Lessons from Onsite

Went through the Amazon onsite on May 22nd. Here’s what I’m taking away.

Pointers for Next Time

Non-Technical

1. A glass of milk before entering helps.
2. Not taking off from work does not help.
3. Taking your phone inside does not help.
4. Sleep well — if you can.
5. Work towards a better line of dialogue.
6. Before leaving, get as much information from all parties involved: HR, HM, Interviewers.
7. Keep in touch with someone else from the panel who’s interviewing with you.
8. Haircut at least 1 week in advance, at most 10 days in advance.
9. Shave the day of.
10. Better to wear a standard interview outfit than not.

Technical

1. Time and space complexity are always asked.
2. While writing code on pen and paper, drop the LeetCode habits. I always write null/edge checks after the main logic — write them inline as you go instead:

   if (arr.size() == null) return true;

3. Don’t write yourself off the moment you see an unfamiliar question.
4. Read the question multiple times, clarify your understanding, write your own input/output examples, and get those verified by the interviewer.
5. Communication felt okay overall — spoke out loud, clarified intent at each step.
6. Projects need to be thorough — not because they were asked (they weren’t), but they become an added burden before and during the interview if they’re not.