Coding questions
Practice problems with approaches.
How to Prepare for Amazon
Amazon filters on OA first, then loops DSA with Leadership Principles in every round. Bar Raiser is real. You need clean code under time and STAR stories with numbers - not buzzwords.
What Amazon actually tests
Section titled “What Amazon actually tests”First round: Amazon OA (2 DSA + work simulation + LP MCQs)
Time split that matches how candidates report outcomes (not a marketing pie chart):
- DSA 55%
- System design / CS 20%
- Behavioral 15%
- Mocks 10%
Patterns are from student reports and vary by role and drive. Trust your college placement email over blog folklore.
Hiring flow you should prep for
Section titled “Hiring flow you should prep for”| Stage | Time | What they check |
|---|---|---|
| Online assessment | 70-120 min | 2 coding + simulation/debug + LP MCQs |
| Technical loops | 45-60 min each | DSA + LP probes in the same round |
| System design / depth | varies by level | SDE-1 light; SDE-2+ heavier |
| Bar Raiser | 45-60 min | Independent bar check - consistency matters |
| HR / offer | 20-30 min | Role, location, CTC |
Time allocation
Section titled “Time allocation”- Master DSA (graphs, sliding window, bit manipulation, DP) - practice 150+ problems on LeetCode (Amazon tag)
- Study system design basics (SDE-1) and scalable systems (SDE-2+)
- Prepare STAR stories for all 16 Amazon Leadership Principles
- Practice coding problems in Java/C++/Python
Daily loop (90-150 minutes most days)
Section titled “Daily loop (90-150 minutes most days)”- One timed block that matches Amazon’s first round (OA coding)
- Log misses: topic + why you failed (speed, concept, carelessness)
- Re-solve yesterday’s misses cold
- Twice a week: 10 minutes of resume/project narration out loud
8-Week DSA plan
Section titled “8-Week DSA plan”| Week | Focus | Exit criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Arrays, hashing, two pointers, sliding window | 40+ clean mediums |
| 3-4 | Trees, graphs, BFS/DFS, heaps | Implement BFS/DFS cold |
| 5-6 | DP + timed 2-problem mocks | Finish both with tests |
| 7 | System design lite + CS revision | Explain a URL shortener / newsfeed at SDE-1 depth |
| 8 | Behavioral + weak-topic closure | STAR bank ready; re-solve misses |
Round-by-round strategy
Section titled “Round-by-round strategy”Online Assessment
Section titled “Online Assessment”- Order problems by confidence after a 3-4 minute skim
- Passing test cases beats a brilliant half-solution
- Invent edge cases before submit; watch timeboxes
Technical interviews
Section titled “Technical interviews”- Restate → brute force → optimize → code → test
- Speak complexity and trade-offs out loud.
- Tie CS answers to a project when it strengthens the point
HR / managerial
Section titled “HR / managerial”- Why Amazon, why this team/role, location flexibility
- STAR with a metric; pick 2-3 real company values and prepare proof
Amazon-specific drills
Section titled “Amazon-specific drills”- LeetCode Amazon-tag mediums: graphs, sliding window, heaps, DP
- Timed 2-problem OA mocks until both pass with edge cases
- STAR bank mapped to Customer Obsession, Ownership, Dive Deep, Deliver Results
- Work-simulation style judgment: prioritize, write clear responses
Topic checklist
Section titled “Topic checklist”- One language you can debug live (Java/C++/Python)
- Arrays, strings, hashing, trees, graphs
- Complexity analysis without freezing
- Two project explanations (2 minutes each)
- DP patterns (knapsack, LIS, grid, string)
- Heaps, tries, union-find as needed
- Light system design for SDE-1
- Full-length mock every other day
- Light revision only - no new rabbit holes
- Sleep, ID proofs, machine/network checklist for test day
Final stretch
Section titled “Final stretch”30 days out: weekly full OA-style mocks; close weak DSA patterns; draft STAR stories.
7 days out: alternate mock / review days; re-solve misses cold; no new patterns.
Day before: skim notes, check machine/network/ID logistics, sleep.
Common mistakes for Amazon aspirants
Section titled “Common mistakes for Amazon aspirants”- Failing OA test cases, or LP stories that are vague and unmeasurable - fix this first
- Preparing only interviews while failing Amazon’s first round
- Collecting notes without timed mocks
- Listing five frameworks on the resume and defending none
- Changing language/stack one week before the drive
- Silent coding - interviewers cannot grade your head
- Memorizing solutions you cannot adapt
Practice on placementpapers.app
Section titled “Practice on placementpapers.app”- Amazon aptitude / mock quiz
- Amazon coding questions
- Amazon online assessment
- Amazon interview experience
- Amazon previous year papers
- Amazon 2026 guide
- Amazon hub
- PDF: Amazon Placement Papers PDF (2026)
Related resources
Section titled “Related resources”Interview experience
What rounds look like after the test.
2026 guide
Year-focused pattern notes.
Amazon hub
Eligibility, process, salary context.
Similar companies
Section titled “Similar companies”Google · Microsoft · Meta · Apple · Netflix · Flipkart
Next step: Run one timed mock this week that matches Amazon’s first round (OA coding), then build the weeks around your weakest section - not around what is most fun to study.