{"id":4927,"date":"2025-10-03T10:09:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T10:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/?p=4927"},"modified":"2025-10-03T10:09:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T10:09:31","slug":"amazon-job-offer-came-after-this-22-year-old-posted-his-prep-on-tiktok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/?p=4927","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Job Offer Came After This 22-Year-Old Posted His Prep on TikTok"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>In May, Andrew Chen couldn&#8217;t stop thinking about the ticking clock. He was just weeks away from earning his computer science degree from the University of California San Diego \u2014 and still didn&#8217;t have a job lined up.<\/p>\n<p>Then a glimmer of hope landed in his inbox: an email from Amazon inviting him to interview for a software engineering role in 10 days. He knew he couldn&#8217;t waste the opportunity, so he made a plan: hole up in his room to study \u2014 and document his preparation for the big day on TikTok to hold himself accountable.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I canceled all my social obligations, locked myself in my room, and basically only left the house to have lunch,&#8221; said the 22-year-old. &#8220;I was thinking, if I don&#8217;t get this job, this is all for nothing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chen is among the many recent college graduates who have struggled to find work. As of June, the most recent data available, 4.8% of Americans ages 22 to 27 with at least a bachelor&#8217;s degree were unemployed \u2014 higher than the 4.0% jobless rate among the broader working-age population, a reversal from the typical trend in recent decades.<\/p>\n<p>These challenges reflect a broader hiring slowdown that&#8217;s hit entry-level job seekers especially hard. Amid tariff uncertainty and the early effects of AI adoption, US companies are hiring at one of the slowest paces since 2014. Tech professionals, including computer science graduates like Chen, have been particularly affected, with layoffs at firms including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. On Indeed, US software development job postings have <a rel=\" nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/data.indeed.com\/#\/postings\" data-track-click=\"{&quot;click_type&quot;:&quot;other&quot;,&quot;element_name&quot;:&quot;body_link&quot;,&quot;event&quot;:&quot;outbound_click&quot;}\">declined<\/a> by over 70% from their peak in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>While some new graduates are still searching, others, like Chen, have used creative job-search and interview preparation strategies to secure offers.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"callout-box headline-regular ignore-typography\">\n<p>We want to hear from\u00a0<a rel=\" nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLScLu79elRbqrSr2cMp5JcqOQJheuCX77QuJqLYr9qEzH3t4Qw\/viewform?usp=sf_link\" data-track-click=\"{&quot;click_type&quot;:&quot;other&quot;,&quot;element_name&quot;:&quot;callout_box&quot;,&quot;event&quot;:&quot;outbound_click&quot;}\">job seekers<\/a>\u00a0and people who\u00a0<a rel=\" nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSe0oMj9BrXDHBs_0qX6570j9hTzo2aQonGq4BjSIaWLq3T7ww\/viewform?usp=header\" data-track-click=\"{&quot;click_type&quot;:&quot;other&quot;,&quot;element_name&quot;:&quot;callout_box&quot;,&quot;event&quot;:&quot;outbound_click&quot;}\">recently landed a job<\/a>. If you&#8217;re open to sharing your story,\u00a0<strong>please fill out one of the linked Google Forms above \u2014 or contact this reporter via email at jzinkula@businessinsider.com (or Signal at jzinkula.29).<\/strong> You can also find more of our job market coverage below:<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<h2 id=\"af9c589b-5120-4c8b-923d-9d399c954ceb\" data-toc-id=\"af9c589b-5120-4c8b-923d-9d399c954ceb\"><strong>Almost giving up on software engineering<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Chen began looking for a full-time job in the summer of 2024. As a computer science major, he&#8217;d always envisioned starting his career in software engineering. But after applying to more than 400 jobs and struggling to gain traction, he expanded his search to include product management and design roles.<\/p>\n<p>But he didn&#8217;t give up on software engineering. Between September 2024 and early February 2025, Chen applied to several software engineering roles at Amazon.<\/p>\n<p>In mid-February, he was asked to complete an online assessment for one of the roles he had applied to \u2014 he&#8217;s still unsure exactly which one \u2014 that included a coding test and behavioral questions. He thought he had done well \u2014 news he excitedly shared with his parents \u2014 but as the months passed, he never received an update about his application status.