
How We’re Adapting to Virtual Interviews—and Tips for Candidates
Below is an article originally written by Facebook, a PowerToFly Partner. Go to Facebook's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
For critical hiring needs, it's not a question of whether you can still effectively interview candidates during the coronavirus pandemic—it's a matter of how. Adapting the Facebook company's hiring and onboarding processes to the new realities of shelter-in-place requires a collaborative effort across its recruiting team, interviewers, and business partners as it shifts thousands of interviews into virtual formats. For Andrew C., recruiting manager, and Zef R., software engineer, this new normal required them to pivot quickly and innovate. Andrew says, "We may be working from home, but that isn't affecting our hiring motivation or our processes, particularly for engineering and product roles. A lot of our interviews can take hours. Interviewing virtually from your home for that length of time is one of those big changes that affects all kinds of things, from internet bandwidth to ensuring you have a quiet place in your house away from kids or pets.""This is a new world for all of us. We're all working remotely, so we naturally have empathy for candidates who are interviewing remotely too," Andrew adds. "We try to translate that into the care we're showing candidates throughout their interactions with our team."
Implementing new strategies for bringing Facebook's culture to life
Helping candidates feel comfortable enough to be their authentic selves requires a level of thoughtfulness and care that Facebook works hard to cultivate. But during the stress and uncertainty of a pandemic, it becomes even more essential. "When candidates interview in-person, we have someone on-site who greets them, sets expectations, and makes sure they have what they need for their interviews. For interviews that we've moved to video, we now have someone from our hiring or recruiting team greet them virtually before the interviews start, so the candidate can work out technical kinks and ask any final questions about the process. It's an important opportunity for us to make sure the candidate feels prepared and at ease before the actual interviews start," says Andrew."We encourage our interviewers to check in regularly as well," Zef adds. "Simple things like asking candidates if they need a quick break go a long way, especially when they've been in back-to-back interviews for hours."By walking through the office and seeing the environment up close, candidates get a feel for Facebook's culture when they're interviewing on-site. Bringing this culture to life in a virtual interview requires a more innovative approach. "We share advice from employees and videos that help show what life is like in that office or city, and even virtual tours," Andrew says.Facebook product team members have also accelerated the launch of a candidate portal. The new tool gives candidates information about what to expect during their interviews, links to prep materials, their schedule, and all the logistical details on using video conferencing software. Also included in the portal is a feature where candidates can send thank you notes to interviewers."For interviews that we've moved to video, we now have someone from our hiring or recruiting team greet them virtually before the interviews start, so the candidate can work out technical kinks and ask any final questions about the process."Enabling candidates to shine during technical interviews
"We've had to explore new options for interviewing candidates for roles that are technical in nature or in design," Andrew says. "During in-person interviews, candidates are typically asked to draw their process on a whiteboard or paper. Now, we don't dictate a specific tool candidates have to use; they have options. Google Drawings is one, or they can use the whiteboard tool through the video conferencing service we use. If they have a specific tool they are already familiar with, they can screen share it to the interviewer. If they feel more comfortable drawing diagrams manually, we're offering reimbursement funds for a physical whiteboard they can use."Showing your thought process is key for all of the interviews, but especially the product architecture and system design. "One of the things I've been focusing on with candidates is to help them understand it's not the specific tool they use that makes them successful in the interview. The tool is simply a way to organize ideas. The questions we discuss in these interviews are very open-ended, and don't have a single correct answer. What's most important—virtual or not—is how they talk about their ideas, think about different options, and how they problem-solve along the way," Zef says."We don't dictate a specific tool candidates have to use; they have options."A new way to onboard
Once candidates are hired and start, they'll experience an onboarding process that's entirely online. New hires receive their equipment in the mail. Facebook's New Hire Orientation program is now virtual. And all functional training programs, like Bootcamp and Design Camp, have moved to virtual models as well."We are fortunate to have strong internal collaboration tools such as Workplace, Portal, and Workplace Chat to assist us in working virtually. Through Workplace, we can bring new team members together to build community, and through Facebook Live we can have group discussions and Q&As," Andrew says. "Along the way, managers and teams are being armed with updated guidance based on what we find is working well and what isn't working.""What's most important—virtual or not—is how they talk about their ideas, think about different options, and how they problem-solve along the way."Top four tips for interviewing virtually at the Facebook company
We asked Zef and Andrew to share their top four tips for candidates interviewing virtually. Here's what they recommend.- Review materials in advance: Facebook recruiters send a lot of helpful prep materials that are customized to the role and will help you prepare. For coding interviews, we now have coding prep in the candidate portal that allows you to do practice problems in advance of the interview.
