I applied through an employee referral. The process took 8 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Feb 2017
Interview
It should be pretty clear to everyone that you need to prep stories to behavioral interview questions stemming from the Leadership Principles. I prepped 8 stories and made sure I knew EVERYTHING about them. In one instance, an interviewer was checking my math in real-time as I was talking about the results. Expect them to push you. It is hard and intimidating but it isn't because they doubt your results they just want to see how much you know. In general the Amazon interview is definitely the most difficult interview process I've every participated in so know that and come prepared to kill it. I studied my stories, interview math, and case-based questions for at least 100-hours prior to my in-person loop. That is how much time I spent, you are very different so prep until YOU feel comfortable. The in-person interview was actually easier than I expected because I had prepared SO much but it was still incredibly difficult. I'd highly recommend any of the Lewis Lin case-based interview books, they were very helpful (I wasn't paid to say that, I was just introduced to him during my MBA program and his books helped a lot).
One last comment is around the actual job offer. I wasn't selected for the job I initially applied for, my guess was because I wasn't at the level of the job; however, my interviewers still felt I was a good fit for Amazon. The recruiter emailed me the day I was told I didn't get the job and asked if I'd be interested in a different position on the same team. None of my Amazon contacts had ever heard of this occurring before which is why I wanted to write about it. It is possible to not get the job but still be a good fit for Amazon. Following the contact from the recruiter I "re-looped" with the new hiring manager for one-hour and was then offered the new position.
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