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One of the things that really sucks about interviewing at Amazon is that half of the interview is a kool-aid test. Did you study our leadership principles insi

One of the things that really sucks about interviewing at Amazon is that half of the interview is a kool-aid test. Did you study our leadership principles inside and out and prepare examples from your past work experience that illustrate said principles? No? That's too bad, you're not a culture fit. I think the people that stick around Amazon for a long time are in denial that it's Office Space come true.

Arnavion 4y ago
Yep. The day before my interview, HR called me to link me to the "Amazon Leadership Principles" and told me to memorize one or two examples for each of them. Then during each of the five interview sections the interviewer would name one principle and I'd have to recite a story about how I accomplished it. Yeah bro, I totally demonstrated "Insist on the Highest Standards" by being really rigid on a code review that one time. Trust me, for real for real. I don't know what working there is actually like but the interview made it sound like a goddamn cult.
- Moissanite 4y ago
  > I don't know what working there is actually like but the interview made it sound like a goddamn cult. I felt the same way on my induction ("Day 1"...) - it quickly became clear that the main relevance of LPs was as a weapon to automatically win an argument. Trying to get someone to do something they ought not really to be on the hook for? Ownership! Bias for action! Person objects to your suggestion because of a flaw in your logic? Think big! Dive deep! Disagree and commit!
- AgentOrange1234 4y ago
  The interviewer can pick up a lot from these stories. Being rigid on a particular code review tells a lot about the specific scope of your work and what matters to you. Followups might be about how your critique was delivered and received, i.e., your interpersonal skills. Followups about impact can tell about your judgement and how you think about the balance between quality and speed, etc.

Arnavion 4y ago

Yep. The day before my interview, HR called me to link me to the "Amazon Leadership Principles" and told me to memorize one or two examples for each of them. Then during each of the five interview sections the interviewer would name one principle and I'd have to recite a story about how I accomplished it. Yeah bro, I totally demonstrated "Insist on the Highest Standards" by being really rigid on a code review that one time. Trust me, for real for real. I don't know what working there is actually like but the interview made it sound like a goddamn cult.

Moissanite 4y ago
> I don't know what working there is actually like but the interview made it sound like a goddamn cult. I felt the same way on my induction ("Day 1"...) - it quickly became clear that the main relevance of LPs was as a weapon to automatically win an argument. Trying to get someone to do something they ought not really to be on the hook for? Ownership! Bias for action! Person objects to your suggestion because of a flaw in your logic? Think big! Dive deep! Disagree and commit!
AgentOrange1234 4y ago
The interviewer can pick up a lot from these stories. Being rigid on a particular code review tells a lot about the specific scope of your work and what matters to you. Followups might be about how your critique was delivered and received, i.e., your interpersonal skills. Followups about impact can tell about your judgement and how you think about the balance between quality and speed, etc.