Candidate Information
Status: Final-year undergraduate student (ECE), seeking internship opportunities
Location: Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, India
Interview Date: March 20, 2025
Target Position: SDE-1 Intern (6 months)
Overview of Interview Process
Initial Screening
Duration: Resume shortlisting followed by Online Assessment (1.5 hours)
Method: On-campus (proctored digital test)
Focus: DSA and Personality Assessment
Key Questions:
3 DSA problems based on Hash Maps, Linked Lists, and Graphs
Personality test with approximately 50 questions
Obstacles:
The DSA section consisted of one easy, one medium, and one hard problem (LeetCode level).
Solved around 2.5 questions. The third one was only partially solved due to time.
The personality test required consistent focus after a mentally intense coding round.
Technical Round
Duration: ~1 hour 10 minutes
Method: Video Interview via Amazon Chime
Focus: Problem-solving, logical reasoning, and DSA application
Key Questions:
A question that translated to detecting a loop in a linked list (approach + implementation)
A Tree + Dynamic Programming question requiring optimization under constraints
Obstacles:
The questions were not direct and needed careful interpretation from a descriptive paragraph.
Initially struggled with the first problem due to nervousness but managed to solve it after a hint in story format.
Faced difficulty in the second problem as I had not practiced much on trees and DP; required multiple hints.
Ended up with syntax errors and incomplete implementation due to time running out, but conveyed my final approach clearly.
Post-Interview Reflections
Company Culture Insights:
The interviewers were friendly and encouraging. They took time to make me feel comfortable right from the beginning. They introduced themselves and made the environment conversational, not just evaluative. It was evident that Amazon values logical thinking over memorization, as they carefully assessed how I approached a problem rather than just the solution.
Work Environment:
The discussion indicated a flexible work culture. While one interviewer mentioned work-life balance was good due to flexibility, another mentioned occasional pressure to meet deadlines.
Benefits Highlight:
Monthly stipend: ₹1,10,000
Relocation bonus: ₹2,00,000
Additional perks: Meal card, cab facilities, and goodies
Evaluator Feedback:
Although not directly communicated, it was clear that the evaluation focused heavily on DSA proficiency and problem-solving ability. They could easily differentiate between memorized answers and genuinely understood solutions.
Suggestions for Improvement:
More emphasis on systems thinking could help—being able to explain why a certain approach works or doesn’t, even under pressure, is crucial.
Practice interpreting problems that are described contextually rather than in direct problem-statement format.
Additional Information
Online assessment held on February 24, 2025
Interview invite received on March 17, 2025
Final interview conducted on March 20, 2025
Initially, only 2 students were selected, and 4 were put on the waiting list
Eventually, 8 students were offered the internship
Unfortunately, I was not among the final 8, but I found the process insightful and motivating
Closing Note
Despite not getting selected, this was a valuable experience. It taught me the importance of not just practicing standard questions but also developing the ability to interpret open-ended problems. The Amazon interview process was fair, DSA-focused, and conducted with professionalism and empathy. I look forward to preparing better and aiming higher in the future opportunities.