Applied through a referral in April 2020. Interview process was well designed but poorly executed by the recruiters.
First round - Technical+Behavioral - 40 min -Easy SQL questions - Tell me about the most complex problem you have faced - Tell me about a time you mad a mistake.
Qualified to final round. Communicated within 1 day after the interview. No date shared. Waited 1 week. Reached out to recruiter - They said waiting for date availability confirmations to setup final interviews. No communication for 2 more weeks. Called on first week of June on a Friday and told me final interview is on Monday.
Final Interview was good. 5 rounds, 45 minutes each.. Tell me about yourself questions based on Amazon Leadership Principles. Had prepared 10-12 stories, but could not avoid repeating them to various interviewers. Advice - Prepare at least 20 unique stories that are well defined. Choose true stories - align them to leadership principles by adding a few things, but don't lie outright. Take real stories and develop them in a way they show your leadership.
Three days after final interview, was told that I was interviewed for a Level 5 position. I wasn't selected for it, but they felt I was a good fit for a Level 4 position. It is just a matter of finding the right team for me.
I was overjoyed. I read a few articles where many Amazon employees said that this was their experience. They were leveled down but got a job. I thought same would happen with me. As an unemployed, recent grad international student, this was an amazing and proud moment for me. Unfortunately, I was connected to an absolutely awful recruiter.
Followed up with the recruiter for several weeks to see if there was an opportunity. Everytime the same response - nothing yet. Finally, I sent the recruiter a position at Amazon I saw online and made them setup an interview with the hiring manager.
It has now been 2 months, since final interview and I am still unemployed. Hanging on to this Amazon interview and searching in vain everywhere else. Spoke to the hiring manager for 20 minutes - a very casual conversation where they talked for about 10 minutes and just some basic behavioral questions. Went really well, again the hope soared.
Followed up with recruiter after a week. Said the hiring manager is in the process of finance approval. Hope rose again. Having been hurt a few times with this recruiter, I kept searching elsewhere, but dreamt of starting at Amazon.
Two weeks passed, no response. Followed up again. Same answer. Approval process is still pending. Kept searching, kept following back. After a month, another follow up - recruiter finally check up with the hiring manager. HM has decided to hire internally. Recruiter communicates this to me. Absolutely no regard that I have been hanging on to their every word for the past 3 months.
This was the breaking point for me. I let go of the Amazon dream. Two weeks later I got a contract role interview, completed in a week and got the job. A month later got a great full time offer at another company.
There was a time I had dream of working at Amazon. Now - its just that thing that happened to me. In hindsight, I should have let go a lot earlier. The attachment to Amazon prevented me from going all out for other opportunities. I truly believed that the recruiter had my best interest in their mind till the very end. So naive of me!
The experience has made me averse to interviewing with Amazon ever again.
