RejectedSDE 1 at Amazon
- Difficulty
- Process took
- 2-3 Weeks
- Rounds
- 4
- Format
- Remote
- Applied via
- Company Website
How it went
- Don’t Rush: Take your time to think through the coding problems and explain your reasoning clearly.
- Prepare for Everything: Brush up on core concepts, leadership principles, and problem-solving techniques.
- Be Honest: If you don’t know the answer, don’t be afraid to admit it. Just show your thought process and willingness to learn.
What they would tell you
- Don’t Rush: Take your time to think through the coding problems and explain your reasoning clearly.
- Prepare for Everything: Brush up on core concepts, leadership principles, and problem-solving techniques.
- Be Honest: If you don’t know the answer, don’t be afraid to admit it. Just show your thought process and willingness to learn.
How to prepare
- Data Structures and Algorithms: I did well in basic DSA problems, but some advanced topics like tree balancing and graph algorithms still need more review. If you’re preparing for Amazon, make sure to cover all topics, even the more obscure ones.
- Time Management in Coding Rounds: While I solved the problems, I felt like I could have optimized my time better in the coding rounds. I recommend practicing with timed mock interviews.
Round by round
- 1
Online Assessment60 min
The first problem was straightforward, and I solved it with ease. The second problem was more challenging, but I was able to solve it with good logic and optimizations. It was similar to the 'Subarray Sums Divisible by K' problem. After completing the coding questions, I moved on to the LP questions.
- 2
Technical Interview 160 min
The interviewer asked me about binary trees, including basic tree operations and different types of balanced trees (Red-Black, AVL). I was expected to explain their properties, how they differ, and how they are implemented. I also had to code out a basic binary tree and perform operations like insertion and deletion. We spent a lot of time discussing tree traversal and tree balancing techniques. As we were wrapping up, the interviewer asked a few follow-up questions on leadership principles.
- 3
Technical Interview 260 min
The problem was to connect linked lists in a reversed alternating pattern, for example From: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 To: 1 -> 5 -> 2 -> 4 -> 3 I explained the approach and came up with a solution using two pointers to rearrange the nodes in the list.
- 4
Leadership Principles + Coding90 min
This round focused on leadership principles and problem-solving. There were: Two LP questions: These were classic Amazon situational questions, asking how I would approach certain work situations. One of them involved dealing with a team conflict, and the other one was about how I prioritized tasks under tight deadlines. I tried to answer them clearly and used examples from my past work. Next Greater Element Problem: This coding problem involved finding the next greater element in an array. I used the monotonic stack technique to solve it efficiently and explained the time complexity to the interviewer.
What came up
A candidate-reported account, lightly edited. Interview processes change by team and date.