Tech IndustryFeb 13, 2019

Amazon coding assessment evaluation

Hi, Does anyone know how amazon coding assessment is evaluated? Do they look at the coding approach description or it it just based on automated report? I recently attempted, for 2nd question my code had a minor bug so test cases didn't pass but the approach is correct. Will there be any chance for onsite ?

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GE vaMq78 Feb 13, 2019

I took the coding assessment couple of months ago.. I finished both the questions and all the test cases passed and yet I did not make it to next round... My approach description was not up to mark..

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qntryzx Feb 13, 2019

Whole take home assignment is BS I feel, same thing happened with me as to @vaMq78, recuiter informed later there were some hidden test cases which failed. Sometimes cannot get what they are looking for, and hard to get on the same page to understand the requirements. This is just my opinion!!! If anyone has there version is their thing not mine!

Amazon kwq7812 Feb 13, 2019

There's an automatic review first. If the results are excellent (both problems pass all automatic test cases and the analyzed runtime is at or above average for the problem), you will bypass the phone screen and go to on-site without any human review. If at least one problem passes most or all cases, but there are significant problems (poor runtime, a lot of missed cases, etc) it'll then usually be handed over to a trained SDE for manual review. They'll look at your code and the description of your solution and watch a replay of what you typed, and will then either recommend a phone screen or a reject/recycle (you can't bypass the phone screen through manual review). If you fail to complete both problems (i.e. all or most of the test cases fail for both), you'll be rejected automatically. Frankly, I fail at least 90% of the assessments I review manually. A lot of times, the code is shit and/or the candidate didn't even attempt one of the problems. I'm actually much less forgiving of online candidates than I am in a phone screen because they get 2-3x more time for problems of similar or even easier difficulty, and aren't trying to bang out their work under pressure (i.e. talking aloud to somebody who's watching their every move in real time). Furthermore, I don't have an opportunity to ask you questions or probe your thought process, so I only have the end result to go on, and therefore expect your shit to be as good as you can possibly make it; you should treat it as something you'd be submitting for a production code review (for experienced/SDE2+ candidates: lack of comments, poor structure, or sloppy/generic variable names are an automatic fail even if the code works).

Overstock.com yLUF22 OP Feb 13, 2019

Thank you for clear explanation

JPMorgan Chase yjdyjnwj Nov 20, 2023

I had an OA on Hackerrank. I was stuck with a coding question. So, I solved the next question and came back to the first one. I switched tabs multiple times to google some info on built in functions. I got a warning the first time I switched tabs that activity is being monitored. Hackerrank stated in the instructions that language documentation can be referred. I thought it’s okay to google. I barely spent 3 min outside the test window. I took sometime but cleared all the test cases. I barely spent 3min outside the test window. My video was also on. 1. Is this a red flag? 2. If yes, will my profile be flagged and will it impact my future applications with the same company? Kindly answer. Thanks in advance.

Hubspot hebtidhevh Feb 13, 2019

I recently took assessment (SDE 2). Answered both correctly but had a small bug in the 2nd problem (missed a few TC).

Capital One 10347374 Feb 13, 2019

Did you pass to onsite ?

Hubspot hebtidhevh Feb 13, 2019

Yep, no phone screen.

Zipcar bpg542 Apr 29, 2020

I ran out of time with my exercise, and if i had literally another 5-10 minutes i would have finished no problem. One thing that came to mind is that these test take home assignments are just screaming for plagiarism. After i had finished I googled even a part of the problem and found the solutions in tons of different locations. What is to stop some from copying the given solution, let alone completely, but even just getting a hint is a HUGE advantage to folks, Is the idea that they will catch the fraud on the subsequent rounds? Im not sure what the point is as a filter, if it cant catch folks searching out the exact solution.

Microsoft eMBz77 Jan 24, 2021

Does it matter if the mentioned time complexity for one problem is wrong?