Amazon Discover: Spring Insight Participant Review

The insight day was organised well. I received an agenda a couple of days prior to the start day. This helped me prepare for the insight day. The insight day consisted of technical workshops, panels and Q&A sessions. The panel sessions included talks about Amazon's culture, what is it like to work at Amazon and interview techniques. The technical workshops exposed me to sample interview programming questions and taught me how I should go about answering those questions.

I learnt about the STAR interview technique from the panel session. I will use this technique in future interviews. I also developed my python skills in the technical workshops. The technical workshops have also taught me how to answer a programming interview question. I learnt that interviewers will often ask vague programming questions and as an interviewee, I should ask questions to ensure my code does exactly what the interviewer wants. Asking questions is better than assuming what the interviewer wants.

The panel sessions were very informative. They went into great depth about the business and potential roles available. I learnt about the business values such as the importance of customer experience. I also learnt about Amazon's culture and different affinity groups within Amazon - Amazon is an inclusive environment. There are plenty of roles available (whether technical or business) and It is possible to transfer into different teams internally. I learnt that transferring teams is a simple process.

Amazon's company culture is very inclusive. They have 13 different affinity groups including cultural groups, women in STEM and body positivity/Mental health. Affinity groups help build internal networks between employees which creates a sense of community, Employees of Amazon spoke very highly about the company culture during the panel talk and Q&A sessions. They spoke about how they enjoyed being a part of affinity groups. Amazon's diversity and inclusion makes it an employee-friendly place to work.

The three-day insight was incredibly enjoyable. I learnt so many new skills and developed my existing skills. The moderators and panel speakers were well spoken and answered questions to the best of their ability. The panel speakers also gave some valuable advice that I use in my career. My workshop mentor was kind and helpful. He demonstrated more efficient ways to code which helped develop my python skills and he was willing to answer any question thrown at him.

Yes

Be ready to listen and take in as much information as you can. Keep a note pad and pen to write down important points. For the technical workshops, you can optionally brush up on your programming skills. Perhaps try a couple of sample programming styled interview questions prior to the insight day to feel more prepared. If you are stuck on the programming side, it is okay to ask questions. The more questions you ask, the more you learn.