A friend refered me to an Amazon recruiter. She then emailed me a programming exercise. It was really easy (sum the the most numerous occurrence of an integer in an array, ie. (1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3) would be 2 + 2 + 2 = 6). They wanted 2 solutions to it and a space/time analysis. She was really pushy in me geting it back to her fast. Apparently I did well on it and they called me in for an in person interview - 4 45 minute interviews. I was very surprised I did well on exercise as I have been UE for two years and am really rusty, and I thought my long UE gap would discourage them away, as most places wont interview me because of my UE gap. Anyway, I went to the interview and bombed the 1st 45 minute session so bad that they dismissed me after that one interview and I never got to other 3. The question wasnt tough (implement class to put an amazon order into boxes in most efficient way). Its a simple multi hash map problem. But I think I overstudied for it. I should have prepared much less, just studied a few data structure basics, and went in with a clearer mind. I overstudied my old college textbooks as I was so rusty and away from it so long, but it turns out I retained more knowledge that I thought and just should have relaxed. It was a humbling experience to say the least, but it forced me to get the books out and refresh myself, and hopefully that will lead to a job offer elsewhere. I did my best to explain to the interviewer that I was rusty and not been around acadamia or the work force for a long time. He was nice, professional, and friendly, but I could tell he wasnt impressed with me. They were nice and professional in the interview. I am a decently bright, smart person, but I just dont have the "genetics" or raw enough talent to survive their interviews. Even if got past first one, I would have hit the "bar raiser" and really flopped. I think I can solve the problems - I just need a little more than 45 minutes. After researching and reading about Amazon, coupled with having to relocate, I wasnt crazy about their work environment and had a "take it or leave" attitude towards Amazon. In fact, in some ways I ws hoping they rejected me, as I am not sure I would have accepted an offer. I am not crazy about their interview style and process. I would have liked to been more asked about my experience rather than just a bunch of brain teasers. My advice would be to study data structures (especially hash maps and multi hash maps), and get out a compiler and solve some puzzles that result in hash tables and other data structures. Dont overstudy. You need a sharp, clear mind for the interviews.