Amazon Internship Timeline

Summer 2022, Vancouver, BC

From late May to late August, I worked as a Software Development Engineer (SDE) intern for Amazon EventBridge, a serverless event bus used for application integration on AWS.

Here is the timeline for the entire process from application to the first day of work.

Application to interview

• Mid October 2021: I submitted my intern application on the Amazon University job board. In my university, I knew several people who applied earlier (September/early October) and some who applied as late as February 2022.
• Late October 2021: 1 week after submitting my application, I received links for the online assessments (OA). In 2021, there were two OAs: the coding assessment and the work simulation.
  • Coding Assessment
    • Platform: HackerRank (like LeetCode)
    • Format: 2 algorithm (LeetCode style) questions
    • Timing: 90 minutes
    • Completion deadline: 5 days after I received the email
    • Difficulty: Question assignment is random; both of the questions I received were easy LeetCode Mediums
    • Languages: I used Python. The assessment supports C, C++, C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, Objective C, Python, Ruby, Scala, or Swift.
  • Work Simulation
    • Platform: Internal
    • Format: Multiple choice questions as you role-play a SDE during a normal work day, then a personality test (workstyles assessment)
    • Timing: 90 minutes. I don't remember the exact breakdown between the work simulation and the workstyles assessment but I remember almost running out of time for the work simulation.
    • Completion deadline: 5 days after I received the email; I received the Work Simulation OA email 1 day after I submitted my coding assessment.
    • The work simulation has a couple of "technical" questions that do not require knowledge of a specific programming language but instead focus on general problem solving.
    • Always keep the Leadership Principles in mind when answering questions on the work simulation and workstyles assessment. Remember, this assessment is a screen that determines whether you fit Amazon's peculiar culture.
• Late November 2021: OA results processed and I moved on to the interview stage. I was originally scheduled to interview in the first week of December but was delayed to the second week. This gave me an extra week to prepare.
• Early December 2021: Interview
  • Platform: Amazon Chime
  • Format: Questions focused on Leadership Principles, then technical questions. I got a LeetCode Medium on graphs/trees but some of my friends got multiple questions and system design questions.
  • Timing: 45 minutes to 1 hour
  • In my interview, I answered the technical question using Python. I used a collaborative tool with syntax highlighting but code could not be executed. Manual tracing is important - my initial solution had a bug, but I stepped through my code, determined the fault, and fixed it.

Offer to start date

After your interview, once you see the "Moved to another position" in the Amazon University job portal, you passed the interview.

• Early December 2021: 3 days after my interview, I received an offer for SDE 1 Intern in Vancouver. I had until December 30 to accept the offer.
• Mid December 2021: I accepted the offer. During the Fall 2021 semester, AMZN was my only offer so the choice was easy. The offer letter will have a manager on it but it will likely not be your final team/organization.
• Mid December 2021: After I accepted the offer, I was asked to confirm my start date (last week of May 2022). Internships are 12-weeks long; depending on your performance during the internship, your manager may offer to extend your term by 1 or 2 weeks.
• March 2022: Pre-boarding tasks
  • Background check
  • Relocation: Amazon will reimburse relocation to/from the city your internship is in. They also provide a housing stipend to all interns regardless of whether you needed to relocate or not.
  • Request IT equipment (laptop)
  • Other miscellaneous tasks
  • Team confirmation
• Mid May 2022: Call with manager
• Late May 2022: Start date

Preparation

For algorithm questions, I feel that knowing the patterns well is crucial. Hard problems can be skipped if time is a concern but aim to do LeetCode Medium problems in each pattern. NeetCode has a list of patterns as well as recommended questions within each area.

Of course, you should also leverage your coursework to prepare for technical interviews. For me, the relevant courses were a freshman introduction to algorithms/data structures course, a sophomore data structures course, and a sophomore discrete mathematics course where they covered graph theory.

For behavioural questions, as the interview was conducted virtually, I prepared a spreadsheet of stories that mapped to each Leadership Principle. Each entry was written using the STAR format so my responses were thorough yet concise.

General Advice

It is possible, but difficult, to get into Amazon as a freshman or sophomore (1st/2nd year) student. Personally, I applied to Amazon in early sophomore year and didn't even advance to the OA. As a junior student with 8 months of co-op experience, I got the offer. Many of my fellow interns in my cohort are in the same position - they have experience and are close to graduating.

That said, regardless of where you are in your academic journey, make a plan to develop skills, projects, or experience that makes you stand out. Don't be discouraged if you aren't able to secure the position you want right away as your portfolio takes time to grow.

I am thankful to my friends for reviewing my resume and for having mock interviews with me. In turn, I will gladly pay it forward. If you would like some feedback on your resume or want to practice a mock interview, reach out to me here and mention this blog post.

Best of luck on your future endavours!

Back to blog posts