Brief introduction on Interviewing at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon providing on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. Read more on https://aws.amazon.com/

Amazon keeps on hiring all round the year as they are continuously striving to look for candidates with great leadership and technical skills. The intent of this article to enable candidates to understand the process better and prepare themselves accordingly.

There are multiple ways of finding a job at AWS, and a few of my recommendations are:-

Amazon Job Portal: This job portal is the best way to explore jobs according to your skills. Just search whatever kind of job and at what locations you are looking for, and you can see the multiple posted jobs that you are always free to apply for. Some FAQs

Approach for referral: The second best way is to look for your former colleagues or acquaintance on Linkedin Contacts who can refer you for the correct job. Ask them to refer you, providing them with the Job ID mentioned on the application. This process helps you in getting some insights into the profile and the job nature.

Once your application is reviewed and found successful, somebody from HR will approach you regarding the job and ask you for your interview availability. They may ask few dates which suit your availability. Candidate is free to provide available date as per their choice.

Once the date is finalized, HR will confirm the next step, usually Phone Screen/Phone Interview.

I will explain here about Network Development Professionals. We use NDE(Network Development Engineers) as technical roles term. I will collect most of the information which is available in the public domain. This article is for experienced candidates with experience in relevant roles for some time.

Interviewing Steps :

Phone Screen/Phone Interview:

This will be a 45-60 min interview on the telephone. At scheduled time, candidate needs to join a chime bridge and you probably need to download Amazon Chime, our video-conferencing tool (the step-by-step guide can be found here). If you’re presenting, you will need to download Chime onto your desktop. The meeting ID# will be emailed to you by your recruitment point of contact. For optimal sound quality, use a headset with a microphone or with the details already provided in the email from HR.

Personal Recommendations:
-Visit Amazon Leadership Principles and go through each and recall if you have countered a situation either in your past roles or in your current role that depicts the particular leadership skills. The more the better it will lead you closer to Amazon.

– I will recommend choosing good technical experiences if you are applying for technical roles as it will be easy for both candidate and interviewer to probe more and conclude the skill.

AWS Recommendations:-

Our interviews are based on behavioural questions which ask about past situations or challenges you’ve faced and how you handled them, using the Leadership Principles to guide the discussion. We don’t use brain-teasers (e.g., “How many windows are in Manhattan?”) during the interview process. We’ve researched this approach and have found that those types of questions are unreliable when it comes to predicting a candidate’s success at Amazon. Here are some examples of behavioural questions:

• Tell me about a time when you were faced with a problem that had a number of possible solutions. What was the problem and how did you determine the course of action? What was the outcome of that choice?
• When have you ever taken a risk, made a mistake or failed? How did you respond and how did you learn from that experience?
• Describe a time when you took the lead on a project
• What did you do when you needed to motivate a group of individuals or encourage collaboration during a particular project?
• How have you leveraged data to develop a strategy?
• Keep in mind, Amazon is a data-driven company. When you answer questions, you should focus on the question asked, ensure your answer is well-structured and provide examples using metrics or data if applicable. Refer to recent situations whenever possible.

You should bear in mind that your interviewers won’t be evaluating your ability to memorise all the details of each of these topics. They will be analysing your ability to apply what you know and solve problems efficiently and effectively. Given that you sometimes have only limited time to prepare for a technical interview, I will recommend to go through the basic fundamentals with your technological stuffs .It is always recommended to looks for the lasted and most promising technology that are well proven in the technical community or different forums. This will likely yield the best results in the available time.

Other Tips for a smooth Phone interview:

Some teams at Amazon incorporate role-specific exercises or online assessments into the interview process.

• You will be notified if you are required to take a test.
• For your phone interview, find a quiet and comfortable place with no distractions.
• Use a computer with a reliable connection and access to email.
• If you’re using a mobile phone, make sure you’re in a place with good signal.
• Have a copy of your CV on hand.
• Have paper and a pen readily available.
• Come prepared with questions that you would like to explore in more detail (e.g. on initiatives/projects, the team culture, the scope of the role).
• If you need clarification on anything or have any additional follow-up questions, reach out to your recruiting point of contact.
• If you have any special requirements, questions or concerns, please reach out to us as we are committed to making reasonable provisions for all individuals.

