Amazon LP Flashcards
Tell me about yourself
Hi, my name is Jarrod Saechao. I’m from Damascus Oregon. I have an associates degree in General Studies from Mt.Hood Community College, a bachelors degree in Computer Science from Oregon State University. Im certified by Google in Data Analytics and have internship experience that utilized Agile Scrum Methodology
“Hi, I’m Jarrod Saechao Computer Science graduate from Oregon State University with a solid background in data analytics, software development, and Agile Scrum methodologies. I’m certified in Data Analytics by Google and currently advancing my skills with Data and AI Engineering certifications from IBM. My hands-on experience as a Software Developer come from Internships at HP and Agbiz Logic where I was allowed me to work closely with senior engineers to build scalable applications and collaborate in cross-functional teams, where I refined my skills in cloud development, data integration, and user-centered design.
I’m passionate about leveraging my technical skills to solve complex problems and deliver impactful solutions. I’m excited about opportunities to innovate and continue learning, and hope that that Amazon sees me a as potential candidate.
Tell me about a project you are working on
Deliver Results, Frugality, and Ownership.
What They’re Looking For: Amazon values employees who prioritize customer needs, understand the details of their work, and take end-to-end responsibility for tasks. They look for candidates who can demonstrate accountability, resilience in solving customer-related challenges, and a willingness to go the extra mile.
Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done.
Describe a situation where you had to prioritize tasks to meet tight deadlines.
Give an example of when you helped a struggling team member. What was the situation, and what actions did you take?
Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback from a manager. How did you respond?
Describe a time when you worked on a project under a time constraint. How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you had to cut corners or pivot last minute to meet a deadline.
Have you ever gone out of your way to help a peer?
Answer about mcgee
answer about balancing school and work
Invent and Simplify, Bias for Action, and Think Big
What They’re Looking For: Amazon values employees who are innovative, proactive, and comfortable making decisions even with limited information. They want to see that you can take calculated risks, bring creative ideas to the table, and execute with speed and precision. Demonstrating a “bias for action” shows you’re willing to move quickly to address challenges
Tell me about a time when you were faced with multiple solutions and had to choose an optimal one.
Describe a time when you took a risk or made a mistake. What did you learn?
Tell me about a time when you invented something or came up with a novel solution.
Have you ever made a significant decision without having enough data? How did it turn out?
Tell me about a time you had to make a tough decision without consulting anyone.
Tell me about a time when you took an important decision without your manager’s prior approval.
Describe a situation where you had limited time and had to make a quick choice.
Tell me about a time when you had to innovate to exceed expectations.
Mcgee idea
Earn Trust, Are Right a Lot, and Insist on the Highest Standards
What They’re Looking For: Amazon seeks individuals who demonstrate sound judgment, are data-driven, and prioritize trust-building with their team and stakeholders. High standards and integrity are paramount; they look for people who go beyond the minimum to achieve exceptional results while maintaining honesty and transparency.
Tell me about a time when you earned your teammates’ trust.
Give me an example of a time when you had a conflict with someone on your team. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when a teammate disagreed with you. How did you resolve it?
Have you ever received negative feedback from a manager? How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you had conflicting ideas with teammates. How did you handle the situation?
Give an example of when you had to push back on a decision from management for better long-term benefits.
Describe a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
Elevator pitch Idea
Integrating google maps
Deliver Results, Frugality, and Ownership
What They’re Looking For: Amazon seeks candidates who are results-oriented, resourceful, and able to deliver on goals despite obstacles. They value frugality, so they’re looking for ways you’ve accomplished more with less. Showing that you take full responsibility for outcomes—even under challenging conditions—demonstrates a strong sense of ownership.
Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and achieved it.
Describe a time when you faced a setback but ultimately achieved your goal.
Tell me about a time when you were working on a project with tight time constraints.
Describe a time when you had to balance limited resources to deliver on a project.
Tell me about a time when you had conflicting priorities. How did you handle it?
Have you ever had to cut corners or pivot last-minute to meet a deadline?
Answers about the project at Mcgee
answer about school and work balace
Internship
Story 1
Situation
At my current job we utilize a bidding system in which our supervisor creates a list of bid lines where agents bid in accordance to their seniority. The lines are created on excel and posted on a bulletin where we would take pictures of this and fill out a list by pen and paper to be submitted. It is very slow and mistakes happen very often where users would mess up filling out the sheet or the bids needed to be changed causing a full reset. Due to this the company has opted into purchasing a product in which they would create a platform for us to bid on. The supervisor will submit an excel sheet and the users will be able to pick their lines. I was told it would be $10 per employee. After hearing all of this I asked if he would consider an alternative approach where I build the platform to save the company money.
Task
I initially got the functionality component done quickly. The plan was to use tools I already knew so I can create the application fast. This was when I thought about other issues I dealt with and what could be improved.
Action
This was when I asked numerous employees what they would expect if the company built a website for operations. Much of the responses were redundant and focused on seeing the schedule for the day and bidding. But I identified a few others processes that could be improved.
