What's it like to interview at Amazon? The Amazon interview process explained

Before we invite candidates to the interview loop stage, we typically ask them to connect with a recruiter or hiring team member. These interviews often use behavioural-based questions which ask about past situations or challenges a candidate has faced and how they’ve handled them, using Leadership Principles to guide the discussion. We avoid brain teasers (e.g., “How many windows are in Manhattan?”), because our research has shown that they are unreliable when it comes to predicting a candidate’s success at Amazon.

The next stage is the interview loop, where you'll meet several individuals currently working at Amazon. Each person will assess different aspects of your skills and experience, helping us get a well-rounded understanding of how you’d perform at the company.

We recommend candidates format responses using the STAR method (situation, task, action, and result) to answer behavioural-based interview questions, incorporating examples from their experiences to date. Ahead of the interview loop Amazon will provide tips for good answers, common topics, how soon after a candidate will hear back from us, and more.

Depending on the role, candidates will meet with anywhere from two to seven Amazonians during the interview loop stage. This will likely be a mix of managers, team members, key stakeholders from related teams, and a “Bar Raiser” (an objective third party, usually from another team). All interviewers assess potential for growth beyond the position a candidate is interviewing for — whether you raise the bar. They’ll focus on evaluating how well a candidate’s background and skills meet core competencies for the role, along with how they relate to Amazon’s Leadership Principles.

If you are applying for a technical role at Amazon, the interview topics may look a bit different. Invention is in our DNA and technology is the tool we use evolve and improve every aspect of the customer experience. This is why we’ve created a guide to help candidates understand the most common technical topics they may be asked when interviewing with us.

Amazon’s culture is deeply rooted in our Leadership Principles. That means the best way a candidate can prepare for an interview is to consider how they’ve applied these Leadership Principles during their previous professional experience. We encourage candidates to learn about our culture, our business teams, and how we strive to follow these principles.

For some roles, we may ask a candidate to complete a writing assignment. This is because at Amazon, writing is a key part of the culture. For example, at the start of meetings we silently read documents and memos that generally range from one to six pages. Given how important the writing culture is at the company, being able to articulate your thoughts in written format is a necessary skill.

We want to make sure our candidates feel prepared, which is why we’ve compiled a list of answers to frequently asked questions people ask when applying for roles at Amazon. These topics include things like: how to submit a CV or check the status of a submitted application, whether or not we accept cover letters, and more.