Virtual interviews:

If you’ve been asked to do a virtual interview, you will probably need to download Amazon Chime, our video-conferencing tool (the step-by-step guide can be found here). If you’re presenting, you will need to download Chime onto your desktop. The meeting ID# will be emailed to you by your recruitment point of contact. For optimal sound quality, use a headset with a microphone

What to Expect after Phone Screen/Phone Interview?

-Amazon HR will get back to you within two business days after your phone interview. If you haven’t heard from HR by then, feel free to give them a nudge via email.

Outcome:

–Next interview scheduling because you definitely cleared Phone Interview. Expect a call or email from HR.
–Next Phone Screen Scheduling as First Phone interview was not sufficient enough to collect data about you or due to short of time(sometimes this happens too). Second Interview Procedure is exactly same as the first Phone Interview. Expect a call or email from HR.
–Your application is not successful during this time email from HR. You are free to ask for some feedback and HR can provide some over phone maybe.

Once you are eligible for the next interview which is called On-site interview;HR will reach you again for scheduling your interviews and will send you a questionnaire with few questions . Major is Current salary (include base, bonus and equity) and Expected salary (include base, bonus and equity).Do your research and let them know the answers.

You can take your time and reply to HR with your availability. HR will send confirmation email for the interview along with the interviewers name(most of the time). Seeing current COVID-19 scenarios or sometime based on your geographical location or availability of Amazon office near your location you can opt for Video conference/In person visit to nearly Amazon office.This is generally faster else you need to wait for visa if in different country or travel arrangements.Everything is up to your choice and best available method combined.

Personal recommendation:
If you can manage a good internet speed ,do on video conference from home i.e your most comfort zone is best.

If internet speed is not reliable ,approaching nearest Amazon office is best choice.

Last should be the travel option. If job location is nearer , nothing can beat than sharing human to human interaction live.

Structure of Onsite-Interview:
Mostly Five rounds of interview schedule (45-60min each) called Loop.

Manager’s Interview-1
Members from your Team or cross team Interview -3
Bar raiser interview-1

If you are visiting the interview location there will be a lunch buddy assigned to you who will go on a quick lunch between interview with you .

Tips for the interview.

Exactly same tips as for Phone interview but expect yourself for being more patient here and you may need to sit for long hours.
Sometime it takes multiple days for the interview to complete, specially during global vacation time because of less availability of interviewers. In this case 5 interviews may get fragment to 2-3 interviews/day .

Go through Leadership principles
We use our Leadership Principles every day, whether we’re discussing ideas for new projects or finding the most effective solution to a problem. It’s just one of the things that makes Amazon peculiar. All candidates are evaluated based on our Leadership Principles. The best way to prepare for your interview is to think about how you’ve applied the Leadership Principles in your previous professional experience.

Prepare for Behavioural Interviewing
-Our interviews are based on behavioural questions which ask about past situations or challenges you’ve faced and how you handled them, using the Leadership Principles to guide the discussion. We don’t use brain-teasers (e.g., “How many windows are in Manhattan?”) during the interview process. We’ve researched this approach and have found that those types of questions are unreliable when it comes to predicting a candidate’s success at Amazon.

Here are some examples of behavioural questions:

• Tell me about a time when you were faced with a problem that had a number of possible solutions. What was the problem and how did you determine the course of action? What was the outcome of that choice?
• When have you ever taken a risk, made a mistake or failed? How did you respond and how did you learn from that experience?
• Describe a time when you took the lead on a project
• What did you do when you needed to motivate a group of individuals or encourage collaboration during a particular project?
• How have you leveraged data to develop a strategy?

Keep in mind, Amazon is a data-driven company. When you answer questions, you should focus on the question asked, ensure your answer is well-structured and provide examples using metrics or data if applicable. Refer to recent situations whenever possible.

