to "cult" (the phrases aren't that different in what they describe, just in emotional tone).
Because it is not in itself a negative. every team has a culture, by definition of "culture".
If they can make this explicit in the interview, then you as the candidate get a good sense of what this culture is and if you want to be a part of the team.
If they can not make this explicit in the interview, then you as the candidate know that they don't have control over this variable, again giving you valuable information on if you want to be part of the team.
In one sense, it seems as if the interview process is to indoctrinate a cult from the onset. I’m willing to bet there are people who go through this process, get rejected, and think the Facebook framework is THE right framework.
As a non Facebook user, I’m conflicted between hating their products to the core… on the other, their TC is salivating.