Today, I had the distinguished opportunity to interview a Facebook employee. I have
chosen to change the name to Tyler to protect his identity. After spending much
of his life in academia, Tyler made the move to Facebook.

EC:
What do you do at Facebook?

T:
Contract sourcer. We don’t do job boards So, what I do is use meta-keywords to
sift through all the applicants and resumes. We use the same keywords when I
search for people to work here at Facebook. We aren’t recruiters, but we look
for diamonds and unicorns. People who are tough and unique.

EC:
How did you come to work at Facebook?

T: I
was a PhD candidate finishing up my second master’s degree. I originally got a
job at a staffing firm doing recruiting. A friend of mine moved out of
recruiting at Facebook to take another position within the company. They
referred me to take their position and after a very strenuous interview
process, I was offered a job.

EC: What did you think you were
going to do when you were a kid?

T: I
really wanted to play for Coach Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. I’ve always
liked the Spurs. Back then it was Bob Hill but he’s a horrible coach.

I’ve
never been rooted in practical goals. I’ve never wanted to hit benchmarks in
life. That’s not to say they are bad. When I met you, I moved to LA on a whim
and was living on your couch for a few days. I’ve felt rudderless at times but
always did enough to get by. I had Luke Skywalker syndrome where I didn’t know
what I wanted to do, just had to get up and do something.

EC: So
is it required to have a Facebook at Facebook?

T:
Yes, but we have people hired people who didn’t have one when they were being
interviewed, but it’s required after someone is hired. All internal
communication is done via messenger. We use the product intensely at work.

EC:
Have you met or seen Mark Zuckerberg yet?

T: I
have not. We have a classic campus that looks like a mix of an airport and
college. Mark used to work in building 16 where I am. But he works at building
20 which was built recently.

And we
don’t use offices. We have video chat rooms but everything is open work spaces.
Even Mark uses one. Well everyone calls him Zuck. One of our values is be open.
The VP of recruiting is three pods from me for example. It’s a very open
culture.

EC:
What’s the best part of working at Facebook?

T: It
takes about 6 months to settle in. I constantly ask “am I really working
here?” This sounds cliché but the investment in the culture is the best
part. You’re really expected to buy in, be open, and be fast. I love the
constant learning and constant feedback they expect from us. I haven’t worked
in an environment where people work collaboratively.

I also
like that if you’re at Facebook for a year and you don’t like what you’re
working on, instead of phasing you out, they actively look for you to work on
projects you want to do.

They also give you a lot of
trust. There’s no one checking on you when you arrive or leave. But they
definitely track performance.

EC: I’m
used to working and people noticing when I come and go…

T:
Yeah, no one cares here if you come in early or first. It doesn’t feel like a “big
boy” job. A lot of people aren’t here on Friday and work from home. I haven’t
done it yet because I’m relatively new and still can’t believe it.

EC:
What is the pay range for someone new at Facebook?

T: It
depends on years of experience and skill. Someone like me at a sourcing job
will get $85-90,000 with possible equity options. We also have bonus structures
based on hitting goals. Or you can be the 17-year-old we just hired who is
making six digit figures as a coder or software engineer. You can look up the
article.

EC: I
don’t want to; it might depress me about my own life.

T: (Laughs) Understandable.

EC:
Are there any negatives?

T: I
know it sounds hard to believe, but I can’t think of any. From someone from the
East coast,  I do fear the earthquakes out here. It’s weird; I was a
freshmen in college when Facebook came out and now I’m here.

EC:
What advice do you have for someone who is dying to work at Facebook?

T:
Understanding that Facebook has so many avenues. It’s Oculus, Whatsapp, or our
satellite program. It doesn’t hurt to have a tech program background. The
biggest thing is to do well where you’re at. Build passion for what you’re
doing and if you can’t, you need to leave and go somewhere else. The best thing
is just to know someone who works at Facebook, too.

EC:
What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen at Facebook so far?

T: We
get Facebook beta on our phone. Every product that comes out is being tested on
us live. We report any bugs or provide feedback.

EC: Is
there a reason Facebook updates the layout and design so often?

T:
Every year Facebook changes. It changes because we release different products
the public doesn’t know. We increased our revenue through games last quarter.
We bought Oculus for 2 billion dollars and we have big plans for that.

EC:
Most embarrassing job you ever had?

T: I’ve
worked a lot of jobs. I think it probably has to be as a vacuum salesman for
Kirby. I was literally just cold calling. I worked with a mean lady who wore
snake leather cleaning. After two days I quit because we went out to do
door-to-door sales and the two guys in the front smoked with the windows up in
van. I was also offered a job selling knives. It was a pyramid scheme. I had
enough clairvoyance to realize that this was bullshit. Multi-level marketing
businesses are not my thing.

Wendy’s
was better than both of those jobs. The best jobs I ever had paid shit money.

EC: Is
your modeling career over?

T:
Yes. Oh, yes. I remember when I met you. I was never been a body guy, but I
think I was 170 lbs when I met you, now I’m 205 lbs. I have that dad-bod now.
So no, I won’t be on a cover any time soon.

EC: I
also have a dad-bod, but it’s not by choice! Thanks for your time and continue
feeding our social media addictions.

T:
You’re most welcome!

Stay tuned for the next interview in my series The Best Jobs in the World.