Here’s how we hire at AWS

At AWS, our workdays are different – and our hiring process is, too. It’s our way of finding people who will both thrive in our organization and raise the bar for our workforce. There are four steps in the process: online application, assessments, phone interview, and in-person interviews.

It starts with finding the right job for you. Visit the AWS careers page to search by location, job categories, or keywords. When you find a role you’re interested in, click "Apply Now" at the top of the page. You will be asked to create a new profile, or log in to your existing profile if you’ve already applied. The online instructions will guide you through the rest of your application.

Online assessments are designed to measure key characteristics required for success in a role. They also allow us to assess applicants consistently and equitably, as every person gets the same experience and the same information for completing the assessment.

Depending on the position, you may be asked to take an assessment during the application process or we’ll send it after you’ve applied. The number of assessments will depend on the role you apply for, and in some cases, they must be completed within a certain timeframe. The two common types of assessments are work style assessments and work sample simulations.

• Work style assessment
  These questions are centered around Amazon’s peculiar culture and Leadership Principles. For example, we may ask you to choose which statement represents your work style: "I like for things to be clearly structured,” or “I look forward to the opportunity to learn new things." These assessments typically take 10-20 minutes to complete.
  
  
• Work sample simulation
  You’ll be asked to complete virtual tasks related to the position you’re applying for. This may include making decisions based on our Leadership Principles, completing activities critical to success at AWS, and demonstrating your problem-solving, prioritization, and interpersonal skills. For some roles, you may be asked to interpret data from a chart, answer a customer question, choose how to resolve an issue, or find the right information from multiple sources. These typically take 20-60 minutes to complete.

These conversations will cover your experience, including past situations or challenges you've faced and how you handled them. You should focus on the question asked, ensure your answer is well-structured, and because AWS is a data-driven company, provide metrics or data if applicable. Reference recent situations whenever possible.

Throughout our interviews, we avoid brain teaser questions because we’ve found them unreliable for predicting a candidate's success at AWS. Instead, we focus on behavior-based questions that ask about your experience and work style.  Learn more about the STAR format.

We strive to get back to you within two business days after your phone interview.

Out of an abundance of caution due to the pandemic, in-person interviews are currently conducted virtually. Learn more about our virtual interview process.

Our interview loops are a series of conversations with topic experts, future colleagues, and neutral parties called bar raisers. The bar raiser is focused on long-term vision rather than the immediate hiring need, and serves as an objective third party to ensure every candidate's interview experience is open, accurate, and fair. This mix of interviewers allows us to get a clear sense of both your professional expertise and your fit for our company culture.

Prior to your interviews, consider your own successes and failures in relation to our Leadership Principles and plan how you will talk about them using the STAR method. Have specific examples that showcase your expertise and demonstrate how you’ve taken risks, succeeded, failed, and grown in the process. Keep in mind that failure is a necessary part of innovation – some of our most successful programs are rooted in failed projects. What matters most is what we learn from the effort.  

Watch Amazon In-Person Interview Tips for more information.