- Prep your tech: Check to make sure you have a stable internet connection and that the video conferencing links Facebook's team sends you are set-up and working properly. Additionally, be sure to test out your tools, whether it's a whiteboard, Google Drawings or something you're planning to screen share. If you're going to be having a coding interview, spend a few minutes testing out coderpad to get a feel for how it works. We generally don't have a preference for coding language, use whichever one you're most comfortable with.
- Gather examples: You'll have at least one interview, but sometimes up to three or four, that will focus on discussing your past experiences. Having an example of a large project you recently worked on, a time you had a challenge, or a critical piece of feedback you've received are all good questions to think about before your interview day.
- Be yourself: We're all adjusting to this new normal and we place tremendous value on authenticity at Facebook.
Stay Connected!
- Learn about life at Facebook on Instagram (@FacebookLife).
- Like our Facebook Careers Talent Community Page for the latest updates.
Engineering Teams Are Growing At CallRail! Join Them!
💎 Are CallRail's engineering teams the right fit for you? Watch the video to the end to find out!
📼 Engineering teams at CallRail encourage collaboration, communication, and empathy. Ayana Reddick, Senior Software Engineer at CallRail, shares what they are looking for in candidates and tells you why you’ll thrive there.
📼Engineering teams want candidates who have a growth mindset, love to learn, and are really good at communication. They also value team members who are excited about solving problems and working collaboratively. If you think you have what it takes, don't hesitate to apply.
📼At CallRail, engineering teams use Ruby on Rails for their backend, Angular on their frontend, and PostgreSQL for persistent data. They also use Jira for creating and tracking tickets, GitHub for their version control, and AWS for many cloud tools. Get familiar with these resources if you want to join them!
Engineering Teams And Diversity - Company’s Culture
CallRail seeks to hire from underrepresented groups. They pride themselves in selecting from a pool of very diverse candidates. They value the work that people do over their resumes. They encourage people to take their authentic selves to work. And they strive to create a supportive and welcoming environment. For this, they have Employee Resource Groups, that give voice to, provide safe spaces for, and educate the company at large. Some of their ERGs include the Rainbow Coalition, Black and Brown, Women Circle, and more.
🧑💼 Are you interested in joining CallRail? They have open positions! To learn more, click here.
Get to Know Ayana Reddick
If you are interested in a career at CallRail, you can connect with Ayana on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to mention this video!
More About CallRail
CallRail is here to bring complete visibility to the marketers who rely on quality inbound leads to measure success. Their customers live in a results-driven world, and giving them a clear view of their digital marketing efforts is the priority for CallRail. They see the opportunities in surfacing and connecting data from calls, forms, and beyond—helping their customers get to better outcomes.
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
Ashlee Bobb on Taking Advantage of Nike’s Financial Literacy Program
Below is an article originally published in April 2022 on Nike’s LinkedIn. Visit Nike's company page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
“In my early twenties, I wasn’t the best at saving money. So, when I got the job at Nike and found out a financial coach was offered to me — for free! — I thought, ‘It’s time to be an adult. I should use this service to help me learn how to buy stock, tell me what I’m doing right with my money and where I can improve.’”
That’s Ashlee Bobb, Nike Media and Influencer Relations Manager, on the free, unlimited access to financial coaching offered to every U.S. Nike employee through EY Navigate™. EY coaches are trained on Nike’s benefits and programs, so Ashlee was able to work with her coach on a budget and savings plan utilizing Nike’s 401k match and Employee Stock Purchase Plan – all in one 45-minute session. She left the meeting feeling confident about what her next paycheck would look like and how her money would work for her.
“The EY coaches are really willing to come on the journey with you,” Bobb says, adding that hers was willing to work with the fact that, hey, she’s not going to give up take out, but still wants to save for the future. “The cool thing is I can see how this financial guidance could help me down the road when I decide to get married, buy a house, have a kid. Every Nike employee should take advantage.”
Sound like the kind of company you want to be a part of? Check out our open roles on jobs.nike.com3 Ways to Lead with Purpose: Insight from Light & Wonder’s Erika Morrison
Erika Morrison is a naturally passionate and encouraging leader. From leading her family in giving back to their community, to coaching adolescents in track and cheer, to managing her team at Light & Wonder during the pandemic, her experience is rich with lessons to share with up-and-coming leaders.
