Dear Jack James,
Here are several tips I could find for you. Please note, that your
interview might be different: it might depend on the individual
interviewer (or interviewee - you); on the settings; etc.
"Should I send samples of my work (writing, code, designs) with my application?
If you're selected for an interview, we may request samples of your
work, so please do not send them with your initial application.
However, if you have public copies of your work available that can be
seen online, please include the link on your CV.
How long does it take you to decide whether I'll get an interview?
Our process is simple. We search the submitted CVs and then contact
the people we'd like to learn more about (usually within 2-3 weeks
after new CVs come in). Unfortunately, we're not able to make personal
contact with people who are not selected for interview, but we keep
all CVs on file for several months.
What is your interview process?
The process is variable. For some positions we begin with a phone
interview. If there's interest on both sides, we invite you to an
on-site interview, typically with the hiring manager and managers from
other areas of the business. A candidate can expect to have two rounds
of interviews and, depending on the role, some form of assessment or
presentation to perform. "
(Amazon.co.uk - Jobs at Amazon.co.uk
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/static/-/jobs/recruitment-faq/202-5662982-5877459>).
They also have a page on the interview process:
Amazon.com - The Interview Process
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_bb_l_1/103-9756561-2202224?%5fencoding=UTF8&node=14237941&no=14201851&me=A2UFG9NDFLOV22>
Vault.com: Amazon.com interviews
<http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=13&product_id=589&type=interview>
- individual experiences from interviewing at Amazon.com
"What kind of things do they ask when you interview for a job at Amazon?
Loyalty questions. They're like... God, I'm trying to think of a good
one, because some of them are so completely ridiculous. Oh, it was
something about working overtime. And they ask if you have a family.
Because I think they want to know... because it's not really a
position for someone with a family.
Do they ask you anything about books?
No. "
(SOURCE: JOSH FEIT, "Exit Interview", The Stranger, February 16, 2000,
<http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=3203>).
Gayle Laakmann
<http://www.glaak.com/interviews/#Amazon> - individual experiences
" This was my first Amazon full time interview. It was not with a
recruiter but with a head of a two pizza team (a 2PTL). They were
surprised I hadn't spoken with a recruiter already..
* Tell me about an exciting opportunity that you worked on
* How did you use technology there
* How did you account for scaling?
* What would be your advice for rapid growth sites such as Friendster
* Talk to me about working in teams
* What was your least effective team situation
* How do you tell someone that someone else is better at a
particular position than them
* Design a web based email system. Describes pieces,
components, design, large scale, and use case (This lead to lots of
questions about the components and other decisions)
* Why Amazon?
* Where do you see yourself in five years?
* Find the missing element in an array with values from 1 to 1000.
* What ideas do you have for Amazon?
* What blogging software do you recommend?
* What blogging software do you use?
* Any questions?
After the interview they sent me a coding question which I have to
complete and email to them before my next phone interview. That next
phone interview will be spent discussing my solution and then on the
basis of that interview they'll make the fly down decision or not. The
question is:
* Code up a simple class in the language of your choice to
represent a deck of cards with operations to shuffle the deck and to
deal one card."
(SOURCE: "AmazonInterview3. ",
<http://wiki.mattgoyer.com/Wiki.jsp?page=AmazonInterview3>).
More personal experiences
=========================
Working for Amazon.com - Joel on Software
<http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.90495.5>
C.J.'s amazing journal of studlyness - Kittens
<http://cjcollier.livejournal.com/84398.html>
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search terms:
["work at amazon" interview]
Good luck! |
