Getting job offers from Microsoft and Amazon

Here's an interesting page by Matt Goyer, a University of Waterloo student who interviewed at Microsoft and Amazon.com -- and received full-time job offers from both. Aside from the job-hunting and interviewing tips, it provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the hiring process at two Seattle-area corporate icons. (Link via Robert Scoble.)

Among other gems, Goyer says that prior to his Amazon interview, he studied the book, "Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job." He notes that it's the No. 6 book on the list of titles popular within the company. He asks, astutely, "Now, why would someone who has a job at Amazon buy a book on interviews unless they were using it as a guide for conducting interviews?"

For more on the Microsoft interviewing process, see this page by Microsoft employee Chris Sells. I'd also suggest the book, "How Would You Move Mount Fuji?", one of the books Goyer also recommends. (In addition, see the comments to Scoble's post.)