How to Get
a Job at Amazon
Hiring Process and Tips
Amazon is constantly hiring new employees all over the world, but it receives tens of thousands of applications every year. If you’re wondering how to get a job at Amazon, you first need to figure out how to make your job application stand out. Read this guide to learn what the hiring managers and executives at the online trading giant are looking for.
Why Work for Amazon?
Amazon is a great company to work for because of the relationships you’ll form with coworkers as you all strive toward a common goal. Everyone at Amazon is united by the ambition to keep customers happy and improve their lives. To make this happen, you and your team members will constantly be collaborating on exciting and innovative projects.
Amazon also puts family first, and it offers competitive salaries and a full range of benefits to support employees, their spouses, and their children. According to PayScale, the average Amazon employee earns about $101,724 per year. On top of this, the average bonus for an Amazon employee is about $16,000.
Top Perks of Working for Amazon
Employee Assistance Program
Amazon employees receive free confidential support for any issues with which they may be struggling in their professional or personal lives. This includes access to resources and advice for struggling family members. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Health and Dental Care
On top of its robust health insurance package, Amazon offers additional health and dental benefits. Its extended health coverage reduces out-of-pocket costs for things like prescriptions, medical equipment, and paramedical, orthodontic, and optometric services.
Flexibility
Many Amazon employees are allowed to choose a work schedule that optimizes their work-life balance. Depending on the department you join, you may be able to work 35 hours during the week or more hours on weekends and holidays. Some Amazon employees can also choose between a full-time contract or a part-time contract.
Maternity and Parental Leave
Amazon offers new parents up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave, as well as up to eight additional weeks of flexible working hours upon their return to work. Keep in mind that you must work for Amazon for a full year before you qualify for these parental leave benefits.
Financial Security
Amazon has a savings plan that lets employees defer compensation to build wealth and reach their financial goals more quickly. The plan comes with a wide range of investment options. The company also looks after its employees’ financial future by providing options for life, dismemberment, and short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Amazon: Company Profile
Amazon started as a remote book retailer, but it quickly diversified its business into online shopping of all kinds. It is now a worldwide brand with a global network of distribution centers, sales offices, and customer service teams. The fact that many people now order their groceries on Amazon today is a testament to how far the company has come.
Amazon has achieved extraordinary success by prioritizing the demands of its customers above all else. To be able to provide everything customers want, the company has cultivated a passion for invention, a commitment to operational excellence, and a devotion to long-term thinking. These principles will keep Amazon growing well into the future.
Amazon’s Company Culture
Amazon maintains a welcoming culture. It recruits members from diverse backgrounds so that it can create a positive work environment where all workers feel a sense of belonging and worth. The company promotes diversity and inclusion around the world, working to amplify the most underrepresented voices among its ranks.
Amazon’s Top Achievements
Amazon’s biggest achievement was becoming a trillion-dollar company in terms of stock market value. According to Statista, Amazon’s market capitalization now exceeds $1.5 trillion, nearly $200 billion higher than the value of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Amazon’s original goal to become the largest bookstore on earth has remained a central part of its vision. Its most important innovation as a bookseller has been Kindle, its own reader of digital books. Available as an application for desktop computers, iPhones, and Android phones, Kindle has made it easier for people the access the books they want to read.
The rest of Amazon’s achievements are almost too numerous to list. The company has made good on its customer-centric mission by launching several popular services, including Amazon Prime, Amazon Web Services, ecommerce tools for third-party vendors, delivery services, Amazon Music, and Prime Video.
What Is Life as an Amazon Employee Like?
Employees at Amazon get to work on interesting projects that allow them to thrive in their careers. No two employees are the same, but they all strive to bring their different experiences, ideas, and perspectives to bear on the company’s mission to drive innovation and create experiences for customers that no one else is bold enough to imagine.
Amazon’s obsession with innovation presents new and exciting challenges. To navigate uncertainties, the company understands that it needs to seek diverse perspectives, which is why Amazon employees come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They all share the goal of making people’s lives easier, and this collective purpose fuels an appreciation for each employee’s unique strengths.
