I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in Mar 2018
Interview
The hiring manager contacted me on LinkedIn. We discussed the role, I sent her my resume and the phone screen was scheduled. 2 days after the phone screen I was told I had done well and I would be brought onsite. 2-3 days passed and no one contacted me to actually schedule the onsite. I finally reached out to the recruiter I was working with and was told that the position had already been filled. Well how about letting me know?
2 days later I was told that another team was interested in interviewing me and wanted to schedule a phone screen.. again !? I agreed.. but the 2nd phone screen was bizarre. Who asks a system design question in a phone screen? I did okay.. but it's definitely difficult to tackle this over the phone. Next morning I got an email saying it's a no-go.. but I should keep applying to positions that interest me. However as I applied to other positions, I got rejects and found out much later from a friend that apparently Amazon has a 6 month cool off period. So why tell me to keep applying to other positions?
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Lots and lots of behavioral questions in both phone screens.
Design a parking lot system.
Leetcode medium level coding question
Tough interview.
The Process: Automated Online Assessment (OA) with 2 coding questions and a system simulation, followed by a 4-round virtual Loop. Every single round started with 20 minutes of intense, behavioral behavioral questions diving into Amazon's Leadership Principles, followed by 25 minutes of technical coding or system design.
Amazon interviews are a test of mental endurance because you have to switch from deep behavioral storytelling straight into complex coding which can be so difficult. I used Apex Interviewer to practice the cognitive context switch. Running through their live-coding workspace helped me ensure my technical communication and architectural structures remained sharp and automatic, even after spending the first half of the interview defending my past project metrics. I fed the practice AI questions I extracted from glassdoor and gothamloop.
In the end, the offer was way lower than I hoped.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design the backend inventory tracking and placement service for a global fulfillment network, ensuring strict transactional consistency across multiple regional warehouses during peak shopping events.
Initial screening call with recruiter followed by a 1 hr hacker rank question on DSA. The final round was a panel consisting of 4 interviews ranging from technical design, more DSA and behaviour questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe a time when you disagreed with your team and how you resolved it
Online Application & Assessment: Candidates apply via amazon.jobs and may be asked to complete online assessments (work simulations or technical tests).
Recruiter Phone Screen: A 30-60 minute interview to discuss your background, interest in the role, and initial behavioral questions.
Technical Phone Screen (For Tech Roles): A 60-minute interview focused on data structures, algorithms, and coding in a shared editor.
Interview Loop (Virtual/Onsite): The final stage, usually 3-5, 45-60 minute interviews held on the same day or over a few days.
Behavioral Questions: These focus on past behavior (STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result) mapped to Leadership Principles.
Technical/Functional Questions: Problem-solving, system design, or domain-specific questions.
Bar Raiser Interview: One interviewer is a "Bar Raiser," a neutral employee from another team tasked with ensuring hiring standards remain high.
Hiring Committee/Debrief: Interviewers meet to discuss candidate feedback and make a hiring decision.
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