Still surprised this guy was not put on PIP in his first year, given the many horror stories on Blind of how someone was put on one (sometimes within 6 months). https://medium.com/@curtiseinsmann/amazon-shouldnt-have-hired-me-here-s-how-i-became-an-sde2-e310d0d264a8
This article is a bit of BS. Yes, the hiring bar is all over the place. Right now the trend seems to be 2 45 min interviews for a new grad internship. Then if you do well you received a full time offer. Candidates for an L4 position (not intern) get a full loop, 4 60 min interviews. Unfair? Probably. But if you are incompetent you won't receive the return offer anyway.
I can only envision his upcoming blog post title "the imposter was finally revealed - how I survived the PIP, and moved on to greener pastures selling drugs to homeless people".
Protip: people who are put on PIP typically don't demonstrate their effort like this guy did - showcasing is the key.