I applied through an employee referral. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA)
Interview
I went through two phone interviews. The first began with asking me about my greatest accomplishment. Then some logic problems and a finance question. Finally there were several questions about writing SQL. Overall the fist interview went well. The second interview happened a week later. Prior in the week, I was told by the recruiter that the second interview would focus on Amazon's Leadership Principles.. The phone connection was not good. I had to ask several times to repeat the questions. The interview started the same. I was asked about my greatest accomplishment. I gave a different answer from my first interview to show that I have had several major accomplishments. The interviewer then told me that he didn't know anything about the position other than it was for a Business Analyst. I then was asked several questions about SQL. Several times I asked to repeat the question and had difficulty answering the questions.
I have over 20 years experience writing SQL using several different tools. I think I am really good at it. A few days after the second interview, I got the email from the recruiter that I would no longer be moving on in the process. I have to say that this process is a joke. I've been in the tech industry for over 25 years and this has to be the most ridiculous process I have ever been through. I think that Amazon is losing a lot of talent through this process.
I've hired many people over the years and I have always done my own phone screens. To leave this in the hands of those who don't even know what the position is, is a disservice to the team and to the company. Given the bad press they have had lately, it would seem like they would try harder. It just seems like they are going through the motions and don't really care about what they are doing. Given the poor hiring process, I have to question their business acumen.
If you are considering a job at Amazon, think again. You would do better to keep looking.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me what has been your greatest accomplishment. Why did you perform this accomplishment?
The interview process includes a SQL test, an initial recruiter call, and a final five-round loop featuring technical questions and discussions focused on Amazon leadership principles with different team members.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked a key question focused on both technical depth and culture fit: how you apply your skills to solve real problems, along with examples demonstrating alignment with Amazon’s leadership principles.
I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA)
Interview
Interviewed for Business Analyst role at Amazon and honestly the process felt exhausting and impersonal.
The interviewers seemed far more focused on checking boxes against the 14 Leadership Principles than actually understanding the candidate or having a genuine conversation. Almost every question was another version of a STAR behavioral scenario, even when it barely related to the actual role.
The process felt extremely rehearsed and rigid. There was little effort to make the candidate feel comfortable or valued, and it often felt like they had already decided the outcome before the interview even started.
Technical and analytical depth barely mattered compared to how perfectly you could package stories into Amazon’s preferred format. If you don’t have polished STAR stories memorized for every possible situation, the process can feel unnecessarily difficult and draining.
Overall, one of the most mentally exhausting interview experiences I’ve had.
The basic STAR format, but the team was not clear about what they were looking for. The recruiter was not very responsive and took a long time to schedule the calls