I am still early (and hopefully will continue) in the process. I was contacted by a recruiter who saw my resume. I did see them at a job fair, but didn't talk to them at the time as I didn't think I was moving to a location where they have a DC.
The recruiter sent me an email questionnaire with basic questions (which others have described).
I didn't think I would hear back from them after a week or 10 days went by, but then I got an email about a day and time for a phone interview.
What I did appreciate was the phone interview was with the Sr. Ops Manager at the location I wanted to work at. From what I have read, this isn't the normal experience.
The phone interview lasted about 45 min.
First she told me about herself, and her career with Amazon.
Then she asked me to walk her through my resume.
Next, she talked about the Amazon leadership principles and said the rest of the interview would be based on 3 of these with one math problem.
The questions were all behavioral (give me an example of a time when...) and related to the Amazon leadership principles of Teach, Think, and Deliver. There are more principles, but those were the 3 that I was asked to speak to.
After that, she asked me to solve a production output problem. (Also on here in a previous review).
As others have stated, it was very script based and she stuck to her part. There were a couple time where she asked me to explain something a little deeper.
Oh, she also did ask me about my strengths and weaknesses and specifics about how many people I have had to lead in past positions.
Overall, I thought the interview went pretty well. She said I'd hear from the recruiter in 2-3 days (one way or the other), and although I haven't heard anything yet...based on the previous response time I don't think that means anything. It's been 5 business days...and I will contact the recruiter tomorrow and will update this appropriately.
**UPDATE**
After my phone interview, I waited about a week (or 10 days) and then heard from the recruiter that I had been invited to an in-person on-site interview. I was invited out to a regional event. There were 16 people there 8 in the AM and 8 in the PM. We were all interviewing for area manager but not all at the same location. Also, there are several Area managers per shift and several shifts...so your not exactly competing against everyone there. Maybe a few, but not all.
The on-site interview included travel to the location. Security it tight, so be early. We also got a tour of the facility. It was VERY impressive to see.
The process began with a math production flow problem. (If you look at other posts, you will find it). Be sure to understand the problem since in one interview they will change something in the problem and ask you for the new answer.
There are 4 (45 min) interviews with 4 different people. Mine were 3 Sr. Ops Managers and 1 HR manager.
Mine ended up back-to back - to back - to back.... to 3 hrs straight. Most of the others had short breaks in between.
All the interviewers were really nice, gave a bit about their backgrounds and left time to answer questions.
All questions were to be answered in the STAR format. I didn't follow the format too formally, just told stories that covered the elements. All questions are related to Amazon leadership principles in some way. Just think about what principle the question is asking about. I prepared 2-3 stories (examples) that related to each. That way I had plenty to talk about for 3 hours. I did use some of the same examples in multiple interviews...but not many.
It is important to be able to use quantifiable results in your examples.
Overall, I left feeling pretty good about the interview. I received a call the next day from the recruiter letting my know that they were going to offer me a position. About a week later, I received the formal offer letter. The offer was about what I was expecting. Base salary + bonus + stock. The numbers were about what I thought they would be bases on my research and initial conversations.
Ultimately, I declined the offer for another position. Nothing against Amazon, but I choose another career path outside of operations.
It was a good experience, but fairly difficult interview process. If I hadn't have received a second offer while still considering the Amazon offer, I would have accepted the position.
