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Facebook has began scaling back on hiring since the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Alternative possible headline working just as well. People are still applying

by natrik 7y ago

Facebook has began scaling back on hiring since the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Alternative possible headline working just as well. People are still applying en masse to work at Facebook. Among top schools, Facebook’s acceptance rate for full-time positions offered to new graduates has fallen from an average of 85% for the 2017-2018 school year to between 35% and 55% as of December. A fall in acceptance rates may mean saturation in needed roles at Facebook.

lallysingh 7y ago
Then Facebook shouldn't be giving out offers or interviewing so many people? I think these are primarily offers given to interns. Otherwise, why go through the interview process if you don't want to work there? It may be a better place to go for internship than for full time. Then again, maybe their compensation packages may no longer be competitive. It's possible.
- JumpCrisscross 7y ago
  > their compensation packages may no longer be competitive They're competitive cash-wise. But the career hit is unmistakable. (My friends who had other options eventually got tired of carrying around reputation that comes with that place. If you have no other options, that's one thing. But not everyone loves broadcasting that fact.)
  - esoterica 7y ago
    There is no career hit associated with Facebook. That’s just ludicrous wishful thinking. People love to complain about Goldman Sachs too, but that still looks good on a resume.
    - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
      > There is no career hit associated with Facebook Having witnessed it personally, yes there is. It's not evenly distributed. And if you do something amazing later on, people will look past it. But it's there in a way it isn't for e.g. Apple or Google or Amazon. > People love to complain about Goldman Sachs too, but that still looks good on a resume Goldman is universally respected within finance. Facebook is not universally respected within tech. (Neither Goldman nor Facebook care about public opinion, outside of managing political risk, since neither sells its product to the mass market [1].) [1] Goldman recently started doing this, though
      - JohnFen 7y ago
        Yes, I've seen it too. As you say, it's not evenly distributed, and it also depends on other factors such as when you started working for them and what your role was. But there's definitely some amount of stigma associated with having Facebook on your resume. The interesting question is whether that's temporary, or whether it will become even more pronounced over time. I could see it going either way.
      - Pils 7y ago
        Is there a scenario similar to Facebook's in finance, right now or historically?
        lallysingh 7y ago
        Like Wells Fargo, or any of the folks in this list: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/101515/3-biggest-hedge-fund-scandals.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/101515/3-big... I'd be hesitant about someone who'd work for Madoff.
    - hahamrfunnyguy 7y ago
      Personally, I wouldn't overlook someone who worked at Facebook. I don't really like them as a company, but it doesn't mean everyone who works there is a bad actor.
esoterica 7y ago
I think you’re misinterpreting the term acceptance rate. It’s the number of offers extended that we’re accepted, not the number of applicants who were extended offers.
valleyjo 7y ago
Yea that’s a dismal stat. Roughly, It means smart people don’t want to work for you.
JohnFen 7y ago
> A fall in acceptance rates may mean saturation in needed roles at Facebook. No. If Facebook didn't need those people, they wouldn't have extended an offer to them in the first place, so it wouldn't have affected acceptance rates.

by natrik 7y ago

lallysingh 7y ago

Then Facebook shouldn't be giving out offers or interviewing so many people? I think these are primarily offers given to interns. Otherwise, why go through the interview process if you don't want to work there? It may be a better place to go for internship than for full time. Then again, maybe their compensation packages may no longer be competitive. It's possible.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> their compensation packages may no longer be competitive They're competitive cash-wise. But the career hit is unmistakable. (My friends who had other options eventually got tired of carrying around reputation that comes with that place. If you have no other options, that's one thing. But not everyone loves broadcasting that fact.)
- esoterica 7y ago
  There is no career hit associated with Facebook. That’s just ludicrous wishful thinking. People love to complain about Goldman Sachs too, but that still looks good on a resume.
  - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
    > There is no career hit associated with Facebook Having witnessed it personally, yes there is. It's not evenly distributed. And if you do something amazing later on, people will look past it. But it's there in a way it isn't for e.g. Apple or Google or Amazon. > People love to complain about Goldman Sachs too, but that still looks good on a resume Goldman is universally respected within finance. Facebook is not universally respected within tech. (Neither Goldman nor Facebook care about public opinion, outside of managing political risk, since neither sells its product to the mass market [1].) [1] Goldman recently started doing this, though
    - JohnFen 7y ago
      Yes, I've seen it too. As you say, it's not evenly distributed, and it also depends on other factors such as when you started working for them and what your role was. But there's definitely some amount of stigma associated with having Facebook on your resume. The interesting question is whether that's temporary, or whether it will become even more pronounced over time. I could see it going either way.
    - Pils 7y ago
      Is there a scenario similar to Facebook's in finance, right now or historically?
      - lallysingh 7y ago
        Like Wells Fargo, or any of the folks in this list: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/101515/3-biggest-hedge-fund-scandals.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/101515/3-big... I'd be hesitant about someone who'd work for Madoff.
  - hahamrfunnyguy 7y ago
    Personally, I wouldn't overlook someone who worked at Facebook. I don't really like them as a company, but it doesn't mean everyone who works there is a bad actor.

esoterica 7y ago

I think you’re misinterpreting the term acceptance rate. It’s the number of offers extended that we’re accepted, not the number of applicants who were extended offers.

valleyjo 7y ago

Yea that’s a dismal stat. Roughly, It means smart people don’t want to work for you.

JohnFen 7y ago

> A fall in acceptance rates may mean saturation in needed roles at Facebook. No. If Facebook didn't need those people, they wouldn't have extended an offer to them in the first place, so it wouldn't have affected acceptance rates.