Passing Amazon job interviews requires different and dedicated preparation. Likewise, landing a job as a programmer at the world’s most innovative tech companies requires different training. So, here are some tips to help you make the process less intimidating.
Six tips for passing programming interviews at Amazon
Align your answers to their 14 principles of leadership.
Amazon is one of the tech companies that places the highest importance on leadership. Whether it’s discussing ideas for new projects or finding the best approach to solving a problem, their workforces use their 14 leadership principles daily.
The recruiter will ask you a random question about one of their principles, and you must provide a concrete example from the past that connects to it.
For this reason, you must memorise and understand what their principles consist of. And from there, you will have to come up with an anecdote that makes you look like the best fit for the e-commerce giant.
Where can you find Amazon’s 14 leadership principles? On the job posting page, you can read what each one is about here.
Stick to the 11th principle:
Earn Trust
One of the keys to passing Amazon’s job interviews is to give answers aligned with their 11th principle: Earn trust.
This principle means earning the trust of your colleagues by being self-critical. In other words, owning up to those screw-ups that we want to hide so badly, no matter how embarrassing. Instead of being the first to point out the mistakes of others.
They will ask you reflective questions like: “Tell me about when you made a wrong decision. What happened? How did you deal with it?
As you will see, the company is not looking for perfect people with a clean slate.
Mistakes. Instead, they want to include professionals who recognise their mistakes, find lessons in failure and learn lessons for growth.
Have a set of stories on hand to respond.
One of the keys to getting through a job interview at Amazon is to have all those examples ready to get through behavioural questions or questions related to leadership principles.
In the jitters of the moment, you may find it challenging to recall situations where you played a critical problem-solving role. Therefore, making a list of examples and reviewing them will help you know what to say in each of the recruiter’s questions.
How many stories should you bring to your Amazon interview?
It’s up to you, but ideally, you should prepare four anecdotes for each leadership principle and possible behavioural questions.
It’s better to have plenty of examples than to draw a blank.
Think out loud when solving code.
The interviewer is not a mind reader; they will have no idea what you are doing until you say it.
Generally, talking as you solve indicates to the recruiter whether you are going in the right direction. If you’re going in an unfavourable direction, he or she will let you know right away with clues such as: are you sure, can you simulate the case and other clues. This will help you avoid mistakes early and deliver flawless code.
Don’t keep quiet if you already know how to solve the given problem. Instead, speak aloud as if you were having a conversation with yourself. Then, repeat the steps you do and express your doubts. There is nothing wrong with that.
We know that we kept silent when we were solving a test out of habit.
But remember that Amazon is very peculiar, and those traditional methods are not so effective in their job interviews.
Losing the fear of thinking out loud and narrating every action you are doing is one of the best keys to passing Amazon job interviews that we can give you.
Demonstrate your reasoning skills
Amazon doesn’t care if you know a tool; they want to know if you can solve problems. They’re not looking for automated robots; they’re looking for intelligent humans with a mind of their own who stop to think about why they’re answering.
In the interview, they want to know how you reason in the face of a challenge.
This tip is also related to the previous one, as thinking out loud gives the recruiter an idea of how you are reasoning. The recruiter then has more tools to judge and evaluate the applicant.
Memorising and solving problems automatically, without thinking about why is already a bad sign. There is always more to consider when you are solving a coding problem.
Show off by asking the interviewer questions, and ask if there is another way to solve the challenge.
The important thing is that you never stick with the first solution and don’t jump straight to the code.
Your ability to analyse and the reason is what will get you closer to that dream job at Amazon.
Brush up on your knowledge of algorithms and data structure.
Amazon interview coding exercises always involve algorithms and data structure. Although these are fundamental topics, we tend to forget them over time.
You’ll need to go over them again to pass the code challenge exercises. Set aside time in your schedule to reinforce your knowledge of algorithms and data structure.
Include the book Cracking the Code Interview in your diet.
The master book for anyone who wants to understand how Amazon recruitment interviews work and how to put them in check.
It was written by a Google software engineer, who reveals insights and behind-the-scenes data on how the selection process works at the world’s most innovative companies.
We recommend you read this because all the information you will read there, you will also see in your interview with Amazon. 90% are exercises and the technical part, while in the first chapter they talk about the recruitment process. You will also learn how to discover those hidden details and clues within a question within its content.
Reading this book is one of the best ways to pass Amazon job interviews. So we urge you to make it part of your application preparation plan.