Above all, this open and accepting work environment motivates the employees to take responsibility for their own jobs and to take care of one another. Every time someone at Amazon succeeds, the company grows and the customers reap the rewards. It’s a virtuous circle that each employee lives and breathes on a daily basis.
Is It Hard to Get a Job at Amazon?
Yes, it is hard to get a job at Amazon. The competition for the technical roles can be especially fierce, with a rigorous interview process standing between each candidate and the job they’ve applied to. That being said, there are several ways to apply, including through Amazon’s online portal, recruiting events, direct recruitment, or employee referral.
The application process for certain positions at Amazon requires an online test to assess your analytical skills. This can be challenging, but if you do well, you may be selected for a phone interview, which brings you one step closer to your dream job.
If you clear this hurdle, you will be invited for a one-on-one in-person interview. The behavioral questions asked at this stage are designed to determine how well your skills and personality mesh with the team. The interview questions are largely based on Amazon’s Leadership Principles, which you can find online at Amazon.jobs.
What Do I Need to Study to Work at Amazon?
Amazon hires people of all education levels and abilities. While you don’t have to study anything in particular to work at one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers, you will be more likely to get a job at Amazon if you have experience and knowledge in logistics, retail, distribution, catering, sales, or food services. Undergraduates with little experience can work as interns.
But Amazon is so much more than an online retailer. As a tech giant and one of the most innovative companies in the world, it also has many tech openings. If you seek a full-time job in Amazon’s data science, software development, IT, or science research department, you should study STEM and develop whatever specialized skills you need to qualify for the role.
Can a Coding Bootcamp Help Me Get a Job at Amazon?
Yes. Coding bootcamp graduates can secure tech roles at Amazon if they can show that they are as qualified as graduates from traditional college degree programs. The best coding bootcamps offer short-term immersive programs and specialize in job-ready skills. It is an efficient and increasingly popular training option for people who want to break into tech.
Top Tips to Ace Your Job Application for Amazon
Applying for a new job is always stressful, but when you’re trying to get a job at a big-name company like Amazon, you have to do more to impress the hiring manager. Below are some job application tips that will improve your chances of success.
Learn About Amazon's Values and Culture
Take the time to study Amazon and its culture. You may already have a sense of Amazon’s customer-centric way if you have used its services. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Morning Consult, Amazon is the second-most trusted brand in the United States. To live up to that reputation, you need to be passionate about serving Amazon’s customers.
It will also help to talk to a former or current employee of Amazon. It’s a way to show that you’ve researched the business and are ready to join the team. Someone who has actually worked there can share insider information about how Amazon conducts business, which will give you a better sense of what you need to do to impress your interviewers.
Read All of Amazon’s Leadership Principles
All applicants are assessed according to Amazon’s 16 Leadership Principles, even if you’re up for a non-managerial position. The best way to prepare for your interview is to reflect on how you have applied the Leadership Principles in a previous professional experience.
Customer obsession, thinking big, frugality, and curiously are just a few examples of the leadership qualities that Amazon seeks in everyone it hires. If you can come up with concrete personal and professional examples for each of the 16 principles, you’ll be well on your way to landing the job.
Prepare Several Stories to Tell
During your Amazon interview, you will have to answer behavioral questions. The strongest candidates empower themselves in these interviews by following a storytelling strategy known as the STAR method. Below are the four components of STAR.
The S is for the situation. For each story you tell, you should locate the strengths and abilities you’re trying to emphasize within a specific context.
The T is for a task. This is the mission that was entrusted to you and the goals you were expected to meet.
The A is for actions. The actions you took to achieve the objectives will have more impact on your listeners if they’re framed by the situation and the task.
The R is for result. Finally, you’ll want to explain what you have to show for the efforts you made to tackle the original problem.
Common Job Titles at Amazon
Amazon has many departments. They include sales, distribution, operational management, Information technology, inventory management, finance, accounting, marketing, communications, and customer service. Below are a few of the most common job openings.
