How to Get an Internship at Meta
Want to land an internship at Meta? In this article, we cover some FAQs about Meta's SWE internship—from timeline to interview tips.
Photo by Muhammad Asyfaul / Unsplash
Meta, previously Facebook, is one of the largest tech companies in the world. With more than 3.84 billion users of its products – which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and more – Meta is the parent organization of 3 of the world's 4 largest social networks. In this post, we'll cover some essential points to know about Meta's internship program!
Frequently Asked Questions About Meta Internships
Meta's internships are, in one word, involved. In fact, on their website, they describe the program as follows:
Want to build new features and improve existing products that more than a billion people around the world use? Are you interested in working on highly impactful technical challenges to help the world be more open and connected? Want to solve unique, large-scale, highly complex technical problems?
Our development cycle is extremely fast, and we've built tools to keep it that way. It's common to write code and have it running live on the site just hours later. We push code to the site continuously and have small teams that build products that are touched by millions of people around the world. If you work for us, you will be able to make an impact immediately.
Meta interns have built some of the most used features on services like Facebook, Instagram, and more. Here's some more information about the internships:
- Internship Length: min. 12 weeks
- Salary: $51.35/hour & housing stipend of $2,600/month + other benefits!
- Number of Interns: 1,000+ (across all roles)
- Office Locations: Menlo Park & San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, NYC, LA & 60 other locations!
- Application Cycle: Rolling (keep reading to learn how to maximize your chances of landing an offer!)
At Meta, you'll be paired with a 1:1 mentor, receive support from your manager and have access to the entire Meta employee community – anyone from software engineers to HR professionals – to ensure your success. Also, like we said earlier, you'll hit the ground running! Most interns ship code or contribute to real-world projects in their first week, and are behind some of the biggest features at the company. In fact, an intern built the zoom-in feature on Instagram!
What Experience and Qualifications Do I Need?
Meta has a few eligibility requirements to apply to their summer internships, and they're all pretty standard. To apply you'll need to be currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, or majors relating to these fields. Not studying any of these fields? Don't worry – these requirements won't bar your application from being considered!
Meta also prefers candidates with some previous technical experience – though this is not a hard requirement. Specifically, programming experience with at least one modern language such as Python, Java, or C++, with experience in object-oriented design is a big plus. Meta also has separate internship opportunities for underrepresented minorities in tech, Meta University, for those looking to break into the industry.
How Can I Apply?
Applications for Meta's SWE internships usually open in the late summer, with most people applying within the first few months (September—October). The hiring process for most software internships moves pretty quickly, with most of the events (interviews, technical screens, etc.) happening within the first 3 months of the application opening.
What to Expect from the Interview
The Meta interview process is a pretty standard, 3-part process. In order to illustrate what it looks like, we'll be drawing on my own interview experience!
Step 1: Behavioral Phone Screen: Pretty basic, just asked some questions about my experience in tech and Facebook products I was interested in. Got some information about how the interview timeline would look and scheduled first interview after the call. Check out our blog post on some of the most common behavioral interview questions and how to answer them!
Step 2: Technical Interview 1: LeetCode hard-level question. I struggled the entire interview but tried my best to articulate my thoughts well. Didn’t think I passed this, but got an email the next day saying I did. Lesson: don’t give up mid-interview (a friend did this)!!
Onsite/Virtual Final Round Technical Interview: I was located in the Bay Area, so my interview was in person (as opposed to a video-call interview). I was asked to whiteboard two LeetCode medium-level questions. I had some more time to prepare after my last interview and performed well on this one. Got the offer 2 weeks later! :)
How should I prepare for the interview? We're glad you asked! Here's a great Reddit thread on preparing for technical interviews, which we'll summarize here. Most technical interviews (especially for internships) really focus on two key concepts: Data Structures and Algorithms. To review for Data Structures, brush up on some interviewer favorites like Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks/Queues, Trees ( Binary Tree, Binary Search Tree, Red-Black Tree, etc.). Reviewing for Algorithm questions is similar—sorting algorithms (both comparison sorting and non-comparison sorting), tree traversals (inorder, preorder, postorder, level order), and general traversals are all great places to start.
A great way to stand out in your interview is to bring up a point of feedback you have on any Meta product. Not only does this show that you are a user of Meta's suite of products, it demonstrates your ability to critically think about the product, which is a great skill to have as both an engineer and product manager.
Types of Positions Meta Offers
Meta offers a variety of software engineering internships: Software Engineering, Backend Engineering, Data Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Machine Learning and more. Each team has different application processes and requirements, so make sure to research that team specifically before applying!
How to Secure a Return Offer
One exciting part about interning at Meta is the opportunity for interns to receive full-time job offers at the end of the internship – called a return offer. Meta generally extends return offers to the majority of its interns. Throughout your internship, your manager will give you feedback and performance reviews so you'll know if you're on track to getting a return offer, or need to improve your performance.
Even if you don't get a return offer, you'll still be able to apply for a full-time role after graduation. Meta has a lot of great opportunities for recent graduates!
Get Started With Simplify Today
Meta has a wonderful careers page that you can find here. Applications are opening soon, so stay on top of them! Getting an internship is a great way to gaining real-world professional experience, cultivating leadership principles, and developing technical skills.
The only drawback to the Meta application is its length—like most online applications, it is long, and asks for information you've probably entered 100+ times while applying to different roles. Don't worry though, we've got your back – save some time with our free browser extension, which helps you autofill your applications (Meta and 100,000+ other roles). Best of luck with the job search!