Result
Overall I’ve decided to add shift trades and pto leave requests, the scheduling idea from my co-workers and to shift the application to a Flutter framework enable access through web application, android and ios. Im currently building the application and have a mock-up of the UI across all platforms
Story 2
Situation:
During my time at Oregon State, I participated in an elevator pitch competition, where teams had to develop and present a concept to judges, similar to a “Shark Tank” pitch. I was part of a team of six, and I proposed an innovative idea for a mobile focused on online shopping, where apparel could be rendered on avatars to visualize how clothing would fit. Initially, there was some pushback from my team regarding the practicality of the idea.
Task:
I needed to clearly communicate the value of the application and address my team’s concerns, demonstrating how the concept could solve real customer pain points in the fashion and online retail industry.
Action:
To solidify my idea, I conducted research on current technology related to clothing and modeling . This is where I ran into a software called clo3d. The software was used by fashion designers to design clothes providing accurate fit sizing and modeling of the garment on a dynamic avatar. I then proceeded to look up statistics about online retail and found that clothing was the most returned item with a 20-25% purchased piece being returned. The main reasons were fit,sizing and bracketing. At this point I believed I had something to information to my team, so I drafted up a powerpoint document sharing how we could utilize similar technology of clo3d for mobile application to enhance buying experience by allowing users to visualize how the clothes would fit on them, reducing the time needed for returning items and helping the environment by reducing overall returns. reason created detailed use cases, and developed mock-ups that visualized the user journey and benefits. I presented these materials to the team to better explain the concept and its feasibility. By doing this, I aimed to gain their trust and show the potential of our project.
Result:
Thanks to the research and visualization I provided, my team became fully aligned on the idea, and conducted a full presentation ended up placing second in the competition. Though we did not pursue the project further at the time, I revisited the concept in 2022 and found that both Cornell University and an AI startup, True to Form, had developed similar technologies based on 3D body mapping, which validated the forward-thinking nature of my proposal.
Story 3
Situation:
I graduated in December 2023, and after experiencing a tough job market, I realized that many recruiters were unresponsive to my applications. After several months of applying for various positions without success, I felt I was not utilizing my time effectively.
Task:
To remain competitive and enhance my skills, I decided to proactively learn about emerging technologies in fields that intrigued me, specifically security, cloud computing, and data management.
Action:
I began by researching and consuming content from platforms like Medium and YouTube to understand industry trends and popular tools. However, I found that much of the information lacked depth. To gain a more structured and hands-on learning experience, I enrolled in courses on Coursera. This provided me with practical knowledge and experience in relevant technologies. For example, I completed a project where I built a streaming data pipeline using Apache Kafka, which deepened my understanding of real-time data processing and cloud infrastructure.
Result:
As a result of this self-directed learning, I gained a much stronger grasp of how cloud and data ecosystems operate. This not only boosted my confidence but also equipped me with valuable skills that I can apply in my future job search and projects. Additionally, I feel more prepared to contribute meaningfully in a technology role, dem
Story 4
Situation:
In recent years, I’ve observed a growing number of issues on social media platforms, such as the spread of misinformation, identity theft, fraudulent activity, and misuse of personal content. These problems stem from the fact that many platforms allow users to create accounts without properly verifying their identities. This anonymity often encourages negative behavior and undermines trust among users.
Task:
I realized that in order to mitigate these issues, we needed a system that could ensure accountability and authenticity without compromising user experience. I thought outside the box and proposed an innovative solution inspired by the financial sector’s Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. KYC requires institutions to verify the identity of their customers to prevent fraud and financial crime.
Action:
I proposed creating a social media platform that uses a similar KYC approach. In my vision, users would need to verify their identity through a secure process before creating an account. This process could involve identity document verification and biometric checks. The platform would allow users to engage and interact, but the core difference is that every user would be authenticated. This would prevent the creation of fake accounts, reduce the chances of impersonation, and significantly cut down on fraud and abuse. The platform would also have strong content protection systems in place to prevent unauthorized use of users’ material.
Result:
By ensuring that every user was verified, the platform would foster an environment of trust and authenticity. This would greatly reduce instances of content theft, identity fraud, fake news, and toxic behaviors associated with fake accounts. The result would be a safer and more credible space where users could interact without the common issues seen on many social media platforms today.
Story 5
Situation:
Our team was tasked with enhancing the UI of the climate module, which involved integrating Google APIs to display climate data in the form of interactive charts. As the person responsible for incorporating the APIs into our framework, I was in charge of loading the data and rendering the charts. However, during development, my colleague, who was working on adding functionality to the charts, noticed that they intermittently failed to render.
Task:
I was tasked with identifying and resolving the issue causing the charts to fail to render correctly, ensuring that the charts would display the required data consistently.
Action:
To diagnose the issue, I began by thoroughly reviewing the layout and potential conflicts between components. I checked the chart placement to ensure there was no overlap that could be causing rendering issues, but found no problems in that area. Next, I manually tested the data flow to verify that the data objects were being correctly received from the API. I conducted several tests and analyzed the API’s responses to identify any discrepancies.
Result:
Through my investigation, I identified that the API was pulling data that wasn’t available at the time of rendering, which resulted in the climate charts appearing blank. By implementing a solution to ensure that the API only attempts to render the charts once all required data was available, I resolved the issue, and the charts displayed the correct data without fail. This improved both the functionality and reliability of the module, resulting in a seamless user experience.
