I applied through a recruiter. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (London, England) in Aug 2021
Interview
Excessive time investment for a 12 month fixed term contract role.
Initial contact via an Amazon recruiter who sent me the job description and then encouraged me to apply on Amazon’s careers site. (Some companies’ internal recruiters facilitate this step for you, but not Amazon.)
Next step was a 90 minute phone screen. I questioned why the initial screen needed to be so long and was given an explanation by the recruiter (it included a technical test that the interviewers watch you doing). Ok, but most people can’t fit a 90 minute interview into a working day without having to take time off work.
This was followed by a phone call to prepare me for The Loop - five hour-long interviews on the same day. The recruiter was very thorough with the preparation and there is a lot of online resources aimed at helping candidates here. On the day, it was actually an enjoyable experience. But at the same time very corporate and inflexible as the interviewers want to conduct the interview following the STAR method. Received outcome of interview about 2 weeks after the final interviews.
Overall I feel that the entire interview process disrespects the candidate’s time. I think most people would consider the interview process unreasonable for a 12 month FTC role. I would be very unlikely to interview at Amazon ever again due to the excessively high time investment needed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when you <insert scenario relating to one of Amazon’s leadership principles here>.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Amazon (Austin, TX)
Interview
The process consisted of a technical and behavioral round. Although the recruiter stated it would cover SQL and behavioral topics, the interview focused entirely on scenario-based and behavioral questions without a live SQL technical assessment. Communication after the interview was poor; the recruiter did not respond to follow-up emails, and an automated rejection notice was sent two days later.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked me to describe a mistake I made in a past project, how I handled it and what I learned from the experience.
I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon (Hyderabad)
Interview
Easy.
Questions were mostly from sql - Basic to medium level
Topics were Group By, joins, window functions etc.
Basic python knowledge with libraries like pandas, numpy etc. They also ask about projects you have worked on.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions were mostly from sql - Basic to medium level
Topics were Group By, joins, window functions etc.
Basic python knowledge with libraries like pandas, numpy etc.
The interview process includes a SQL test, an initial recruiter call, and a final five-round loop featuring technical questions and discussions focused on Amazon leadership principles with different team members.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked a key question focused on both technical depth and culture fit: how you apply your skills to solve real problems, along with examples demonstrating alignment with Amazon’s leadership principles.