Use best proven STAR answering format:

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioural interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action and result of what you’re describing. Here’s what it looks like:

SITUATION

Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. Give enough detail for the interviewer to understand the complexities of the situation. This example can be from a previous job, school project, volunteer activity or any relevant event.

TASK

What goal were you working towards?

ACTION

Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take? What was your particular contribution? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project. Let us know what you actually did. Use the word “I,” not “we,” when describing actions.

RESULT

Describe the outcome of your actions and don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Provide examples using metrics or data if applicable.

Consider your own successes and failures in relation to the leadership principles. Have specific examples that showcase your expertise and demonstrate how you’ve taken risks, succeeded, failed and grown over the course of your career. Bear in mind that some of Amazon’s most successful programmes have risen from the ashes of failed projects. Failure is a necessary part of innovation. It’s not optional. We understand that and believe in failing early and iterating until we get it right.

Tips for great answers
Practise using the STAR method to answer the behavioural interview questions listed above and incorporate the Amazon Leadership Principles

Ensure each answer has a beginning, middle and end. Describe the situation or problem, the actions you took and the outcome

Prepare short descriptions of a handful of different situations and be ready to answer follow-up questions in greater detail. Select examples that highlight your unique skills

Give specific examples that showcase your experience and demonstrate that you’ve taken risks, succeeded, failed and grown over the course of your career

Specifics are key: avoid generalisations. Give a detailed account of one situation for each question you answer and use data or metrics to support your example

Be forthcoming and straightforward. Don’t embellish or omit parts of the story.

Personal recommendation for technical Interviewing:

I will recommend to choose good technical experiences if you are applying for technical roles as it will be easy for both candidate and interviewer to probe more and conclude the skill.

e.g for Optical Engineers

-Prepare and revise DWDM fundamentals.
-Network Architecture and designs.
-How to solve problems through Automation skills.You can read more on my article https://mapyourtech.com/automation-in-optical-networkingif-you-are-reading-this-you-can-do-this/

-Read about latest CFPs/QSFPs/ZR etc working and fundamentals.
-Read about best problem solving techniques for issues in Network.
-Read about key performance metrices/indicators that can help you solve a problem in network.
-Read about how to collaborate with other technologies or cross platforms teams/devices to isolate and fix the problems.
-Recording solutions and creating MOP(Method of Procedure/Process) to fix issue in future.
-Think about innovative solutions that can help manage network smoothly.

Tips before you head in
Be prepared to explain what interests you about the role you’re being interviewed for and the team (or teams) you’ll be meeting with

When answering questions, be concise but detailed. We realise it’s hard to gauge how much information is too much versus not enough. An effective test is pausing after your succinct response to ask if you’ve provided enough detail or if the interviewer would like you to go into more depth

Follow-up if you need clarification. If you’re asked a question, but are not given enough information to provide a solid answer, don’t be shy about asking for more information. If additional context is not available, focus on how you would attempt to solve the problem with only limited information

For some roles, we may ask you to complete a writing sample. Why? At Amazon, we don’t use PowerPoint or any other slide-oriented presentations. Instead we write narratively structured memos and silently read one at the beginning of each meeting. These documents generally range from one to six pages and articulate the project goal(s), approach to addressing it, outcome and next steps. Given this unique aspect of our culture and the impact these papers have on what decisions we make as a company, being able to articulate your thoughts in written form is a necessary skill

We aim to hire intelligent, thoughtful and customer-obsessed people. Reflect on what motivated you to pursue a career with Amazon and be prepared to share your thought process. Although “Why Amazon?” is a standard question, it’s not just a formality for us. We genuinely want to understand what inspired you to explore an opportunity with us so we get a better sense of who you are

We try to leave a few minutes at the end of each interview to answer questions you might have, but if we don’t get to all of them, please don’t hesitate to ask your recruitment point of contact.

