I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon (Chicago, IL) in Oct 2020
Interview
Debugging assessment leading to coding assessment leading to workplace simulation. I got the rejection after completing the workplace simulation. The debugging assessment was fairly easy as long as you're used to reading code quickly. Likewise, the coding assessment was also not too difficult as long as you practice medium level questions on Leetcode.
The workplace simulation was lengthier than the other two and was a mix of responding to workplace dynamic type situations (ie. you think someone is wrong about something, how do you handle the situation?) and coming up with best way to approach a problem based on information sent to you over chat, email, and email attachments. This honestly should not be too hard - I got caught off guard by the technical problem questions, so I ran out of time. Just prepare by studying the leadership principles and be prepared to think.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Paraphrased question from workplace sim - A senior colleague tells you he thinks there is a better way to approach a project than the one you're taking. Based on what you know, you think your way is the right way. How do you handle the situation? (Tell him he's wrong, take time out of your schedule to hear him out, etc..)
Surprisingly easy — I expected tougher questions, but the coding round felt more like a warm-up. The main challenge was a DSA problem about counting islands in a 2D grid, which led to a discussion on DFS versus BFS and handling large grids. Funny enough, I had revisited that exact type of question while prepping on PracHub, which made me feel more confident. The interview wrapped up with a behavioral round, and I accepted an offer, but ultimately decided to decline it for another opportunity. Overall, it was a smooth experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Number of Islands — given a 2D grid of '1's (land) and '0's (water), count the number of connected islands. Walk through DFS vs BFS, and discuss how to avoid revisiting cells (in-place mutation vs visited set) and what changes if the grid is huge and must stream from disk.
It started with an OA, and then after a few weeks, I got invited to four rounds of interviews: technical and behavioral at 3 of the 4, and behavioral only at one.
Um teste de código online, se aprovado, vai para o loop. O loop é 4 entrevistas seguidas, duas em inglês e duas em português. 3 entrevistas técnicas de código, todas as 4 têm pergunta de liderança.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Pergunta historicas baseada nos principios de lideranca da amazon.