I Did 850 Tech Interviews For Amazon And I Learned This

Summary

The speaker recounts their journey from a support engineer at Amazon to a principal software engineer, highlighting the pivotal role of embracing change. They share three key lessons: viewing interviews as a numbers game, understanding that interviews assess potential rather than daily job skills, and the importance of both technical and behavioral performance in securing job offers. The script emphasizes strategic interview preparation and the need to balance technical proficiency with interpersonal skills.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker started at Amazon as a support engineer and felt like a 'digital janitor', leading to a turning point in their career.
• 🔧 The speaker's experience of being the only one on-call motivated them to change careers from support engineer to software developer.
• 💡 The importance of taking action was highlighted, quoting Tony Robbins on the necessity of the pain of staying the same being greater than the pain of change.
• 🎯 The speaker emphasizes the importance of preparation for technical interviews and shares their journey from a heavy on-call load to becoming a principal software engineer.
• 📈 The concept of interviewing as a numbers game is introduced, suggesting that success is not guaranteed even with perfect preparation.
• 🃏 A poker analogy is used to illustrate the unpredictability of interviews and the importance of making good decisions over time.
• 📚 The speaker advises lining up multiple interviews to increase the chances of receiving offers and to avoid emotional investment in a single opportunity.
• 🚫 The lesson of not taking interviews personally is shared, as companies are optimizing for minimal false positives and external factors can influence outcomes.
• 🎲 The difference between limit and no-limit poker games is used as a metaphor for the different approaches needed in interviews compared to day-to-day job skills.
• 👂 The importance of listening to the interviewer and allowing them to guide the conversation is stressed to avoid misunderstandings during the interview.
• 🤔 The potential trap of focusing solely on the technical portion of the interview is warned against, highlighting the significance of the behavioral portion in landing a job.
• 📘 The speaker shares personal strategies for answering behavioral questions effectively and the impact they had on securing job offers.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial role at Amazon?

The speaker started at Amazon in 2006 as a support engineer, responsible for keeping the website up and running.

How did the speaker describe their experience carrying the pager?

The speaker described the experience as challenging, feeling like a 'digital janitor' and being paged more than 100 times a week, which was emotionally and physically draining.

What motivated the speaker to change their career path?

The speaker was motivated to change their career path by the difficult period of being the only one carrying the pager, which led them to realize they didn't want to be a support engineer for the rest of their life.

What did the speaker do to prepare for a career change to software development?

The speaker went all in on preparing for technical interviews to become a software developer, which included studying and practicing for the interview process.

What is the speaker's current position at Amazon?

The speaker is currently an L7 Principal Software Engineer at Amazon.

How many technical interviews has the speaker conducted?

The speaker has conducted 850 technical interviews.

What is the first lesson the speaker learned about the interview process?

The first lesson is that interviewing is a numbers game, and one should not expect to win every time, even with perfect preparation.

Why did the speaker line up multiple interviews instead of just one?

The speaker lined up multiple interviews to increase the chances of receiving an offer and to be selective, understanding that focusing on a single opportunity could lead to disappointment if it didn't work out.

What is the purpose of technical interviews according to the speaker?

The purpose of technical interviews is to ensure that companies never hire a bad candidate, even if it means filtering out people who would otherwise perform well in the job.

What is the second lesson the speaker learned about interview preparation?

The second lesson is that interview preparation should be based on the way things actually are, not the way one thinks they should be, to avoid falling into the trap of preparing for the wrong aspects of the interview.

What is the role of the behavioral portion of an interview according to the speaker?

The behavioral portion of an interview is critical to landing the job, as it allows interviewers to assess a candidate's prior experience, communication skills, and potential fit within the team.

What advice does the speaker give for candidates who perform well technically but not in the behavioral portion?

The speaker advises not to neglect the behavioral portion of the interview, as it can make a significant difference in the final decision, especially if the technical performance is not outstanding.

What is the third lesson the speaker learned about interview preparation?

The third lesson is to avoid target fixation and to ensure a balance between technical and behavioral preparation, as focusing solely on technical aspects can lead to overlooking the importance of the behavioral portion.