Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My Interviews with Amazon

thesocietea.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 270 posts

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#101

Post by vonmoltke »

wernercd wrote: post #71
jc4p wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have just under ten years of experience and lead teams of developers, Amazon routinely spams me asking me to do 120 min online coding tasks before even a phone screen too. It's just fucking disrespectful of my time, to be honest.

I'm at a new job where the "old team" of two developers is being replaced by 5 devs... the old team had ~15 years of experience and can't code their way out of a wet paper bag. Not saying anything about YOU... experience is important... but 15 years experience doesn't mean 15 years of good experience or lack of bad habits.

So, what were they doing for 15 years and why weren't they replaced sooner?

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#102

Post by [deleted] »

SmellTheGlove wrote: post #42
hellogoodbyeeee wrote: post #12

I'm a little confused. The recruiter said that $170-$200k was an acceptable range. Then they offered him the position for significantly less than that. I don't understand why he even considered the offer. I would have been really upset that they wasted my time with a bait and switch. Am wrong for feeling that way? Are there other factors to consider?

No, you aren't wrong. That recruiter did not do a good job. The salary range talk is always up front to ensure that candidates and the company aren't wasting one anothers time. If the process gets to the offer stage, it needs to be in the range discussed up front. It costs me money (in terms of PTO) to come out and interview, and it costs the company thousands in time and expenses to conduct it. That recruiter essent…

[deleted]

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#103

Post by johnwheeler »

dominotw wrote: post #61
collyw wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned that sort of stuff 15 years ago. By now it is forgotten, but I am perfectly capable of reading up on stuff and relearning it. I learn new stuff all the time in this line of work.

> but I am perfectly capable of reading up on stuff and relearning it How do you prove this to a potential employer though? Also, it should be possible to read up on algorithms for the interview.correct?.

Yes, but in that case you're reading up on algorithms for the sake of the interview and not the job. There, it becomes a filter or rite of passage. There are better filters, and rites of passage (in employment at least) are complete bullshit.

My favorite filter is to just ask the candidate to talk about technology, open ended, like they would to a friend. You get a real sense of what they care about, and you give them a chance to lead the discussion. Do they ask questions back to you (I hope so), or do they monopolize the discussion. Are they even prepared to have an open ended discussion? You'd be surprised how many 'software engineering' candidates can't do that.

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#104

Post by freyir »

hellogoodbyeeee wrote: post #12

I'm a little confused. The recruiter said that $170-$200k was an acceptable range. Then they offered him the position for significantly less than that. I don't understand why he even considered the offer. I would have been really upset that they wasted my time with a bait and switch. Am wrong for feeling that way? Are there other factors to consider?

I've only received one job offer in my lifetime that wasn't open to negotiation.

It was bad form to make an initial offer that far below the author's stated salary requirement, but I'd be shocked if there wasn't room for negotiation. The author didn't mention whether he tried pushing them higher.

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#105

Post by deegles »

rattray wrote: post #57
ryanlm wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll work for them in a heartbeat. Seriously, I want to work somewhere where I'm never bored, and can take part in conversations, etc. It seems like a good place for an ambitious new grad for a few years. If there are any Amazon employees reading this, please reach out!

> I want to work somewhere where I'm never bored, and can take part in conversations, etc. Try a startup?

Anyone would be way more valuable to a startup after a couple of years in industry. I would say that Amazon more so than others (maybe a little biased..) because of the team structure, engineering tools and development practices.

Knowing what I know now, if I had gone to a startup straight out of college I would have been worse than useless.

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#106

Post by riot504 »

wernercd wrote: post #71
jc4p wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have just under ten years of experience and lead teams of developers, Amazon routinely spams me asking me to do 120 min online coding tasks before even a phone screen too. It's just fucking disrespectful of my time, to be honest.

I'm at a new job where the "old team" of two developers is being replaced by 5 devs... the old team had ~15 years of experience and can't code their way out of a wet paper bag. Not saying anything about YOU... experience is important... but 15 years experience doesn't mean 15 years of good experience or lack of bad habits.

Only in programming would this type of statement hold any merit. I was an air traffic controller for 10 years prior to becoming a data scientist. Experience is more than just being able to code (or do your specific job), it brings a wealth of knowledge you have to yet notice or realize.

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#107

Post by Bartweiss »

wernercd wrote: post #71
jc4p wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have just under ten years of experience and lead teams of developers, Amazon routinely spams me asking me to do 120 min online coding tasks before even a phone screen too. It's just fucking disrespectful of my time, to be honest.

I'm at a new job where the "old team" of two developers is being replaced by 5 devs... the old team had ~15 years of experience and can't code their way out of a wet paper bag. Not saying anything about YOU... experience is important... but 15 years experience doesn't mean 15 years of good experience or lack of bad habits.

I totally get why someone would push coding tasks even on experienced devs - if you're meeting someone without a recommendation then history doesn't guarantee value.

But it still seems weird to push heavy coding sessions without even speaking to the candidate, and that seems weirder the more experienced people are. You might assume that a new grad doesn't care what work they're doing and can just be interviewed for a job in "software", but why throw somebody with 15 years behind them into a funnel without even talking about what it's a funnel for?

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#108

Post by brianwawok »

superuser2 wrote: post #72
brianwawok wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh that is great, robots hiring staff.

Not defending it, but when you and your fellow engineers are spending a majority of the time interviewing instead of programming, such a system is certainly tempting.

Oh I agree. I think if an engineer has to spend over 2-4h a week interviewing long term you are spending too much time on hiring.

A little break to talk to humans is good. Shouldn't be your main job, unless you work in HR or something...

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#109

Post by SonicSoul »

Great write-up! I'd love to see the linked in profile that generates such great leads. I've tried to improve and polish my linked in profile but still not hearing from recruiters. I must be doing something horribly wrong

Re: My Interviews with Amazon

#110

Post by mrswag »

ozten wrote: post #41

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I don't think it is a good idea to post the actual questions one is asked. As an interviewer, I like to use the same question so I can calibrate across candidates.

They made him lose his time, I think it's fair game.
Post reply on HN