As a leader in pioneering technological innovation, it employs around 840,000 people worldwide. Jobs exist across various teams and functions including:
Operations IT Marketing Finance HR Design Software development
They form the basis of all its decisions and offer candidates a useful insight into the key traits and characteristics required.
1. Customer Obsession
2. Ownership
ts culture is one of collective responsibility so be prepared to show how you would take ownership of an issue, even if it fell outside of your job remit.
3. Invent and Simplify
It wants inventive employees, capable of constructing multiple solutions to any given problem, and for those solutions to be broken down into their simplest form.
4. Are Right, A Lot
However, this principle is not about perfection. It’s about looking for the best solution, being open to the opinions of others and questioning your own decisions.
5. Learn and Be Curious
As its systems and processes undergo constant reinvention, you’ll be expected to improve your own skills and knowledge accordingly.
6. Hire and Develop the Best
7. Insist on the Highest Standards
Standards are exceptionally high across the company and it looks for those that strive to exceed expectations.
8. Think Big
9. Bias for Action
It believes better lessons are learnt from direct action and prefers assertive decisions over cautious planning.
10. Frugality
The frugality principle is all about resourcefulness, creativity and efficient problem-solving.
11. Earn Trust
Those who do well are those that hold their hands up when a mistake is made and work quickly to find the best resolution.
12. Dive Deep
This is about taking an interest in the finer details.
13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
If you have an alternative opinion, you’ll be expected to stand by it with conviction, prove its validity with data-driven evidence and, once you’ve made a decision based on your own opinion, commit to it fully.
14. Deliver Results
The last Leadership Principle focuses on your contribution to the business.
Online Application
As you’d expect, the first step is to apply online for your desired position. You’ll need to create an amazon.jobs account and fill out your profile to get started. This will involve uploading your CV, though candidates are permitted to use a LinkedIn profile if they prefer. The type of tests you’ll undertake will depend on the role you’re applying for, but numerical, verbal and logical reasoning are common, as are situational judgment tests.
Work Style Assessment Work Sample Simulations
Work Style Assessment
You’ll be presented with a set of statements and asked to pick which best describe your working preferences. This test generally takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
Work Sample Simulations
These tests are role-specific. You’ll be given a virtual task relevant to the position and will be assessed on how effectively you complete it. Again, the Leadership Principles will largely dictate how successful you are, so keep them in mind. These work simulations will also test things like interpersonal skills, problem solving and data analysis. This section can take anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour depending on complexity.
Telephone Interview
These are behavioural interviews, so be prepared to answer questions that relate to your past experience. For example:
“Tell me about a time when you failed at a task. What lessons did you learn?” “Describe a time where you pulled an unmotivated team together to achieve on objectives.”
As with any interview, use this opportunity to show your interest by asking questions of your own. Typically, you’ll know if you’ve been successful at this stage within two working days.
In-Person Interview
Face-to-face interviews are the final stage of the application process. On the day, you can expect anywhere between two to seven interviews with different company representatives, each lasting 45 minutes to an hour. The number of interviewers you meet will be dependant on the role in question. As with your telephone interview, the questions will largely be behavioural. Each interviewer will be looking for strong examples of work-based situations that show how you’re a good fit and how well you align with the Leadership Principles.
Know the Leadership Principles Inside Out
You’ll be assessed by these at every stage of the process so make sure you fully grasp what each one entails.
Use the STAR Technique
The STAR technique refers to:
Situation Task Action Result
When constructing answers to behavioural interview questions, be sure to explain the scenario, what you were working towards, the actions taken specifically by you and the subsequent outcome(s). Frame your answer with a beginning, middle and end; provide in-depth detail, but be concise.
Use Data-Based Evidence
Any claims made with regards to achievements, success and even failure should be backed up with detailed evidence.
Own Up to Your Mistakes
Hiring managers aren’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for candidates that have taken risks, owned up to mistakes and worked towards long term success of the back of short term failure.
Be Prepared to Talk Around Technical Topics
These include things like:
Coding Algorithms Programming languages Operating systems
Once you’ve passed the assessment tests, you will be asked to participate in a telephone interview. This is the third stage of the job application process, and questions will be largely behavioral-based. Once you begin the application process, you will be kept informed about the status of your application via the online portal. You need to register for a free account to apply for a job. Once you have a profile, you can search for suitable positions and upload a copy of your resume. You will note that three distinct categories will update you. These categories are updated in real-time, so even if the application status hasn’t changed, you can feel confident that you know where you are within your recruitment journey.
Application submitted means that they had received your application, but it has not yet been reviewed by hiring managers. Under consideration means that the hiring managers are in the process of reviewing your application. No longer under consideration means that you have been unsuccessful.
You need to be well aware of what the company is looking for from its candidates, so try to think about how you can weave any particular keywords into your resume and your responses to their initial job questions. It would help if you prepared in full before submitting your answers and your resume in the initial stages of your application. The closer your application links to the leadership principles and the job description, the more likely your submission will be picked up by applicant tracking filters and reviewed by a potential hiring manager. If you have been invited to a face-to-face interview, you can expect to have a call from a recruiter within five business days. If you are applying for a technical role or a senior position, the recruiters may have felt that you did not have the right experience required. Perhaps the role required a specific level of education, in which case, you could enhance future applications by looking at what qualifications you could study for. Finally, as part of the application, you are asked to answer a series of questions before being invited to a telephone interview and face-to-face interview. If your answers don’t give the recruiter the confidence that you are the right candidate for the job, you will likely be unsuccessful. For example, they may use a separate device to look up the answers to any technical questions. If they can see that you’ve not answered a single question for an hour, yet in the last fifteen minutes, you manage to answer every question perfectly, they may have grounds for suspicion. Remember that the needs of the end-user should be the starting point for all your decisions. So, at every interview stage, be sure to demonstrate your commitment to customer experience and satisfaction.
