Meta reviews

- politics and back channeling - competitiveness and lack of collaboration - relationships hold more value than quality work Facebook the company is like the platform: everyone acts like everything is great, but no one acknowledges or exposes what’s really going on under the surface. People act like it’s all sunshine and roses, but because there’s such a “focus on impact” and performance, it’s actually a competitive environment where people are out for themselves and scrambling for whatever projects will give them the most visibility—at Facebook, visibility > impact > high performance ratings > bonus multipliers + equity refreshers. As a result, people you know and being an influencer matter more than the quality of your work. Likes are the real currency and even though you’re told to “be your authentic self”, one type of person benefits most: those who are extroverted, don’t rock the boat, and are oftentimes male. While the actual benefits and perks are great, don’t be fooled by the glamour of it all: they’re also designed to keep you there and keep you working. You’ll be taken care of, but the focus on impact and performance makes it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. There’s an undercurrent of anxiety in the culture that is very real and not often acknowledged. Facebook is a great company for those just starting out their career. If you’re a seasoned professional, I suggest staying away. It doesn’t matter how much experience or expertise you have—I spent most of my time proving to people half my age that I knew what I was doing. Time and again, my suggestions would be ignored or edited to the point that they were no longer my ideas. Time and again, leadership would be shown those watered down ideas and say, “Nope!” Time and again, when I’d go back to my original recommendation, leadership would say, “That’s the one!” After awhile, it was finally time for me to say, “I’m tired of (and better than) this.”

The worst part about Facebook is the culture. With the excuse that you should 'focus on impact', people will fight for 'sexy' projects and things that will obtain them a good performance review. Since middle and upper management often do not have a clue about what their own teams actually do, whatever you can make sound important (e.g. with fake metrics or tales of potential impact), you are onto a winner. Unfortunately, the same managers do not enforce a culture of fairness or trust; instead, it is a culture of rewarding back-stabbers and people who 'get the work done' but who, at the same time, treat their colleagues poorly. By that, I mean stealing projects or not giving credit to those who get the work done, for example. It is an awful environment to work in. Some teams are worse than others as well: You could end up reporting into a bad apple who steals projects from you. It happens, and it happens often. Good people managers are never rewarded, as people management is not something Facebook recognises as important. Yes, in the orientation they will give you a big speech about it but when was the last time good people managers got promotions? Managers should focus on people, and ICs should focus on things. Unfortunately, bad managers who are good at IC work get rewarded often to the detriment of their teams, who have to suffer under people who should have never become people managers. The so-called Pulse survey is a joke, as no importance is given to low-scoring managers. If 10 people in a team say they would not work with their manager again, something must be wrong, don't you think? To any potential employees: Do not get fooled by the appearances. Facebook makes people feel trapped because they make you think this is the 'best' company and that you should be grateful you are part of Mark Zuckerberg's dream of making the world more 'open and connected'. It's a fallacy. Do not fall for it.