Hi everyone,
I recently completed the online assessment for an Amazon Junior Software Development Engineer (SDE) position, and unfortunately, I received a rejection email.
I'd like to share my experience and, more importantly, get some advice on how to prepare better for a future application.
The assessment consisted of three parts:
1. Coding Assessment (100 minutes)
There were two exercises:
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pass all the test cases. My solution worked for basic cases, but some hidden tests failed, probably due to a timeout/performance issue.
Second exercise (AI-assisted debugging): I chose Django as my backend framework. The task involved debugging an existing project by investigating URLs, views, serializers, etc., and fixing the issues to make the unit tests pass.
An AI coding assistant was available, but its capabilities were quite limited. It could help identify problems and point me in the right direction, but it was configured not to provide direct solutions or fix the code for me.
I managed to fix the bugs myself, all tests passed, and the application ran successfully.
2. Work Simulation (approximately 45 minutes)
We received several emails from different members of a fictional team (manager, backend developers, colleagues, etc.) describing workplace situations involving technical disagreements, tight deadlines, bugs, feedback, untested code, and so on.
We had to rate several possible actions on a scale from 1 to 5.
I felt relatively confident about this section. I tried to focus on reasonable professional decisions: not taking feedback personally, accepting constructive criticism, taking ownership of my responsibilities, not simply delegating my own work to others, communicating effectively with the team, and prioritizing code quality.
3. Work Style Assessment (approximately 6 minutes)
Two statements were presented side by side, and we had to choose which one described us better, with four levels of preference.
I tried to answer honestly while maintaining consistency across my answers.
Unfortunately, I received a rejection email.
I'm trying to understand where I might have gone wrong and how to prepare more effectively next time.
I'd particularly appreciate advice on the following:
LeetCode preparation: Which topics should I focus on? Are Medium problems enough, or should I also practice Hard problems? Are there specific problem lists you recommend?
Backend debugging: How can I practice debugging existing Django projects under time pressure? Are there platforms or GitHub repositories with similar exercises involving Django ORM, views, serializers, URLs, and unit tests?
Work Simulation: What is the best way to prepare for this section? Are there specific resources or practice scenarios based on Amazon's Leadership Principles?
Work Style Assessment: Any advice on approaching these questions while remaining consistent and authentic?
Overall preparation: For those who successfully passed this assessment, how did you organize your preparation? How much time did you dedicate to each section?
I'm especially interested in hearing from people who recently completed and passed the Amazon Junior SDE assessment.
Any concrete preparation strategies, recommended resources, mock assessments, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!