4 ms·

> It gets you the interview, you can pass the coding test but then get told that they don't think you're a 'cultural fit'. a recent AMZN innovation to optimize

by trhway 5y ago

> It gets you the interview, you can pass the coding test but then get told that they don't think you're a 'cultural fit'. a recent AMZN innovation to optimize that process out - an explicitly stated max years of experience cap that thus effectively bars you even from applying (previous post with some replies https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27786601 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27786601 ) You may be willing and qualified, yet because of age you can't even apply. Feels just nice.

Tade0 5y ago
How old is "old"? I'm 32, is my Lifeclock already red/black?
- trhway 5y ago
  may be. What i saw was a 10 years cap, and otherwise the next level on the menu was SDE 5 (i.e. principal, expected to have publications, etc., and only rare individuals can make SDE5 coming from outside as i gathered from googling) which i can only wish you great luck passing the interview for. Note: it was a real unambiguous cap, explicitly stressed as the strict cap 2 times, not that typical "we're looking for 5-10 years experience", and it was made clear that for exceeding the cap - either apply for SDE5 or don't bother to apply at all.
  - hinoki 5y ago
    Maybe they were talking about an experience cap for hiring at a given (low) level? Which is also stupid, but since many companies (I have no experience with Amazon, but I do know Microsoft and Facebook will) “manage you out” if you don’t get promotions at a minimum rate, makes some kind of sense. BTW, SDE 5 isn’t an Amazon level. There is L5, which corresponds to SDE II, which is only one promotion from college hire. And there is Principal, which is L7. https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google&track=Software%20Engineer https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google&track=Software...
- blooalien 5y ago
  Oooo! Nice "Logan's Run" reference! You win this thread in my book. ;)
pc86 5y ago
This is just another one of your comments saying the same thing. And the top reply is a current employee saying it's not true. Do you actually have any proof about what you're asserting?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- trhway 5y ago
  i guess it is a recent development as i don't remember seeing that from AMZN recruiters before and thus those current employees may not experienced it when they were recruited. I think it is an outrageous borderline illegal practice worth mentioning in related public forums, as I think it may become a widely accepted practice if not called. If you think about it - i posted about multi-trillion dollar company with an army of lawyers what probably [IANAL] can be construed as libel if not true. Would i be posting it if i didn't have documentary support for it? ( AMZN has it on their email servers too so it isn't out if the blue for them)
  - WaitWaitWha 5y ago
    I am calling this horse pucky. I am going to throw my anecdotal feedback to counter your anecdote. I checked with amzn recruiter friends and they were all going "wha?"... Their current biggest problem is "getting someone who is 50% better then the hiring team". Cutting people with extensive experience would be counterproductive to this goal.
  - pc86 5y ago
    So you don't have any corroborating evidence, any sources, anything other than your word? You might as well be making it up. "Well I'd get in trouble if I'm wrong" isn't a good defense, especially on a pseudonymous forum where people post wrong information constantly. I think the odds of AMZN trawling through your comments to try and figure out who you are just to pursue libel charges are as close to zero as anything could be.
_carbyau_ 5y ago
Could you do something like: I have 1 year experience. I also happen to have 2, 3, 4... etc. In total I have 15 but that includes any lesser number of years too.
- foldr 5y ago
  Going off on a bit of a tangent, this is a classical problem in linguistics. Is the literal meaning of "John has three cats" "John has exactly three cats" or "John has at least three cats"? https://semantics.uchicago.edu/kennedy/classes/w14/implicature/readings/spector13-llc.pdf https://semantics.uchicago.edu/kennedy/classes/w14/implicatu...
- trhway 5y ago
  The language is clear "no more than".

by trhway 5y ago

Tade0 5y ago

How old is "old"? I'm 32, is my Lifeclock already red/black?

trhway 5y ago
may be. What i saw was a 10 years cap, and otherwise the next level on the menu was SDE 5 (i.e. principal, expected to have publications, etc., and only rare individuals can make SDE5 coming from outside as i gathered from googling) which i can only wish you great luck passing the interview for. Note: it was a real unambiguous cap, explicitly stressed as the strict cap 2 times, not that typical "we're looking for 5-10 years experience", and it was made clear that for exceeding the cap - either apply for SDE5 or don't bother to apply at all.
- hinoki 5y ago
  Maybe they were talking about an experience cap for hiring at a given (low) level? Which is also stupid, but since many companies (I have no experience with Amazon, but I do know Microsoft and Facebook will) “manage you out” if you don’t get promotions at a minimum rate, makes some kind of sense. BTW, SDE 5 isn’t an Amazon level. There is L5, which corresponds to SDE II, which is only one promotion from college hire. And there is Principal, which is L7. https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google&track=Software%20Engineer https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google&track=Software...
blooalien 5y ago
Oooo! Nice "Logan's Run" reference! You win this thread in my book. ;)

pc86 5y ago

This is just another one of your comments saying the same thing. And the top reply is a current employee saying it's not true. Do you actually have any proof about what you're asserting?

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
trhway 5y ago
i guess it is a recent development as i don't remember seeing that from AMZN recruiters before and thus those current employees may not experienced it when they were recruited. I think it is an outrageous borderline illegal practice worth mentioning in related public forums, as I think it may become a widely accepted practice if not called. If you think about it - i posted about multi-trillion dollar company with an army of lawyers what probably [IANAL] can be construed as libel if not true. Would i be posting it if i didn't have documentary support for it? ( AMZN has it on their email servers too so it isn't out if the blue for them)
- WaitWaitWha 5y ago
  I am calling this horse pucky. I am going to throw my anecdotal feedback to counter your anecdote. I checked with amzn recruiter friends and they were all going "wha?"... Their current biggest problem is "getting someone who is 50% better then the hiring team". Cutting people with extensive experience would be counterproductive to this goal.
- pc86 5y ago
  So you don't have any corroborating evidence, any sources, anything other than your word? You might as well be making it up. "Well I'd get in trouble if I'm wrong" isn't a good defense, especially on a pseudonymous forum where people post wrong information constantly. I think the odds of AMZN trawling through your comments to try and figure out who you are just to pursue libel charges are as close to zero as anything could be.

_carbyau_ 5y ago

Could you do something like: I have 1 year experience. I also happen to have 2, 3, 4... etc. In total I have 15 but that includes any lesser number of years too.

foldr 5y ago
Going off on a bit of a tangent, this is a classical problem in linguistics. Is the literal meaning of "John has three cats" "John has exactly three cats" or "John has at least three cats"? https://semantics.uchicago.edu/kennedy/classes/w14/implicature/readings/spector13-llc.pdf https://semantics.uchicago.edu/kennedy/classes/w14/implicatu...
trhway 5y ago
The language is clear "no more than".