{"id":7,"date":"2023-01-13T06:33:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T06:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/schaefkr\/?p=7"},"modified":"2023-01-13T06:33:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T06:33:31","slug":"3-tips-for-interviewing-for-a-swe-spot-at-aws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/schaefkr\/2023\/01\/13\/3-tips-for-interviewing-for-a-swe-spot-at-aws\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Tips for Interviewing for a SWE Spot at AWS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Image courtesy of Mehmet Ali Peker – Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Summer 2022 I was lucky enough to complete a 3-month Software Engineer (SWE) internship at AWS in Seattle, Washington. The interviewing process was nerve-wracking. It was not only my first time interviewing with AWS but also my first time interviewing for a SWE intern position! Below are 3 tips to help you prepare for an AWS interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Make a spreadsheet & live by it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s no secret that preparing for interview problems on sites such as Leetcode<\/a> is essential for landing a SWE job. There are endless pages of problems to solve on Leetcode, many of which have subtle variations such as Combination Sum<\/em> and Combination Sum II<\/em>. According to CSCareerline.com<\/a>, you should aim to study 150-200 questions for non-FAANG companies and 300-400 questions for FAANG companies<\/strong>. Spoiler alert – I think I only studied about 50 problems, so don’t worry if that number sounds high. Regardless of whether your target number of practice problems is 20 or 1,000, in the delirium of cramming for your interview it’s too easy to lose track of which problems you’ve studied as well as what you’ve learned from each problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Kristin Schaefer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before cracking my first Leetcode problem, I found common interview questions for AWS on sites such as Reddit<\/a> and Medium<\/a>. I set up a spreadsheet and added the corresponding Leetcode practice problem numbers to the list along with the level of difficulty. I also made a comment for lots of notes. After that I added problems from the list of the most common Leetcode problems<\/strong> and I also heavily selected problems from the Leetcode list of Amazon’s most common problems<\/strong>. Note that you will need a membership to Leetcode to see the list of Amazon’s problems, but I think it’s worth it. I would then study problems by the question type. If there was a specific data structure I was week on, I would focus on that for a week at a time. If I felt stuck, I often found great visual explanations of common problems on YouTube. NeetCode<\/a> and CS Dojo<\/a> were two of my favorite channels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Amazon culture is key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Repeat after me: Amazon Leadership Principles<\/strong> and STAR format<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although doing well on the interview problems is important, familiarity with Amazon’s Leadership Principles<\/a> and the STAR format<\/a> is just as important, if not more important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout my internship I was asked to relate my progress and setbacks to the leadership principles<\/strong>. My midterm review and final presentation made heavy use of the principles as well. My exit review with my manager made utilized the STAR format. What I’m getting at is, Amazon’s Leadership Principles and the STAR format are referenced every day at Amazon, so it’s likely that they want you to identify with their leadership principles and be able to communicate successes and failures their language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I found the principles a bit cheesy at first, but after my internship I had a vivid list in my mind of skills I needed to improve and they were all specific leadership principles. I haven’t forgotten that list and it’s a pretty good reminder to strive for higher standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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