Amazon Area Manager interview questions

Just one word- brilliant. The most comprehensive interview that you would ever get to face. In fact, the interview process will be sort of self-discovery for you. One of the few companies, wherein interview process is not subjective. Every single aspect of your personality will be tested using the 14 principles of Amazon. Oh, and the best part- you academic credentials are the last thing they will look at.

The initial interview was over the phone. The party on the other end identified himself as an Area Manager (AM). I found that to be disturbing from the start. From what I read before beginning this process, Amazon evaluates area managers against all other area managers at fulfillment centers. So basically, I'd one day be evaluated against the first line person deciding whether I got to move on in the interview process. I was initially optimistic about this opportunity because four people I knew from work circumstances were applying for this position. We were all applying for different locations, but went through the same initial screening process which was a phone interview with a current AM. Having been well prepared the interview and knowing I would be expected to answer STAR formatted questions, I flowed through fairly easily. I was also prepared for the math challenge and finished in about one minute. The interviewer even told me he expected it to take longer. All sounded well. The interviewer said he liked my situational responses and that I solved the math problem correctly and much faster than anticipated, but I was not chosen to move to the next round. Of the four of us applying, two of us moved on and got the job. Myself and the other candidate who did not make it past the first round. We all compared resumes and other personal notes in preparation for this and the two of us who did not make it were far more qualified for the AM position. We were both in management positions with oversight of about 30 personnel. The two who made it were not our direct subordinates, but were line-workers and subordinates of two managers in similar positions (so they were in the same job capacity as our subordinates) as myself and the other person who did not pass the initial interview. The two who made it, while I'm happy for them, were not in managerial or leadership roles. When each of them said what school they went to, none of the other people in the group had heard about them at all. They were both looking at doubling their paychecks as well. It was more of a lateral move for me, but I felt the upward potential and the bonux (once vested) would offset the "inconvenience" of moving. Having gone through this, I now agree with the reviews that say your interviewer won't move you on if they feel you will beat them in an evaluation. Folks at this level are concerned with maintaining status quo and let the C-suite do all the worrying about what's actually best for the company. Maybe I should have applied to corporate in that case, but I'm in a much happier position now so it all worked out.