My experience will consist of two parts -
I. Talking solely about what, when and how of the interview.
II. My 2 cents on the whole experience.
Part I - The actual process -
This was for 2021 graduates.
My process started in Oct'21 and went on to Jan'22.
I received a mail from HR and asked me to appear for the process.
Everything happened virtually, on amazon chime and livecode, following the covid situation here.
I wont't be telling exact questions as i signed a NDA with amazon.
Round 1 - OA (coding + survey) (120 min)
I received an OA link and was asked to complete it within a week, questions were medium level leetcode questions. It had 2 coding questions and 2 follow up questions for the same asking the logic behind the code I wrote.
After clearing this I was told that I will be having 4 interview rounds. Round 2 and Round 3 were supposed to be on the same day.
Round 2 - DSA round (60 min) - Taken by SDE - II
Basic introduction followed by a medium level leetcode question, I was able to solve it, we had further discussion on its modification, we discussed only one question and he asked me questions about the data structure I chose and why I chose it and how is it implemented internally.
Had another round 1 hour later.
Round 3 - DSA + Core Subjects questions (60 min) - Taken by SDE - II
Again basic introduction followed by subject questions, half time was spent in discussing questions and the other half was spent in solving a medium level DSA question, question was very vague and I had to basically ask a lot of questions for clarification and we both with discussion reached out to an optimal solution.
After that I received a mail that I'll be having further rounds after a week giving the name of the interviewer along with the time, however that changed 5 times, finally I appeared for the interview and the person who joined told me that they won't be able to take the interview today and that I'll be informed how this will work, after 3-4 days I received a mail rescheduling the interview, name and time were given of the interview and when I joined again the person who took my interview turned out to be someone else.
Round 4 - DSA + LP (60 min) - Taken by SDM
Basic introduction, then he asked me a leadership questions related to a customer, I am an entry level graduate, still I tried to answer it considering the stakeholders I worked with while making my projects. After this he again asked me the same question and asked me to give a different answer, he was not able to explain the question properly and kept changing the question when I reconfirmed it with him. After that he gave me a medium level leetcode question, the question was very vague and I followed him up with various things, after that he asked me to code for the same, which I did, he had issue with how I was taking an input and said that it is wrong however it wasn't be talked about it for good 6-7 minutes but he asked me to move on saying the same, I completed my code and the interview ended.
Round 4 - Project discussion + LP + Core subjects (40 min) - Taken by a senior SDM and shadowed by another SDM
Basic introduction, he thanked me that I took time out despite it being a working day ( I'm currently interning at a place) after that he asked me about my projects, my tech stacks, then he asked me LP questions related to same like - when was the time when you had an argument with your stakeholder, etc. Then he went on asking about core level questions, it started with normal questions but then they went deep into working of OS and honestly I didn't knew that much, I told them that I don't know much about it but I can tell you now with what I can think of from hearing the questions.
Today morning they sent me a rejection mail and yes thats it about my experience.
Part II - My 2 cents -
Before you read I want to tell that I won't be complaining here, this is my genuine opinion as a person who worked hard to get into amazon, our views might strongly disagree at some places but consider this as a heartfelt experience, you might want to discontinue reading it.
Amazon was one of my dream company like most other new graduates, I felt very lucky when recruiter reached out to me, but after that everthing went downhill, it wasn't really what I thought it might be.
Interview Part -
1.My first two interviews went just fine, the interviewers were understanding and friendly, considering they were sde2 so they were still used to such questions and questions generally asked, what could be the possible variations, etc. It was a nice time interacting with them and they gave me good tips at the end of interview,
2.after that I was disappointed with the unprofessionalism of company, I understand its a big franchise and is very busy but changing schedules abruptly, not informing about the changes urgently, then asking the interviewee to leave on the day of interview, it kind of disheartens the person as they assume that the company isn't really interested, again I know they are super busy but I'm too giving my all, I also had to ask time out from my current place and the nervousness one has one day, one night, one hour before, how about it? And I'm told that we will see later about the interview.
3.Apart from that honestly I wasn't surprised that the interviewer didn't knew how to take an input considering he has not been in touch with this for years now and that they might not be using that programming language now but saying that I don't even know how to take an input at this stage is really very strange, he kept on saying that I don't even know basic things, I rechecked it on internet after the interview was over and turns out I was right, why did I even doubt myself in the first place but I felt bad that he didn't listen to me.
4.Then comes the bar raiser round, they were good and patient, however when I asked them about how they would like me to approach the question, the person who was shadowing the interview just asked one question and said that's it we got what we wanted to know, how can you judge a person from a single question? I kind of realised that I was not gonna make it.
5.There was NO feedback, considering they gave their three months to me atleast they could have told me about where I lacked but they chose not to and honestly I hate this about most of the companies, we can't always read your mind just as you can't read ours when we are solving a coding question you gave, I would like to encourage all the companies to give us feedback because we really are trying to be the best
Personal Feedback -
1.So yes, I really did work hard, very hard, managing both the office work + prepration just like any other person would work if they were to appear for such big company,
2.but yes when you interview with a company for 3 months continuously you kind of start believeing that you might have it in you and that you can finally achieve your dream and one day you wake up and see a mail that says we regret to inform you but thanks for your time, the dream shatters, again its a part of life, but yes 3 months is a whole lot of time, I almost considered myself a part of it
3.but yes I was disappointed with how they treated me throughout, at one point of time I said to myself thats it but its the name I guess which compels you into it.
4.So whoever is appearing or who got rejected, keep on moving, well that's what I'm going to do,
5.I'm yet to break the news to my family, I cried for 30-45 mins straight but I think I'm fine now and will continue my job hunt and one day I might be at a place where I can be happy.