Myranda Palomino: How I landed a role as a Software Engineer at Meta with Formation

Welcome to Formation’s Fellow Spotlight, a blog series introducing you to former Formation Fellows who landed their dream jobs. Today, we’ll meet Myranda Palomino, now a Software Engineer in the Rotational Program at Meta. Myranda started with a degree in communication before transitioning into engineering. From there, she leveled up her skills to land her dream job. Here’s how she did it.

Can you tell us about your background before joining Formation?

My journey started with a Communication degree from Arizona State in 2016. I worked in education and as a dance instructor before transitioning into tech. I met someone who was a software engineer at Amazon, and he inspired me to make the shift and then mentored me through those first years.

After that, I was able to pick up some freelance and contract work. I did that for about two years before joining Formation.

What motivated you to elevate your career?

I enjoy challenging myself and problem-solving. I wanted to work in tech to be constantly growing, and it’s a great field with a lot of opportunities. 

Why did you choose the Formation Fellowship?

So back when I first learned to code, I actually did a different program to learn data structures and algorithms and practice. When I started interviewing, I would get to the final on-site rounds and then never seem to pass them or get an offer.

One of my connections on LinkedIn started mentoring at Formation. That’s how I found out about the program. I was mainly interested in the mock interviews because they're with top engineers at incredible companies. The other program I was in was just pure mock interviews with peers. You never got that full experience. Everybody I talked to at Formation was just really nice. The influence of Founders like Sophie and Michael, with their Facebook backgrounds, also played a role. The people at Formation are amazing.

How was your onboarding experience at Formation?

The process was smooth, starting with an info session, a coding test, and then a clear roadmap for the program. The Formation platform was easy to navigate and organized. I enjoyed it and felt like I knew what to do right away.

What were your goals as a Formation Fellow?

My primary goal was to master technical interviews. I knew I needed technical help and was pretty confident with the behavioral interviews. But then I had a mock behavioral interview and they noticed some gaps, which was surprising but also amazing feedback to get.

My goal became, “I want to be able to nail any interview that I do after this.” I wanted to know that I could get the jobs I wanted.

How was your interaction with mentors?

The mentors are great. A lot of the career coaches were really awesome. And then my FMs. I don't know if they're considered mentors, but they were amazing, too. So I really had a good experience with everyone.

What did you think of Formation's platform?

The platform was user-friendly, well-organized, and constantly updated. And I actually was part of a focus group for a new feature, which was pretty cool. I thought it was cool how they involved us in the process and cared about our feedback. Overall, I had a good experience with the platform. I thought it was really easy to use and very organized.

How did Formation impact your interview and negotiation skills?

The program's emphasis on repetition and structured approach significantly improved my performance in actual interviews.

What was your actual job interview experience like at Meta?

I was moving along in the program and passing mock technical interviews. I then had my FM's reach out to me and let me know I had the opportunity to get a referral to the Rotational Program at Meta. 

I got a message from the recruiter a few days later, had the recruiter call, and scheduled the technical screen. I think I did the technical screen about two weeks later. I found out the same day that I had moved to the onsite. And then, about three weeks after that, I had my virtual onsite, which was four interviews across across three days. Three weeks after my final interview, I got the offer.

How did Formation help prepare you for your interviews and your new role?

They really value the repetition and the structure of how an interview is supposed to go. They really train you on exactly how to work through problems quickly. I was constantly practicing those same principles in sessions and mock interviews. So because I had mock interviews and sessions all the time, and I was doing the same things all the time, I knew exactly how to approach interviews.  It really helped.

Quick-Fire Round:

Proudest moment? 

Succeeding in the final on-site interview during my time at Formation.

Biggest learning? 

The biggest learning was learning system design. I’m a newer engineer and I hadn't done it before. My system design interview with Meta was my first-ever system design interview. It was very challenging but so rewarding.

Favorite group session? 

A career session with Roby. He's a former Facebook recruiter. He was just awesome, and his energy was great. And then he and I stayed connected after that. 

Biggest surprise about Formation? 

The flexibility and support provided by the Formation team. When I started, I wanted to do two different parts of my roadmap at the same time. I was really trying to go for it and do as many sessions as possible. The first time that I felt like I just needed a day off, I was terrified to message them and cancel my sessions. I know sometimes, in programs like these, you can have extreme absence policies or things like that.

But when I did, they were so nice. They made me so comfortable about taking care of myself or giving myself the space to succeed.