A mission worth fighting for, but many issues at home
Pros
- On the right team, you'll find a healthy work culture. People are incredibly kind and there's an emphasis on collaboration over competition. - The mission is still something I believe in. It is ambitions to help people around the world connect to the Internet and each other. - The feeling of building products that reach more than 2 billion people is awesome. - Internal tools and infrastructure is best of class, especially for shipping fast. - Benefits are solid. You're taken care of with food, healthcare, and other convenience perks that are delightful to have. - Most work-life balance challenges are self-inflicted. People want to succeed, but the company supports you when you say that you need to get some work off your plate. - There are some early-Facebook veterans who make their areas of Facebook special. Find them and get to know them!
Cons
The company is struggling with mismanaged employee growth and rapid, negative changes in the company's culture. - Internal politics have drastically increased. There is a growing focus on optics vs. impact, which is incompatible with a culture that operates under "Focus on Impact." - I found it difficult to express the company's values such as Be Bold and Be Open in a couple of organizations, because leaders who were external hires brought in a hierarchy, a "CYA" culture, and a combination of empire building and swim lanes. - The culture in some organization is toxic – people feel unsafe voicing their opinions and being their authentic selves. - Many teams find themselves blinded by metrics, still doing good work but missing the greater opportunities by ignoring clear paradoxes between metrics and customer experience. - Internal transfer policies can be restrictive due to restrictions around leveling and performance. I know at least three people who left the company who wanted to move to a role that better suited them, but could not because they weren't meeting expectations in their current role (that didn't suit them).
