By Meta Careers
We’re proud to attract talented people from all over the world to work on our platforms. Diversity is core to our business at Facebook because it enables us to build better products, make better decisions, and better serve the people who use our platforms. When we speak about diversity, we mean cognitive diversity—different ways of thinking based on people having different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
When coming from a nontraditional background into the tech industry, some employees share that they were a little intimidated prior to interviewing at Facebook. However, it’s those very people with unconventional backgrounds that are so valuable in strengthening our ability to build products. After all, we build for a global audience, so a diverse range of perspectives is crucial.
Both Grace P. and Malachi V. have non-traditional career paths. We sat down with both of them to learn about how their unique backgrounds shaped their journeys to Facebook.
Grace: Ph.D., Farmer, Mother, and Facebook Data Scientist
Grace arrived at Facebook following a long absence from the workplace.
"Five years ago, I was a stay-at-home mom on a farm in Florida, taking care of six little ones and more than 100 farm animals while my husband taught high school science,” she said. “We were basically running a small farm, and I'd deliver eggs on the weekend. My husband loved his job, but he knew he'd only be able to make a career out of it if he went into administration.
So he gave notice to his school, and we made the decision to essentially trade places, leaving me to decide in my 30s what I want to be when I grow up. Having been at home for so long, I didn't even know what jobs were out there anymore. But my heart—and my Ph.D in Earth and Planetary Science—told me that I was a scientist and that I wanted something that involved analysis. I took online classes to become certified as a data scientist and sent out my resume for various data scientist roles.
After working as a data scientist at an athletic apparel company for two years, a Facebook recruiter reached out to me. At first, I wasn't sure where someone with my background might fit in at Facebook.
During the interview, I was blown away by how much more diverse the people and the experiences were than I originally thought. Now that I’m here, I am really impressed by the diversity groups and how basically any group of people you're interested in meeting you could meet. I've also never experienced a company as thoughtful as Facebook. There's just so many little ways people look out for each other as we work together.
“Facebook is used by people all over the world, so having more diversity and viewpoints helps us make a better product that's relevant to people.”
When I was still very new to the company, I questioned the impact of a new feature that would reduce data consumption. While the feature was meant to benefit those who purchase their data plan a la carte, there wasn’t a way for the people using Facebook to know how much data they were actually using. Because of my input, Facebook now surfaces data consumption for those users so they can better manage their data usage."
Malachi: Musician, Founder, Seminary Grad, and Messenger Product Development Specialist
A leap of faith put Malachi on the course that eventually led to Facebook.
“Around this time last year, my wife and I were entering a new season and our top priority was finding a church community. While this search led us to relocating from the East Coast to Northern California, I never thought it would also lead to a position at Facebook.
I studied electronic production and sound design at Berklee College of Music. During my time there, I discovered my passion for using technology to build communities, and I dropped out to found a social networking startup for musicians. Years later, I felt called to return to school and study the Bible in seminary.
As it turns out, Facebook is the perfect place to bring my passions and skills together. Having a musical background has helped me to creatively solve the tough issues we tackle on a daily basis to keep our product quality high, and my startup background helps me lead exponentially larger projects that are positively impacting people around the world.
What I like most about our culture here at Facebook is that I am encouraged to bring my whole self to work, including my faith in Jesus and entrepreneurial spirit. I'm grateful every day for the opportunity to be bringing the world closer together.”
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