I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Jun 2017
Interview
The interview process was fairly straightforward. A HR phone screening, a call with a hiring manager, a call with someone who may work indirectly with you, and then an in person interview. The in person interview was challenging as it was all day and all situational questions. They only use the STAR method and base their decisions on how you answer their questions. There is no chance really to describe your day to day work, your accomplishments, or to really let your personality shine. Somewhat robotic interview, which was daunting.
The biggest challenge is once rejected you get ZERO feedback and cannot apply for other jobs for 6 months. They sell you on three options; "you're a fit for the company," "you're a fit for the company and the role," "you're not a fit at all, good luck." It's unfortunate especially when a company this size is trying to hire every Tom, Rick, or Harry that walks in the door aka 100k people before the end of 2017.
Interview questions [6]
Question 1
What additional services would you add to our Prime services?
Screening call with recruiter, followed by 3 back-to-back interview loops. Interviews focused primarily on behavioral questions tied to Amazon Leadership Principles, along with an Excel assessment testing analytical and data manipulation skills.
The process was well-structured and followed Amazon’s typical interview format:
1. Recruiter Screening
* Initial discussion about experience, role scope, and expectations
* Basic behavioral and background questions
2. Hiring Manager Interview
* Focus on past experience, business impact, and ownership
* Mix of behavioral and situational questions
3. Interview Loop (3–5 interviews)
* Multiple interviewers covering different Amazon Leadership Principles
* Included a Bar Raiser interview
* Heavy focus on:
* Decision-making
* Trade-offs
* Metrics and impact
* Depth of ownership
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Useless leadership principles framed in behavioral question. Tell me about a time when
You start with an online assessment, which is relatively easy. Then a recruiter reaches out to you if you pass and will ask standard hiring questions. After which, you will then have a phone screen interview and if you pass, you do an interview loop with 5 people. Which is insane for a role that does not pay 100K annually. They also make you go prepare 12-20 STAR stories that you should pretty much memorize.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you invented a process to make things simpler
