I applied through an employee referral. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Jun 2015
Interview
I was referred by a friend and got an interview request from the recruiting manager shortly after... The interview process was by far the most thorough I have ever been through. Granted, the whole process took about 6 weeks it still felt like a pretty fast process to me.
I had two screening interviews before going on to the final rounds. Screening interviews were both behavioral, with the interviewer asking several follow-up questions after my answers... If you've ever done a McKinsey behavioral interview - it is something like that. After each screen HR got back to me pretty quickly to let me know when and how the process would move forward.
For the final interview I was flown in to Seattle to meet with members of the team I would be working with as well as one person who is what they call a "bar raiser". I interviewed with 6 people in total and had lunch with another member of the team. Each interviewer asked behavioral questions as well as pointed case questions that were directly related to the job. The cases are not so much like consulting cases - they are more business cases but structuring your answers and approach will help make it easier for your interviewer to follow. I was surprised though that each interviewer had a case question so be prepared.
My interviewers were all polite, attentive and unbelievably professional. There was only one interviewer who kept yawning the whole time and didn't look as interested in conducting an interview or be in the same room with me. It threw me off my game a bit but other than him every other member of the interviewing team was stellar. I felt great after the interview knowing that they were really looking for the right person for the job and that if I did not move through it meant I was not a great fit. I was very pleased that it wasn't your run of the mill interview but 90% related to what I would be doing should they go ahead with me. Alas, I didn't get the job but with no hard feelings whatsoever! I got the call from my HR coordinator a day after the interview - so they are very fast with their decision.
All the best to all who read this and find it useful.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Jun 2015
Interview
1. Phone call with an Amazon recruiter.
2. Phone interview with hiring manager that they called an "information session".
3. Technical phone interview with another TPM in the department.
4. All day onsite interviews with 7 people, 2 of which were bar "raisers".
All of the stories on Glassdoor and other sites had me completely overwhelmed while preparing for this interview. At the end of the day, the interview was not much different than other large companies. There were no strange questions or code to write. I guess the difference was that I was qualified for the position with my technical background and years of experience. I had plenty of past projects to talk about and I was easily able to answer all of the technical questions. I left underwhelmed and disappointed that they did not "sell" the job to me. I sat in the same room for 5 hours, not including a 30min. lunch interview, and did not get a feeling of what it would be like to work there. Most jobs I interview for in the past gave me the "sell" and at a minimum walked me around. Not Amazon. They should really do better on the "sell" in order to keep attracting top talent. We all know they don't have any good perks, but give it some effort.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Most of the questions were "tell me about a time" and behavioral. Lots of questions around the Amazon leadership principles. I was asked to design solutions to several given problems. They want to hear about your past project war stories and what you did.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Mar 2015
Interview
Initial phone screen followed by two hour-long phone interviews by the managers for whom I would be working if I got the job. Then a flight to Seattle for a day of on site interviews. Each interview was an hour, including lunch, with various Amazonians from HR to my potential bosses. I was interviewing for several open positions. It was a very well organized process.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Some questions focused on technical architecture, but most were focused on management, particularly how I manage managers, and how I make my direct reports into better managers.