Don’t reschedule your tech interviews (or else.)
With every interview, there will be factors you can and cannot control. You can control how much you study but not who your interviewer is, what question they will ask, or if the company is already considering other candidates before you even started the phone screen.
Before I started my phone screen at Meta, I got infected with Covid-19. Little did I know, this factor I couldn’t control would lead to an unsympathetic rejection.
Before Starting The Interview Process
At larger public technology companies like Google and Meta, a recruiter will reach out if you’re interested in an open position they feel you will be a fit for. If you feel unprepared for any reason, you have the opportunity to post-pone starting the interview process whether you have to stay at your current role longer to vest a sign-on bonus or to have more experience to interview for a higher level position.
Meta reached out 3 months ago. I decided to post-pone because I was not open to junior level roles and wanted to wait for mid-level opportunities.
They actually got back to me three months later and here’s what happened.
The Initial Recruiter Screening
When the Meta recruiter reached out, there was the opportunity to apply for a mid-level position. I was excited to start the loop after sharing details on my 2 years of experience background and project work at Microsoft that were applicable to the role. There was also the option to post-pone again for another 3 months, but I did not feel like this was necessary this time around.
I accepted to start the loop and the initial phone screen was scheduled for next week. But here’s why the call never happened.
3 Days Before the Interview
I got infected with Covid-19. Yes, I am doubly vaccinated if you are wondering. My symptoms included fatigue, chills, sweats and a “sore throat from hell”. Day by day it got worse, and on the day of the interview I struggled choosing to follow through with the call or to reschedule.
I pushed it off for 3 months, and Meta is a large company so I did not think there was harm in rescheduling. The coordinator sounded very understanding as well.
So we rescheduled after a week and a half later and here was the harm in rescheduling.
1 Day Before the Rescheduled Phone Screen
My throat felt better. I had some time to review interview material and felt ready to take on this long-awaited interview. The day before I get the following email:
It is disappointing to say the least. To be struck out before getting up to bat because of factors you feel are out of your control. I was asking myself a lot of questions that did not have answers.
My Thoughts Afterwards
Maybe I should have gone through with the first phone screen having Covid. Maybe I should have rescheduled the interview loop for another 3 months. Maybe I should have just applied for the entry level position months ago.
I will never know what would have happened if I made those decisions. But I did remind myself that beyond who your interviewer is, what questions you are asked, and who else is applying for the same role, there will always be factors you cannot control.
I never thought rescheduling interviews would carry risks but this is a case study that it can cost you the entire opportunity all together.
I got rejected from Meta because I got Covid and that is a factor I could not control.
So what factors can I control?
If I am willing to pick myself up and look for the next opportunity that comes around.
Next time I likely will not have Covid
Next time I will not have to reschedule my interviews
Next time I will get on the phone with the interviewer and tell them a little bit about myself.
Follow up on my industry-proven approach to coding interviews when I am in that interview setting!
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Here’s the best system design resource that helped me with my interviews.
