If you’re preparing for ESET (or similar) interviews, Rohan’s story is full of lessons. He moved from being a QA engineer who was constantly rejected in early rounds, to cracking interviews and joining Amazon. Here’s his approach—how he studied, planned his schedule, and faced real interview questions.
Meet Rohan: His Journey So Far
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Background: Rohan passed out in 2022. He has ~3.5 years of experience as a QA Engineer. His first job was with Oracle Cerner. Then he worked remotely for a small US‑based startup called Deep View (DV LLC). Recently (a couple of months back), he joined Amazon.
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Roles & Responsibilities: In past roles, Rohan worked in a mix of automation and manual testing—around 60% automation, 40% manual. In many places he handled UI automation (especially with Cypress + JavaScript) and some API testing as well.
How He Found Remote Work & What Tools He Used
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Getting the US‑Remote Role:
One of the key things was that he followed the startup founder on Twitter. The founder posted that they were hiring. Rohan asked whether hiring is open in India, got a reply, and landed an interview. The interview process was simple: one round on past experience, one technical. Because it was a small company, the focus was more on what he had done than deep technical depth. -
Tech Stack in Remote Role:
UI automation with Cypress + JavaScript. Also handled UI‑triggered API calls. So, apart from UI tests, he touched APIs.
His View on Tools: Cypress vs Playwright vs Selenium
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Rohan observes that Playwright is growing in popularity. Compared to Cypress or Selenium:
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Playwright has more job‑openings lately.
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Cypress has limitations: no multitab support, weaker community, struggles with drag & drop, or cross‑browser support in some cases.
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Selenium is losing ground because newer tools provide more stable, modern features.
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He recommends not sticking to only one tool; knowing more tools makes switching easier. But if he had to pick one now, Playwright with Java is where he would go.
How He Prepared When He Decided to Change Jobs
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The shift point came when his work timings got very erratic—time zone clashes with remote and night shifts, work‑life balance got affected. That pushed him to start applying.
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Preparation Strategy:
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Revise basics → Starting with Java. He already knew the basics from college, but hadn’t used it much. He used an LMS to revisit all concepts, including exception handling, collection APIs etc.
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Practice coding questions daily → Even on weekdays, solving 1‑2 coding problems; more on weekends (3‑4 hours).
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Simultaneous interviewing → He didn’t wait until he was “fully prepared” to start giving interviews. He applied to many just to get exposure. Each interview taught him what companies ask.
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Record & Review → He noted down the questions asked in interviews. If he faced a coding question he couldn’t solve, he revisited that logic until he understood it.
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Time Management: On weekdays, he balanced job + preparation. On weekends, heavier study. Over time he shifted more towards practice, reducing watching video/module time to focus more on solving coding problems.
What the Interviews Looked Like
Here’s a breakdown of what Rohan saw in his interviews, especially during the Amazon process:
| Round | What They Tested | Key Questions / Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Phone screening (HR + manager) | His experience, why switch, basic technical / Java knowledge | Questions about collections, what tools he’s used, how recent his use of Java. Honest answers about work conditions (night shifts etc.) |
| Coding & Automation Round | UI automation, writing code snippets, XPath / locators, comparison between frameworks | For example: write search functionality (bus booking), locator for the 5th product on Amazon without hardcoding, drag & drop, iframe handling, intercepting API calls in Cypress. |
| Manual / Scenario Round | Writing test cases / scenarios, debugging, thinking end to end | Sample questions: What would you test if stock price isn’t updating on a trading UI? Write positive/negative test cases; “bus seats reserved for special categories”; UPI timer feature. |
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In Amazon’s core manual round: three scenarios given, write ~10 test cases per scenario. The round lasted ~1–1.5 hours, majorly discussion and writing test plans, not coding.
Role of AI in His Workflow
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Rohan uses AI extensively now: to help write bug reports, test steps, test cases. He has trained a project‑specific GPT using BRD and mockups. He uses AI for drafting titles, reproduction steps etc.
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But he emphasizes that human thinking is still essential—AI won’t automatically think of negative test cases or edge cases. You must validate, test the AI output across different environments, test accounts, etc.
Advice: What Should You Do If You Have ~3 Months Before Interviews
If you have a 3‑month notice period or buffer time, here’s what Rohan recommends:
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First focus on fundamentals: Java (or your target programming language). Make sure basics are solid.
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Start solving coding problems daily. Even one or two per day is good.
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Parallel learning: While doing coding, also learn automation tools (UI first, then APIs). Don’t wait to finish one thing to start the other.
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Mock interviews / real interviews early: Even if you fail, each attempt builds confidence and reveals gaps.
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Keep a log of all questions you faced: Maintain a list of questions, especially ones you couldn’t solve. Revisit them.
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Networking & visibility: Use LinkedIn, Twitter. Comment on job posts, connect to managers/HR, follow people in companies you want to join. Be visible.
Key Takeaways
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Consistency over speed: Regular small efforts every day beat sporadic bursts.
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Practice under pressure: Simulate interview conditions, time limits.
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Honesty matters: Being transparent (“why I want to leave”, “my experience with tool X was some time ago”) comes across well.
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Stay updated with tools: Playwright is rising. Cypress still has uses, but knowing newer tools gives edge.
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Use tech, but don’t over‑depend: AI tools can help speed up work, but thinking deeply yourself is irreplaceable.
If you follow Rohan’s method—solid fundamentals, regular coding, early interviews, and smart use of tools—you’ll be in a much better place when interview day comes.