Facebook Mock Interview
Practice 33 Facebook interview questions covering product thinking, system design, and cultural fit.
Question 19 of 33
What does the word "innovation" mean to you?
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Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
Your interviewer is curious how closely your concept of innovation aligns with theirs and would like to know what innovation looks like for you. The term "innovation" is not something that Meta's employees strive for, it is a job requirement. At Meta, they describe their culture as innovative by nature, and responsible by design. "Take on meaningful, challenging work at incredible scale. What we do has never before been done. By asking complex questions to drive innovation, you can help shape the future as you build for the world."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
Mark Zuckerberg is reported to hold his employees to a high standard. According to reviews from Glassdoor, and from several articles and blogs on the subject, the work is very challenging, and demanding, and the hours can be long. Due to being surrounded by high-performing, top talent, the environment can sometimes feel competitive and the talents of those you're working with can feel intimidating. So, part of their innovative culture requires a high degree of commitment, drive, dedication, and perseverance.
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"To me, innovation means what it means, which is a great improvement that moves something forward. Whereas kaizen means a small, or a collection of small improvements. I am all about improvement implementation, whether on a large or small scale. But, the aim is to constantly improve on what was done before, on whatever scale, which as a whole translates to innovation. As I always say, do better with consistency and move the world forward. Ideally, I'd like to move the world forward at Meta."
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Anonymous Answer
I have been innovative when I built a new database management system for our IoT system. I wanted to create a DBMS that could answer queries progressively and execute complex functions efficiently. I developed this DBMS and wrote three analysis applications on image data, sensor data, and social media data to show the efficiency of my system. I showed how the system becomes interactive when queries are executed progressively as compared to waiting for a long time to finish a query execution. The DBMS and the applications I developed were shown to multiple clients during our demo and resulted in research funding from the National Science Foundation. To me, innovation means introducing a new process or potential breakthrough in the workplace.
Cindy's Feedback
Excellent use of examples in your answer. When a question asks for an abstract explanation, a concrete example is necessary to make it "live." Good job.
Anonymous Answer
For me, innovation is simply a new way of doing things, that did not exist before in a particular context. It could be about a methodology of doing something, a process, or also be a product. In my work in xx we were designing new processes and new products that did not exist before, that suggested new ways of delivering service to our users more efficiently. I'd consider them innovative.
Stephanie's Feedback
This is a great start, but a more specific example would create a deeper impact. What exactly were the new processes and new products that didn't exist before? How exactly did you innovate? These additional details would make your response more impactful and memorable.
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