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My parents would keep asking for updates on Amazon because it&#8217;s a name brand,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And I eventually told them I got rejected \u2014 I thought if I hadn&#8217;t heard from them after months, it&#8217;s probably not going to happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section class=\"dad-related-posts-component at-inline related-posts\" data-component-type=\"dad-related-posts\" data-delay-third-party-scripts=\"true\" data-size=\"2\" data-min-size=\"2\" data-container-index=\"in_content_recirc_1\" data-included-verticals=\"careers\" data-placement=\"inline\" data-track-marfeel=\"dad-related-posts-inline\" data-excluded-verticals=\"bi-video\" data-root-margin=\"250px 0px\" data-track-view=\"{&quot;event&quot;:&quot;module_in_view&quot;,&quot;element_name&quot;:&quot;in_content_recirc&quot;,&quot;subscription_experience&quot;:&quot;bi_value_unassigned&quot;,&quot;product_field&quot;:&quot;in_content_recirc_1&quot;}\">\n<p><h2 class=\"content-recommendations-title display-xs ignore-typography\">\n                      Related stories<br \/>\n                    <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"dad-related-posts-container\" data-track-click-shared=\"{&quot;element_name&quot;:&quot;in_content_recirc&quot;,&quot;product_field&quot;:&quot;in_content_recirc_1&quot;,&quot;click_text&quot;:&quot;Read next&quot;,&quot;event&quot;:&quot;tout_click&quot;}\">\n<div class=\"related-posts-container\">\n<article data-component-type=\"tout\" data-load-strategy=\"exclude\" class=\"tout style-loading as-horizontal as-placeholder with-ungrouped-text\" data-post-id=\"post\">\n<p>                            <span class=\"tout-image\">        <\/p>\n<div class=\"lazy-holder lazy-holder-4x3  \">\n<p>                                <\/p>\n<p>                                <noscript><br \/>\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"no-script\" src=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/public\/assets\/logos\/placeholder.png\"\/><br \/>\n                                <\/noscript><\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"tout-title font-weight-garnett-500\">\n                            <span class=\"tout-title-link\">Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know<\/span><br \/>\n                          <\/h3>\n<\/article>\n<article data-component-type=\"tout\" data-load-strategy=\"exclude\" class=\"tout style-loading as-horizontal as-placeholder with-ungrouped-text\" data-post-id=\"post\">\n<p>                            <span class=\"tout-image\">        <\/p>\n<div class=\"lazy-holder lazy-holder-4x3  \">\n<p>                                <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-image \" viewbox=\"0 0 1 1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/public\/assets\/logos\/placeholder.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                <noscript><br \/>\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"no-script\" src=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/public\/assets\/logos\/placeholder.png\"\/><br \/>\n                                <\/noscript><\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"tout-title font-weight-garnett-500\">\n                            <span class=\"tout-title-link\">Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know<\/span><br \/>\n                          <\/h3>\n<\/article><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>By the time Amazon reached out in May, Chen said he was deep in interviews for product management and design roles \u2014 and had nearly given up on software engineering entirely.<\/p>\n<p>The unexpected opportunity to return to his preferred field was welcome, but its timing posed a challenge. After focusing on other types of roles, he&#8217;d largely stopped practicing his coding skills and would need to quickly brush up before the interview.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a9640385-7942-4593-86a7-4cecddd2f2ae\" data-toc-id=\"a9640385-7942-4593-86a7-4cecddd2f2ae\"><strong>Posting on TikTok to hold himself accountable<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Chen had just 10 days to prepare \u2014 and still had to carve out time for interviews with other companies, in addition to school exams and final projects. So he developed a plan of attack, dividing his days into blocks for coding practice on LeetCode, behavioral prep, and studying for other interviews.<\/p>\n<p>He set out to read everything he could on platforms like Reddit and Blind about Amazon&#8217;s interview process and past candidates&#8217; experiences, practice common technical questions, study the company&#8217;s leadership principles, and memorize STAR-format personal stories that illustrated how he embodied those values.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This was the first big company that had given me a chance in a while,&#8221; he said, &#8220;so I really wanted to get this one.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But pulling this all off seemed daunting, and Chen felt he needed something to help him stay motivated. Then he had an idea. He&#8217;d been interested in creating social media content for a while but had only posted a handful of TikToks. What if he started documenting his preparation for the Amazon interview? Sharing updates publicly on TikTok, he figured, would add the kind of pressure he needed to stay locked in \u2014 and maybe even attract advice from others who&#8217;d been through the process.<\/p>\n<p>On May 19, Chen posted a TikTok with the caption &#8220;10 days until FAANG final interview,&#8221; sharing how much prep he&#8217;d done, how many classes he&#8217;d skipped, how much caffeine he&#8217;d consumed, and how many showers he&#8217;d taken. He followed it with similar updates in the days that followed.