I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Apr 2017
Interview
Standard process.
- Two recruiter interviews
- Two additional phone interviews, one by the hiring manager and another guy on the team
The process was pretty pleasant overall including the travel booking. The recruiters I worked with were very polite and respectful throughout the process. The onsite was also a pleasant experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
ALL behavioral questions. No market sizing / estimation questions; no strategy questions, no pricing questions, no product design / feature questions. Just behavioral - by all interviewers such as:
- What's the most revolutionary thing you've done in your job?
- What's the most innovative thing you've done in your job?
- Tell me of a time when you made a gut decision, without looking into any data?
- Tell me of a time when you failed as a product manager?
- Tell me of a time when you couldn't meet a deadline?
- Give me an example of when you went above and beyond and many more on the same lines.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Mar 2017
Interview
Two phone calls followed by a ~6 hour in person day of interviews. Amazon provided very little feedback as to why they didn't end up selecting me. I may have asked for too large of a salary or perhaps they just found somebody who was a better fit. Overall, I enjoyed the conversations, met some interested characters and would call the whole thing fairly positive.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They tend to ask STAR questions along the line of "Tell me about a time where you disagreed with your leadership. What did you do, what was the outcome, etc."
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA)
Interview
3 phone interviews (including 1 with the hiring manager and recruiter)
1 writing sample
6 on-site interviews at HQ (including 1 with a bar raiser that checks you're better than at least 50% of current Amazonians of the same level)
Most of the interviews are based on Amazon's leadership principles. I found it a great opportunity to reflect on one's professional and personal experiences, and learn if one is a good fit for Amazon's culture too. My recruiter also generously invested time helping me better prepare by explaining every leadership principle and providing concrete examples.
Although I didn't accept Amazon's kind offer, I really enjoyed meeting with the Kindle content team! From my conversations with the director, hiring manager and peer PMs on the team, I was impressed by the hiring manager's willingness to invest in his team's professional growth, and the Kindle team's collaborative culture e.g. the Kindle PMs meet regularly to give each other feedback.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
When you were working on [experience X], what did you find surprising?