“I believe in motivation, positivity, inspiring, finding the good in everything, everybody,” she says. In addition to 30+ years in the tech field, Erika is a wife, a mother of two, an avid exercise lover, and has even been a small-business owner.
We sat down with Erika to hear about the experiences that have led her to her current role as a Software Engineering Manager at Light & Wonder, as well as three practical ways to lead with purpose.
Seeing Potential in Others
Erika has always been fascinated by the world of technology. Growing up, she loved cassette tapes, DVD players, phones, and whatever other gadgets she could get her hands on. When her dad brought home a PC Junior, it didn’t take long before she started programming on it. She designed her own trivia game, using what she learned in her middle school programming classes. “I was typing the questions in and programming the answers. I had a blast writing it and showing it to my family. I remember I wanted to show everyone what I made. That was my first real desire to get into programming.”
Erika followed that instinct into college where she majored in Business Administration and minored in Computer Science. The kickstart to her tech career came when she landed a computer operating job while still in school. She comments, “I was originally applying for a secretarial position at this company. But someone looked at my studies and experience and saw potential in me. I didn't think I was ready for that because I was still so young, I was still in school.”
Erika went on to work as a programmer analyst and software engineer for multiple major Casino based companies. During this time, she even started and ran a local event-planning business, which fine-tuned her skills in successful customer service.
Then, someone saw potential in Erika again. A former coworker reached out and offered her a leadership position with the company that would become Light & Wonder. Erika took on the role of Software Engineering Manager and says “it’s been opportunity after opportunity ever since.”
Managing Through the Pandemic
Erika believes that the best way to lead a team is to really get to know its members. “A lot of leading is knowing the people on your team,” she explains. “Know what each person needs — What may work for one person may not work for someone else. We have to take a little bit of who they are into consideration when attempting to motivate, to coach, to inspire because we're not all motivated by the same things.”
Prior to the pandemic, Erika and her team worked together in the office, which gave her the opportunity to do so. Once the pandemic hit, however, she had to pivot to incorporating virtual meetings to be able to generate that intimacy. She organizes bi-monthly check-ins with her team members where she intentionally asks for their individual preferences on communication and feedback.
“I have one-on-ones with each of my staff every two weeks. We go over the issues that they've had and then any questions or concerns or anything that they want to chat about. Sometimes it's business and sometimes it's personal. But, I feel like taking that extra time out just to have those conversations is extremely important.”
She also cohosts weekly remote Friday cocktail hours to cultivate her team’s relationships and check in on their mental health. “During the Friday cocktail hours, we would relax, ask some questions, or play some games. And it was nice to have that interaction again and connect with the team. It also allowed me to check in on everyone's mental health and make sure that if there was anything that we could do, we were here.”
Inspired to Encourage the Team
Erika is inspired by the example of her past and current mentors and their vision for her professional trajectory. She acknowledges that it was thanks to key people who saw her potential that she has been able to have these experiences. Erika’s own personal drive and passion for encouraging and uplifting others have led her to love her leadership position.
As a manager, Erika seeks the highest level of respect and excellence for her customers, while creating an encouraging work environment for her team. “I want to make sure that my team has everything that they need in order to succeed and get their jobs done the way they want to. I want them to have the level of success that they want.”
Erika ensures that her team members feel their significant contribution to the company and how they are serving with purpose. “We need to feel like we are part of something significant,” she says. “That’s my goal as a leader and for my team.”
3 Ways to Lead with Purpose:
Drawing from her experiences as a tech leader, business owner, coach, and community volunteer, she gives us three practical ways to lead with purpose in whatever context.
- Understand the “why”. “It’s extremely important to know the why of your company. Once you understand it from the company’s perspective, you can communicate it clearly to the team. And once you get that down, you’re able to help build a strong path for them to follow so that both “why’s” are in alignment. Knowing the why of your individual team members allows you to better manage, assist, and build a relationship with them.”
- Build consistency. “I think it’s very important that we are consistent and don't deviate from the why and the task at hand. Building consistency with others motivates and inspires people to give their best, even when we don’t feel like it. When dealing with a change or a huge transition, it’s extremely important to stick to the why’s, the steps we’re taking, and the right attitude."
- Remain positive. “You have to find positivity in everything because no matter what, it could always be worse. We can always find the negative things, but there are also always positive things. As a leader, I need to be empathetic, kind, and encouraging no matter what. It’s extremely important that I’m positive and involve my team members in the process.”
Follow this link for more information about Light & Wonder and their current openings!