Brand Specialist
Level: Senior
Average salary: $65,902
Experience requirements: 1 year in finance, retail, logistics, or digital marketing, preferably in a managerial role
Education requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Business
Brand specialists create and analyze various sales and marketing metrics. They keep tabs on campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media to increase traffic, brand awareness, and the rate of customer conversion. They also strike deals with potential advertisers and recommend changes to the company’s marketing strategy.
Business Analyst
Level: Entry-level
Average salary: $82,001
Experience requirements: 3 years in data analysis or statistical analysis
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree in any relevant field
A business analyst at Amazon is responsible for creating operational metrics and using them to identify areas for improvement. In collaboration with cross-functional teams, they build and implement reporting systems so that improvement opportunities can be identified and effected as quickly as possible.
Software Development Engineer
Level: Mid-career
Average salary: $122,416
Experience requirements: 1 year in modern programming languages, professional software development, and data structures and algorithms
Education requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or any other relevant field
A software development engineer at Amazon can be in one of three tiers. The tier-one employees have the least experience and employees in the third tier have the most experience. Working together as a team, the three tiers strive to deliver well-designed software on a strict schedule. They push for excellent user experience in everything they do.
Senior Program Manager, Amazon Air
Level: Mid-career or senior
Average salary: $134,934
Experience requirements: 5 years or more in program or project management
Education requirements: Master’s degree in any relevant field
This program manager is responsible for creating and evaluating key processes for Amazon Air. In collaboration with various business partners and stakeholders, they study air processes, find opportunities for improvement, and formulate and implement improvement strategies.
Senior Manager
Level: Senior
Average salary: $167,325
Experience requirements: 3 years in performance management
Education requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Operations, or any relevant field
Senior managers oversee the activities of multiple teams. They are tasked with managing groups across multiple disciplines, guiding teams to achieve excellence, promoting employee engagement, and strengthening the quality of leadership.
Amazon Hiring Process
At Amazon, there are several steps that applicants have to follow to earn employment. These include the application, several rounds of interviews, an evaluation, and the job offer.
Application
You can search for and apply to Amazon jobs on the company website, though some locations also hold application days where candidates can apply in person. If you apply online, you can upload your resume and cover letter and then fill out the online application with any further information about yourself that the position requires.
Online Assessment
Before inviting candidates for interviews, the Amazon hiring team asks them to complete an online assessment. Less of a technical quiz than a behavioral evaluation, this step gauges whether the candidate has the soft skills necessary to live up to Amazon’s Leadership Principles.
Telephone Interview
The phone interview is based on questions related to experience, particularly on responses and solutions to situations or difficulties encountered in the past. Here again, the Leadership Principles serve as a framework for the conversation. As a general rule, the interviewer will only ask questions that can predict whether you will be successful at Amazon.
In-Person Interviews
The questions asked during the on-site assessment are more open-ended, which is why Amazon recommends that candidates formulate their answers using the STAR method. In response to technical questions, candidates should be concise, clear, and confident. This is easier said than done, but just know that Amazon prizes communication skills.
Recruitment Panel Evaluation
Throughout the interview process, you will meet managers, team members, key players from related teams, and an objective third-party evaluator, whom Amazon refers to as a Bar Raiser. Led by the Bar Raiser, the recruitment panel will meet to assess your background, qualifications, and potential, and then decide whether to offer you the job.
Should I Get a Job at Amazon?
You should apply for a job at Amazon. Whether you’re a current or aspiring software developer, marketing expert, or business analyst, there is likely a place for you at Amazon.
Even though the hiring process is competitive, Amazon’s application processes are transparent, and there’s no penalty against applying.
Before you apply, just make sure that you’ve read Amazon’s Leadership Principles, researched the roles that interest you, and figured out where the gaps are in your resume. The tech giant wants candidates who care about customers, are good at solving problems, and believe in the promise of a technology career path. If this sounds like you, apply today.