I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in Jun 2011
Interview
There were 3 separate phone screens that took place over a 3 week period. The questions were all about inquiries into my background and case studies. The onsite interview took place on a Thursday at a resort. I interviewed with about 7 different people. The GM was seemed like he did not want to be there. He was just in rapid-fire mode with the various scenario types of questions. I felt that things went reasonably well and then I find out the very next Monday that they decided not to make me an offer. . They would not give me any more information and I am guessing that one person on the interview team has ultimate veto power over candidates. All in all it was a good learning experience.
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Amazon (Chattanooga, TN) in May 2011
Interview
I interviewed in Chattanooga, TN for an Operations Manager position. The interview was the most professional one that I have been too. I was impressed with the use of the case studies and the math problem.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
As an Area/OPS Manager you are required to audit 2 employees on an established Standard Operating procedure for your line. During your audit this week you chose Becky, a stellar performer who consistently makes rate & has no quality errors and Mike, who has been having trouble making rate and has had 2 quality errors in the last month. During the audit you find that neither employee is following the Standard Operating Procedure. What do you do??
You run a packing department where customer orders are categorized into small, medium and large batches. In general you try to rotate your packers between all sizes of customer orders since there have been prior cases reported of shoulder strain from folks doing large batches for a full shift
Ian is your best large item packer; he can do twice the expected rate seemingly without even trying. He has been packing large items all morning.
After lunch you see your queue has grown in the large batch area. If you keep Ian in the large item packing area, he can get the work accomplished without any impact to production. Or you would need to move two employees into backfill his role which may impact your overall production for the day. What do you do?
I applied online. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Oct 2010
Interview
There were 3 separate phone screens that took place over a 6+ week period. The questions were all about inquiries into my background and seemed to fit with the position they were considering me for.
The onsite interview took place on a Friday. I interviewed with about 7 different people. Some people were very robotic, especially one of the senior managers. He was just in rapid-fire mode with the various scenario types of questions. They seemed to indicate they were having a very difficult time trying to find qualified candidates who were willing to relocate to Seattle. One manager used the words: "They are getting scrapy". I took that as meaning they were getting desperate which is why they can't find candidates in the local Seattle, WA area.
I felt that things went reasonably well and then I find out the very next Monday that they decided not to make me an offer. That was very strange as I know the people I interviewed with never even met to discuss my potential fit. They would not give me any more information and I am guessing that one person on the interview team has ultimate veto power over candidates. That one manager even pressed me with a few questions on my interview strategy for potential candidates and he seemed to feel that if one person on the interview team objects then no-hire.
What really ticked me off was that they took more than 2 months to process my travel reimbursement.
I don't think I would have enjoyed the place anyway as I could tell they lacked process and it is all-hands-on-deck for every fire.
Good luck.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
What thing should I know about you that I failed to ask?