I got a recruiter email from Amazon Seattle this morning. I’ve heard nothing but bad things. How is it really? The teams she mentioned were machine learning, big data, and browse. This would be for a software engineer role and I have 17 years of experience.
I mean, it depends on the team. I'm working under 40 hr every week, making some good $, and life is chill. Meanwhile, someone else in another team might be having a shit time. Really varies a lot.
Usually for the same comp?
Can’t really ask for much better than that.
Yeah team-based for sure. Are you interviewing for Sr SDE or principal? Worth going through the process if you're interested in a change. Expect to do some coding! People with as much experience as you often become "architects" who are sometimes a bit rusty when it comes to getting into things, so make sure you're warmed up. There are great things going on at Amazon, and it's easier than ever to change teams if you're not happy where you started.
Sr SDE I think. Recruiter contacted me through LinkedIn. I am bad at these new-timey code interviews. I’ve been practicing because I want a better job.
Yeah it can be a tough loop, but if you're prepared, it's quite doable. You'll likely have more experienced interviewers than they do for the average interview as well, which should play in your favor. Do yourself a favor and look up Amazon leadership principles. Then, for each one, write down one or two stories from the last 3-4 years of your experience that highlights that LP. Then, review it the night before your interview. Nervous candidates often have trouble thinking of examples when blindsided with a behavioral question, even if there are lots of examples. So, by sharing a diverse set of stories (and preparing a bit as I suggested), you'll really stand out on the LP front. That will be highly important for someone in your position. For coding... Yeah, do a bunch of leetcode/hackerrank. Practice on a real whiteboard, and practice out loud. You'll know when you're ready; you won't get in your own way, and you'll have an easy time focusing on the problem at hand. Good luck!
I went through similar with similar exp. before going in I said my java was rusty. I passed the coding screen and all the algorithm whiteboard and even the bar raiser liked me according to recruiter. However they turned me down because my Java was rusty (OO specifically). Which is what I told them since I’ve been doing functional languages the past 7 years :) so was a waste of time: they asked me to brush up on OO and interview again. Pass
My java is SUPER rusty. Like I learned it in college and haven’t looked at it since rusty. I graduated in 1999.
This is surprising, I did over 100 interviews while at Amazon and I never would have no-hired someone because their Java was rusty. Unless they chose Java as their language of choice for whiteboard, then I assumed it was their best
You should clarify if the group uses Java then. I was told by another recruiter “off the record” any other team at Amazon but the one I talked to would have made an offer. So I guess I got unlucky or lucky :)
That's a good point, work with your recruiter to make sure the team is a good match. If you get rejected because you haven't been coding in Java, that's ridiculous. If you get rejected because your OO is weak, that is a little less ridiculous, so... Brush up on that stuff if needed.
The point here was I was told it would be fine. I mentioned I hadn’t been using Java and the recruiter at that time initially pushed me through when clearly they wanted someone who had memorized the API. Also I was even more clear my work in functional languages and even Scala had turned me off to bloated OO. Again was told they like to see diverse skills. I just think sometimes it feels Amazon Recruitors tend to push too hard. I enjoyed everyone I met, I hated the OO question because it would have been 10 lines of Clojure to solve. I also pointed this out to the manager in the phone screen and did my coding challenge in JavaScript using a functional style before I even got on a plane and wasted 3 days total.
If you’ve heard nothing but bad things, why consider it? I think it’s important to be upfront about what you expect and what you’re willing to tolerate when you’re talking with any big company. I was there for 10+ years. Most of that time was positive, and every org I worked in was different than other orgs. Things have changed since I left but it was pretty bad when I finally did leave.
I always assume that most Glassdoor reviews are from disgruntled ex-employees. I’d like to hear from people who actually work there.
Amazon has been fantastic for me. I love the culture. Not everybody does. Seattle less so. I like to do outdoor things so it's been ok. Hiking, skiing, etc, but definitely fewer urban things going on than bigger cities.
Don't pay too much attention on LinkedIn messages, recruiters send thousands of messages every single day without much thought put into candidates profile Try to figure out which team and what they are doing.. if it's machine learning or big data, java is less likely language to use.. again language is not an issue as long as you are good in OOP and problem solving..
I’ve experienced a range at Amazon; first team was utter garbage and a mired, political mess. Seriously wondered what I stepped into because most of the people I encountered were unimpressive. And unfriendly, too. Then I switched teams and I like and respect every single person I work with, and would rank the experience as the best in 15 years of professional experience. It’s hard to evaluate the team from the outside. My recruiter swore up and down that the team I would be joining was amazing. I believed her, and obviously she was wrong. But, transferring internally was a breeze. So I’d pursue it. Amazon has some awesome opportunities, and the great people are truly exceptional.
AWS is way more interesting than the retail side. They also have much higher margins, so aren’t subject to the same scarcity budgets. It’s a different world.
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Haha, asking this question will get the most polarizing comments on Blind. I have some bias (currently working here), but objectively I recommend going through the process with an open mind. Like any massive organization, there will be pockets of Good and Bad. Depends on the org, team and manager. Good luck!