<\/p>\n<p>Chen said his videos \u2014 which received as many as 2.6 million views \u2014 drew a wide range of reactions, including skepticism that he could land the role given his limited preparation time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The videos brought a lot of doubt from viewers, but thankfully also a lot of advice and encouragement,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a4953af1-78a1-483d-89f6-2c8fb79623d9\" data-toc-id=\"a4953af1-78a1-483d-89f6-2c8fb79623d9\"><strong>Preparing for behavioral questions proved to be essential<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When interview day arrived in late May, Chen was anxious and sleep-deprived. He said his Amazon &#8220;loop&#8221; interview process consisted of three back-to-back virtual interviews with short breaks in between. The first round focused on technical questions, the second on behavioral scenarios tied to Amazon&#8217;s leadership principles, and the third included a mix of both.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was thinking that these few hours will determine if I am employed,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Chen gradually settled in as the day went on and left the interviews feeling like he&#8217;d done his best. On June 3, shortly after finishing his third interview of the day for non-Amazon roles, he saw an email notification on his phone. He&#8217;d received an offer from Amazon with a six-figure salary.<\/p>\n<p>On June 5, Chen posted a TikTok with the news that received over 941,000 views. He graduated in mid-June and, after moving to New York City, started working full-time in July.<\/p>\n<p>Chen said his biggest takeaway from the Amazon interviews was the company&#8217;s emphasis on behavioral questions tied to its leadership principles \u2014 something he felt played to his strengths.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They care a lot about your success stories outside your technical expertise,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think I&#8217;m a better talker than a coder, so I was very excited for that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>One of his top pieces of advice for job seekers: while application quality matters, volume is essential in a tough market.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Many times I did feel hopeless, but I think it truly is a numbers game,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You just need to apply to everything you&#8217;re qualified for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>window.allScripts = window.allScripts || []; window.allScripts.push({ type: \"load\", script: \"%3Cscript%20id%3D%22meta-pixel-script%22%20%3E(()%3D%3E%7Bvar%20e%3D%7B69531%3A()%3D%3E%7B!function()%7Bvar%20e%2Ct%2Cr%2Cn%2Co%2Ci%3Bfunction%20a()%7Bwindow.Fenrir%3F.cm%3F.usPrivacyApplies%26%26window.Fenrir%3F.cm%3F.isOptedOutOfAds%3Ffbq(%22dataProcessingOptions%22%2C%5B%22LDU%22%5D%2C0%2C0)%3Afbq(%22dataProcessingOptions%22%2C%5B%5D)%2Cfbq(%22init%22%2C%221988166924554892%22)%2Cfbq(%22track%22%2C%22PageView%22)%7Ddocument.querySelectorAll('iframe%5Bsrc*%3D%22jwplayer%22%5D').length%7C%7C(e%3Dwindow%2Ct%3Ddocument%2Cr%3D%22script%22%2Ce.fbq%7C%7C(n%3De.fbq%3Dfunction()%7Bn.callMethod%3Fn.callMethod.apply(n%2Carguments)%3An.queue.push(arguments)%7D%2Ce._fbq%7C%7C(e._fbq%3Dn)%2Cn.push%3Dn%2Cn.loaded%3D!0%2Cn.version%3D%222.0%22%2Cn.queue%3D%5B%5D%2C(o%3Dt.createElement(r)).async%3D!0%2Co.src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.facebook.net%2Fen_US%2Ffbevents.js%22%2C(i%3Dt.getElementsByTagName(r)%5B0%5D).parentNode.insertBefore(o%2Ci))%2Cwindow.Fenrir%3F.cm%3F.cmStarted%3Fa()%3AsetTimeout(a%2C1e3))%7D()%7D%7D%2Ct%3D%7B%7D%3Bfunction%20r(n)%7Bvar%20o%3Dt%5Bn%5D%3Bif(void%200!%3D%3Do)return%20o.exports%3Bvar%20i%3Dt%5Bn%5D%3D%7Bexports%3A%7B%7D%7D%3Breturn%20e%5Bn%5D(i%2Ci.exports%2Cr)%2Ci.exports%7Dr.m%3De%2Cr.c%3Dt%2Cr.o%3D(e%2Ct)%3D%3EObject.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(e%2Ct)%2C(()%3D%3E%7Br.S%3D%7B%7D%3Bvar%20e%3D%7B%7D%2Ct%3D%7B%7D%3Br.I%3D(n%2Co)%3D%3E%7Bo%7C%7C(o%3D%5B%5D)%3Bvar%20i%3Dt%5Bn%5D%3Bif(i%7C%7C(i%3Dt%5Bn%5D%3D%7B%7D)%2C!(o.indexOf(i)%3E%3D0))%7Bif(o.push(i)%2Ce%5Bn%5D)return%20e%5Bn%5D%3Br.o(r.S%2Cn)%7C%7C(r.S%5Bn%5D%3D%7B%7D)%3Br.S%5Bn%5D%3Bvar%20a%3D%5B%5D%3Breturn%20a.length%3Fe%5Bn%5D%3DPromise.all(a).then((()%3D%3Ee%5Bn%5D%3D1))%3Ae%5Bn%5D%3D1%7D%7D%7D)()%3Br(69531)%7D)()%3B%3C%2Fscript%3E\" });<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In May, Andrew Chen couldn&#8217;t stop thinking about the ticking clock. He was just weeks away from earning his computer science degree from the University of California San Diego \u2014 and still didn&#8217;t have a job lined up. Then a glimmer of hope landed in his inbox: an email from Amazon inviting him to interview<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1525,284,1151,1524,1526,1123,1527],"class_list":{"0":"post-4927","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews","8":"tag-22yearold","9":"tag-amazon","10":"tag-job","11":"tag-offer","12":"tag-posted","13":"tag-prep","14":"tag-tiktok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegloss.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}