I failed my Meta interview so you don't have to

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to interview at Meta for an IC role.

I didn’t pass — and even though that stung a bit, all I can do now is continue walking my path, learn from it, and share what I learned.

I had been preparing well. Friends were cheering me on (my LGT family, and a few others, thank you!), and every day I was solving 2-3 LeetCode problems on top of my full-time job and personal life. But during the interview, which included two LeetCode-style questions, I struggled with both. I eventually gave a "somewhat okay" solution for the first one, and for the second... I only wrote a few lines and never reached a full solution.

Here is what I learned:

• Practicing DSA/LeetCode is one thing.
• Practicing for an actual interview is a completely different skill.

I knew about mock interviews, but for some reason I didn't do a single one — and it had been over two years since my last technical interview. Two days after the Meta interview, I finally did a mock, and it became painfully clear: the problem wasn’t the questions. I solved both the next morning in under 20 minutes.

The real challenge was the environment. When you practice alone, you’re calm, you think out loud internally, you imagine the solution with your eyes closed, and nothing interrupts you. In an interview, someone is watching, interrupting, asking questions, breaking your flow… and it broke mine.

Moving forward, I’m adding a lot more mock interview practice. I’m lucky to be part of two amazing communities with great people to practice with.

If you’re interviewing soon and haven’t done mock interviews yet — please start. It makes a huge difference. And if you want someone to practice with, I’m happy to help. Just let me know.

Best of luck everyone!