Amazon | SDE1 | Seattle | Feb 2020 [Reject]
Anonymous User
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AmazonSeattleInterview

My apologies in advance for a slightly long post! Hope you find this information useful.

Status: New grad, MS CS Top 10 CS school
Position: SDE 1 at Amazon
Location: Seattle, WA
Date: February 21, 2020

Application (Jan 29):
Applied on the Amazon jobs website for an SDE 1 position. A recruiter reached out to me a few hours after that.

Online assessment (Feb 3):
2 coding questions (90 min), followed by 15 min to explain the approach and time and space complexities for both the problems, followed by a short (15ish mins) work-style survey in the form of multiple choice questions.

I was contacted the next day saying I have passed and they would like to invite me onsite.

Onsite interview (Feb 21):

I had 4 rounds, each was about 50 min. (I signed an NDA so won’t be saying the exact questions). I coded technical questions in Python. All the interviewers have been with Amazon for at least 10 years. Not really sure who the bar raiser was, but my guess is that it was the first interviewer.

Round 1 (LP/projects + coding):

  • Tell me about yourself
  • Asked me questions about my projects
  • Coding (35 min): A string question, DP. LC hard. I solved the question. I was asked time and space complexities.
  • Overall I thought that this round went okay. I was pretty nervous and was making many small mistakes. Looking back, my code could have been a lot more concise and cleaner (this is probably where it went wrong).

Round 2 (LP + coding/approach):

  • Coding question (30 min): String, Array. LC hard. I brainstormed some ideas and coded a few sub problems, and it seemed to me like the interviewer was more interested in how I modularize the problem and how it can be solved. I was able to figure out the solution and he seemed fine with it.
  • Behavioral:
    • Tell me about a time you had a very tight time commitment.
    • Tell me about a time when you failed to deliver.
    • Was asked A LOT of questions based on these answers

Round 3 (LP + coding):

  • Behavioral:
    • Tell me about a time you took on something that was significantly outside your area of responsibility.
    • Two more, which I can’t remember.
  • Coding (20 min): Heap question. LC medium. I solved this problem and the interviewer seemed happy.
  • This round was the best, the interviewer was very nice and friendly and I was pretty relaxed.

Round 4 (mostly LP + OOP design):

  • Behavioral (40 min):
    • Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer
    • Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer
    • Dive Deep/Bias for Action question
  • Object-Oriented Design (10 min): Was only able to do a very small portion of the question and coded only those Classes with their attributes due to lack of time
  • Both interviewers (one was observing) seemed happy and were talking about their work with a lot of excitement. I had a great conversation with them. Overall this round went well too.

PREPARATION:

  • I solved all of the Amazon card (Premium) and other frequently asked Amazon coding questions. Once I solved them, I tried to look at other ways to solve it.
  • Reviewed all DS and Algorithms. Implemented some DS from scratch to understand how they work. Had all common concepts on a paper and revised them multiple times.
  • BigO complexities: https://www.bigocheatsheet.com/
  • Practiced LP questions. Made a huge document with all the 14 LPs, sample questions for each, and prepared about 2-3 situations for the LP in STAR format and practiced. Rehearsed with another person.
  • Did a few mock onsite interviews on LeetCode
  • Practiced writing on paper to prep for white boarding

GENERAL TIPS:

  • During preparation time, it is important to focus on areas that you are relatively weak in.
  • Make sure you do something to blow off steam to keep yourself relaxed. I worked out very often; it keeps me from panicking and increases my concentration power.
  • Ask your recruiter any questions that you have. I asked mine which were the most important LPs, that way, you won’t have to focus on ones that probably won’t be asked, like Hire the Best and Frugality (this heavily depends on the role). And I asked if I would have system design/OOP design.
  • Expect a lot of questions about your LP stories (why did you do it this way, why did you choose to do this over this, would you do anything differently, how did you handle this situation, etc). I would highly recommend not making the stories up, but rather come up with legit stories from your past. For people who don't have experience, you can use school projects or any internship you have done to answer LP based questions.
  • I would also prepare strengths, weaknesses, failure stories, 'Why Amazon?' and other such stories.

TIPS for INTERVIEW DAY:

  • EAT well and SLEEP well. If you have a morning interview, make sure you have breakfast. Sleep well the previous night. If you can’t, do not drink too much coffee to compensate. If you have an afternoon interview, don’t stuff yourself before the interview.
  • Make sure you have used the restroom and everything before the interview begins. Usually, the interviewer will offer, and taking them up on that means you are losing time for coding/answering questions.
  • Stay hydrated! They give you water and snacks, but have bottle on you, just in case.
  • Stay calm. I know it can be very stressful, but try to listen to calming music or do something that can calm you. Take deep breaths. You got this.
  • Make sure you ask a question or two to the interviewer. Have them ready before the interview begins (you could also ask a question specific to them, based on their role/seniority)
  • Smile, be confident, and maintain eye contact.
  • After the interview, send a thank you email.

PREPARATION MATERIAL:

Thoughts:
Not sure where things went wrong. I was upset when I heard, but sitting around and moping was not going to get me a job. The past few months have been physically and mentally draining, I have been in a constant state of anxiety, and I get so close to giving up. But it is very important to take the positives, learn from the mistakes, and keep moving forward. The Leetcode community has been so supportive and helpful, I thank all of you for inspiring me by persevering through the lows. I know I will eventually get there, and the road to get there is going to be long and scary, but I will keep my head up and keep trying. For anyone in the same boat as me - NEVER GIVE UP, any company would be lucky to have you :)
(Any time I feel down, I listen to The Climb by Miley Cyrus)

Clarifications:

  • LPs mean Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles. They use these every day and are super important for the interview.
  • I interviewed for an SDE 1 position, not the NEW Grad SDE 1 position. The difference is that the New Grad interview process has 3 assessments + virtual onsite, and the interviews for SDE 1 are one assessment + (maybe) phone interview + onsite
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