I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Amazon (Bengaluru) in Mar 2012
Interview
I was contacted by a recruiter after posting my resume on monster.com. Consequently, after my profile was shortlisted, I got a call from Amazon HR. She scheduled a F2F interview for me on a Saturday. I was asked to come prepared for at least 4 - 5 rounds of technical interview which could spawn almost half a day.
I attended the interview as planned. HR attending me was very cordial. First round was to check my experience with object oriented technology and problem solving skills. It went on for around 1.5 hours. Second round was to check my expertise on usage of data structures and algorithms which went on for 1 hour. Third round was again sort of problem solving which went on for 20 minutes.
I think I could do well only in 2nd round, first round and third round didn't go so well. One thing I was surprised to see that people having lesser experience were there to interview me. However, I must point out that the interviewers were polite enough.
Candidates, interviewing with Amazon needs to be very well versed in coding and in usage of data structures and algorithms. Be prepared for a lot of problem solving questions. Most of the questions are already there on the internet and they are repeated.
Interview questions [4]
Question 1
Given the daily stock prices of a share during last 30 days, write a program to find out best buying and selling dates for maximum gain. The program should run with O(n) complexity.
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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