Amazon Discover: Spring Insight Participant Review

It was a 3 day insight program involving workshops, panels, etc. The panels were with all the other participants and the workshops were done in small groups. The whole event was virtual, and covered recruiting and interviewing tips as well as information regarding the company and culture. The workshops covered some programming knowledge, and had guidance on certain programming tasks including collaboration with others. There were also information on mock interviews. Overall, it was useful.

I developed more understanding regarding some coding concepts such as object-oriented programming, caching, debugging, writing unit tests, and programming in general. I also tried out programming in pairs. With the panels and workshops, I also received tips on interviewing and communication skills. Many of the workshops were done either in Java or Python, and were of suitable difficulty for relative beginners, so I managed to practice my Java more during the program. The mentor was very helpful.

Most of this was done through the main room events with all the other participants. It involved panels, etc. with employees coming in to talk to us. We could submit questions through the chat if we wanted to. Although the focus was mainly on software development and engineering, and there was not much focus on the non-technical roles, they did cover the company visions and work principles. It gives a better understanding of what the company embraces.

I would say I interacted more with the mentor, and he was very nice and always encouraged us for the work we put into completing the exercises. He also gave constructive feedback on possible ways we could improve, and tried hard to help us when we had problems. From that, it seems the company culture was nice. The panels also talked about how the company was flexible with working hours as long as the work was done.

I think that there were a lot of opportunities available for us to learn and experience more about the technical aspects of a software engineer, which was insightful and useful. I would definitely like it more if it wasn't virtual, since it gets tiring staring screens all day long and we can only look at one person's screen at a time due to screen-sharing. It would definitely be nice to interact more with other participants as well.

Yes

Don't be afraid to apply. The application process for spring insight is not complicated. Just give it a go. You could also reach out to past interns and find out more about their process. You should also research more about the company, and look at their principles before doing their tests so you have a better understanding of what the recruiters are looking out for. You should also consider if the company culture would suit you.