Gergely Orosz · 27 min read · Product Teams
Learnings from conducting ~1,000 interviews at Amazon
Read the original on newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com →
Steve Huynh shares insights from nearly 1,000 interviews at Amazon, highlighting that success hinges as much on behavioral presentation and fit as on technical skill. While AI is reshaping technical interviews, behavioral interviews remain stable, with Bar Raisers ensuring hires raise the talent bar. The article also outlines what companies seek in candidates, including role/fit understanding, calibration of levels, and alignment with company values.
Key Takeaways
- Behavioral interviews often determine offers more than technical skills; how you present yourself matters as much as the story itself.
- At Amazon, Bar Raisers try to raise the talent bar, and patterns from nearly 1,000 interviews reveal common blind spots in non-technical areas.
- Preparation should address non-technical aspects like communication, attitude, culture fit, and how you collaborate with teams.
- AI is changing technical interviews, but behavioral interviews remain largely unchanged in evaluation criteria.
- Understanding the role, company values, and your target level helps you calibrate expectations and focus during interviews.
Excerpt
Steve Huynh, formerly Principal Engineer at Amazon, shares observations from Bar Raiser, and an excerpt from his new book, Technical Behavioral Interview Tech interviews have two parts: the technical interview – with a focus on things like coding, software architecture, problem solving – and the behavioral part – with a focus on past experience, and the situations that show you’d be a good fit at the company you’re interviewing with, along with things like attitude, motivation, culture fit. Technical interviews are going through a big change, thanks to AI tools: some companies are bringing in new, AI-assisted types of interviews,…