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Amazon·Software Engineer·Hiring Manager Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate
Jun 2026

Summary

Amazon interview, one question about how you'd approach your first day on the job. Not much to go on from the content itself.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

If today were your first day at the company, what would you want to start working on?

Adaptability & AmbiguityProduct Sense & Ideation
Author's notes

Classic 'show me you care about impact' question.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Show that you prioritize customer impact and quick learning by focusing on understanding the team's current goals, pain points, and codebase before proposing improvements. Then suggest a concrete, small-scale contribution that aligns with Amazon's leadership principles and delivers immediate value.

Pro tip: Emphasize that you would spend the first week listening and learning rather than making changes, and tie your proposed work to a specific customer benefit or metric—this demonstrates Amazon's customer obsession and bias for action.

1. Show eagerness to learn

Express enthusiasm for understanding the team's mission, current projects, and challenges. Mention that you would meet with teammates, read documentation, and explore the codebase.

2. Identify quick wins

Look for small, high-impact tasks that can be completed quickly, such as fixing a bug, improving documentation, or automating a manual process. This shows initiative and delivers immediate value.

3. Align with customer needs

Connect your proposed work to a customer pain point or business metric. Explain how your contribution would improve the customer experience or operational efficiency.

4. Demonstrate Amazon leadership principles

Weave in principles like Customer Obsession, Bias for Action, and Learn and Be Curious. Show that you embody these values from day one.

5. Propose a concrete plan

Outline a specific, actionable first step you would take, such as setting up a development environment and pairing with a mentor to tackle a starter task.

Key Points to Mention

  • Customer Obsession: focus on understanding and solving customer problems
  • Bias for Action: willingness to take on small tasks quickly to learn and contribute
  • Learn and Be Curious: eagerness to absorb knowledge about the codebase, tools, and processes
  • Ownership: taking responsibility for your onboarding and seeking ways to add value
  • Team collaboration: building relationships and learning from teammates
  • Quick wins: identifying low-risk, high-impact improvements to build credibility

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.