I applied to Amazon believing their growth and success is led by lots of very talented, driven, intelligent people. I come away from the process with a different opinion. The HR department, of which I communicated with throughout, was slow and unresponsive. The phone interview I had was conducted by a Senior Leader who clearly did not want to be doing this. He led me through the box checking questions, cut me off several times for time and was friendly, but curt. I was offered an on-ste follow up interview. The communication can at 8:45 PM EST with instructions to finalize travel plans by the end of next day for an interview two days from then. I had to reschedule. After weeks of hearing nothing, I finally got the information for a rescheduled interview. This was likely after someone internal to Amazon followed up on my behalf. I received the details for the on-site interview the day prior to the interview after I asked for a third time. Every applicant wore dress pants and a dress shirt or polo.
The on-site management personnel was friendly. We walked the floor of the Fulfillment Center and were exposed to the labor force. Wow, that was an eye opener! Employees tossing items hurriedly into bins while scanning. At one point I said to myself, "isn't that fragile?" A general downtrodden look on most faces. We even walked past the post lunch exercise session and I counted about 15% of the people actually participating in exercise. Most just stood there looking somewhat pissed off (i'd use a friendlier phrase but unfortunatly this sums it up best).
I interviewed with four people. They asked a math question, just like the phone interview, which is exactly what you can find on-line with some research. They just have the numbers changed around from the example I read prior, but it's the same solving process. They would like your interview answers in the STAR format they communicate to you prior. I was not unimpressed with the level of people I interviewed with, but was somewhat disappointed. I really thought I'd be speaking with the "best of the best" and this was clearly not the case. Average to above average at best. Those of you looking to learn and grow professionally from your peers look elsewhere.
Success at this facility is clearly a babysitting job. Stress your people management skills. When they ask for quantifiable results, always have them quantified to the productivity or safety of the people. Other things, like cost reduction or revenue growth did not seem to resonate and the feedback I received on those answers was I was a "finance guy." Which really surprised me coming from such a profitable company. At the end of this process, it comes down to a fit. Ask a lot of questions about what challenges the facility faces. You may be surprised by the answers and have to adjust your interview answers accordingly. I asked each person the one thing they could address or change tomorrow if they could and received four different answers. One of which was alarmingly simplistic and made me wonder why it is even a problem.
One final thing. I spoke with the other applicants while touring and waiting to tour. Several said military backgrounds are very prevelent at Amazon Fullfillment. This was not the first time I had heard this. That is the management style they are likely seeking in your answers and past results.