Interview day
Check-in: arrive 15 minutes early to check in for your interview. Have your government-issued photo ID ready (e.g. driving licence, passport)

Location: detailed instructions will be sent to you via email. Some of our offices are dog-friendly. Let us know if you have any special requirements or allergies

Dress code: comfortable and casual. While safety clothing – such as closed-toed shoes – is required for some positions in our fulfilment centres, most of our office staff wear everyday clothing. We’re interested in what you have to say, not what you’re wearing

What to expect: interviews will be a mixture of questions and discussions concerning your previous experience and the challenges you’ve encountered. Come armed with detailed examples — concise, structured answers are ideal

Interviewers: depending on the role, you will meet with anywhere from two to seven Amazonians. They will likely be a mix of managers, team members, key stakeholders from related teams and a “Bar Raiser” (usually an objective interviewer from another team). All interviewers will assess potential for growth beyond the position you’re being interviewed for and focus on evaluating how well your background and skills meet core competencies, along with how they relate to Amazon’s Leadership Principles. We recommend approaching each of your interviews the same way rather than trying to tailor answers to the interviewer’s role. Interviewers will often be taking notes on their laptops. It’s important that they have precise notes of their time with you to share with other interviewers

CV: interviewers will have a copy, but feel free to bring one as well

Duration: each interview usually lasts from 45 minutes to an hour

Lunch: We will provide lunch if your interview is scheduled during the lunch hour. Let recruitment or your lunch buddy know if you have any dietary preferences

Amazon Non-Disclosure Agreement: All candidates must sign our standard Non-Disclosure Agreement. If you’re unable to print and sign prior to your arrival, we’ll have a copy available for you

Technical roles: If you’re being interviewed for a technical role, be prepared to use a whiteboard

Virtual interviews: If you’ve been asked to do a virtual interview, you will probably need to download Amazon Chime, our video-conferencing tool (step-by-step guide here). If you’re presenting, you will need to download Chime onto your desktop. The meeting ID# will be emailed to you by your recruitment point of contact. For optimal sound quality, use a headset with a microphone.

Before and after the interview
Some teams at Amazon incorporate role-specific exercises or online assessments into the interview process. You will be notified if you are required to take a test

Confirm or book arrangements if your interview requires travel. Your recruiting point of contact will either set up your travel arrangements or put you in touch with our travel agency to help you coordinate travel details and hotel stay.

An expense report should be submitted after your visit. Your recruitment point of contact will provide details on where and how to submit your report. Fill in your form clearly and ensure scanned receipts are legible – this will help prevent reimbursement delays

If you have any special requirements, questions or concerns, please contact us: we are committed to making reasonable provisions for all individuals

After your interview, be on the lookout for a quick post-interview survey via email. It is important for us to know how we did so we can continually improve our interview process. We really value your input

Expect to hear back from recruitment within five business days following your interview. If you don’t, feel free to give us a nudge.

Outcome:

Successful :
Great you have made it. Lot of Amazonians are looking forward to meet you to learn and share the best with you and from you.

Next Time:

Dont worry, you can still apply for different opportunities and its good that you got the first hand experience of interview and next time you can prepare yourself in a better way. Remember that the decision is taken in consideration with multiple parameters like current available candidates skill sets in same role ,current available racks that meets your skill sets, your future growth aspects etc.

Offer

HR will give call to explain the offer.Based on your experience, job level and skill sets there will be an competitive compensation offered to you.There is always a scope for negotiations if the explanations are convincing and agreed between candidate and the HR.

Offer consists of base salary +RSU stocks+joining bonus and other relocation benefits.It is recommended to know your worth and expectation and for that candidate can refer to online websites/different forums etc.

Recommended sites for more exploration:

https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Amazon,Google,Facebook,Microsoft&track=Software%20Engineer

https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Amazon-Interview-Questions-E6036.htm?countryRedirect=true

https://dev.to/fallenstedt/three-steps-i-took-to-get-a-job-offer-from-amazon-1p23

https://www.zippia.com/advice/amazon-interview-questiond/

https://www.quora.com/How-long-does-it-take-Amazon-to-make-a-job-offer

https://fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/amazon-salary-negotiation/

https://6figr.com/in/salary/amazon