I just recently helped a classmate with a Amazon Four rounds of VO, the whole thing is really a double test of physical and mental strength. Linen's virtual interviews now generally do not breath four rounds in a row, but divided into two days or three days to complete. This time is two days to get it done, the advantage is not always tense nerves, but the disadvantage is that you have to stay up all night for two nights, the domestic interview friends can certainly feel the same.
I'll take you through what was tested by round below.
Background of trainees
Academic background: North American CS Master's Degree
internshipSoftware Engineering internship at a mid-sized local tech company focusing on back-end and data processing.
job search objectivesAmazon is one of the top choices when it comes to impacting SDE new grad positions at major North American firms
This VO was scheduled to take place during North American work hours, with four rounds completed over two days. Although it is not four rounds in a row, the intensity of two consecutive days is not small. Luckily, I had done a couple of mock-ups before, so I basically didn't lose my rhythm on the spot.
Round 1: Coding + Resume Deep Dive + LP
The first round was an interview with the national guy. Started off with the usual introductions, then followed up with a few technical questions about the projects in the resume. Then I was asked about two Leadership Principles:
- Take the initiative to assume responsibility
- Simplify complex problems
Both of these questions are relatively routine and won't be too difficult.
The latter is two coding passes:
- Squares of a Sorted Array(Ordered array squared) → Double pointer gets it done.
- Rotting Oranges(rotting oranges) → BFS straight through.
Overall it's a warm-up, not too fast-paced.
Round 2: Behavioral + OOD
The second round was with older American brothers, and the entire exchange was in English. Main content:
- BQ: For example taken on tasks beyond one's dutiesThe question that follows is "What was the final result? Did it work?" Here's another one. Dive Deep, wants you to dig into the details to the end.
- OOD: The Classic Design Elevator.
This round is more of a "communication skills + system design" combo, and the logic has to be made clear.
Round 3: Bar Raiser (high pressure on purely behavioral questions)
The third round was bar raiser, straight through the whole behavioral. the interviewer was Indian and was particularly fond of interrupting, constantly pressing for details:
- The most complex project → follow-up: trade-offs
- The most failed project → what did you learn
- What would you do if you found out that yours is not the best way
This round is the most stressful, the questions are very deep digging, the answer must be able to explain themselves, otherwise it is very easy to be pursued to the shell. Fortunately, I had prepared enough stories in advance, and I was able to make flexible adjustments on the spot.
Round 4: BQ + Coding
The final round interviewer was white, started with a 20 minute chat about regular BQs and then came up with a coding question later on:
- Given a string and prefix_len, compress it into: the first prefix_len characters + the last character + the number of omitted characters in between.
- Follow-up: if it is a set of strings, the compression result must be guaranteed unique.
It's not a difficult idea, but follow-up should consider the hash set to avoid conflicts.
Amazon Interview Experience
It really felt like the energy was drained out of me after these four rounds. To summarize:
Coding section: It's basically LeetCode medium questions, just familiarize yourself with BFS/DFS, double pointers.
OOD section: Classic design questions like elevator/parking garage should be answered in an organized manner.
Part BQ: It's the main event, especially the bar raiser, the kind of frantic questioning that you can only do if you've prepared for it in advance without panicking.
A few tips for those preparing for Amazon VO
BQ, don't take it lightly.: Leadership Principles makes up a very large portion of Linen's interviews.
Prepare 6-8 core cases: Each case should be able to cover multiple LPs and hold up to 5-10 minutes of follow-up questions.
Coding to maintain proficiency: Pay attention to boundary conditions when writing code, and ideally explain them as you go.
Do more mock interviews: Experience stressful scenarios ahead of time so you don't mess up on the field.
Flax OA/VO Tutoring, we've got it covered!
Amazon VO is really intense, but it's totally solid if you're prepared. A lot of people fall off the wagon, not in the code, but in the BQ. don't underestimate this part, it's really the deciding factor.
If you're also rushing the big players like Amazon, Google, Meta, and TikTok, it's recommended to make sure you've simulated the full process a few times.ProgramhelpThis side of a long time to help students do mock and combat assistance, the question bank and process are very familiar with, can help you in high-pressure interviews to help you sort out the ideas, timely reminder of the details, to avoid the scene of the pit.
