I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in Jul 2024
Interview
As well-known, Amazon used the STAR method. They asked me questions starting with "tell me about a time when..." I went through the phone screen and had 5 interviewers during the second stage (i.e., loop interview). I learned that 2 voices count more because they have veto power: the hiring manager and the "bar-raiser." The bar raised is someone from a different team, within the same area of expertise (e.g., legal).
Each of the interview was 45 minutes.
- 10 min of intro and regular interview questions (e.g., why are you interested in Amazon, tell me about your background).
- 25 min of STAR questions, and in some cases, hypotheticals.
- 10 min about questions I had for the interviewer.
Each interviewer had 1 to 2 leadership principles ("LP") - no overlap on the principles in my case. However, the questions for a given LP were generally similar, which the interviewers recognized.
The interview preparation emphasizes not to repeat a story, but I was told that it could be ok to do IF I acknowledged it and explained why I repeated the same story during another interview. I ended up not having to repeat a story. I had prepared 3 stories per LP. I ended up going through 26 stories during my loop interview. Keep track of those as you go through the interview! I wrote down key words during the interview and kept an ongoing list to which I added new stories I could no longer used after each interview was over.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
STAR method: tell me about a time when you had to disagree with your boss. What did you do? What was the outcome? What would you do, differently, given the opportunity?
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in Apr 2025
Interview
Applied for multiple roles and got referred, rejected without personal contact. Then was contacted by a recruiter for more general role of corporate counsel. Working with the recruiter was pleasant, but scheduling the second phone interview was a hassle, and the phone interview itself felt like a test of the Amazon interview skills rather than actual skills needed for the job. Did not feel a connection to the interviewer and was rejected in an auto email about a day later.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Talk about a time when you had to advise senior leadership in written form.
Lengthy process, a lot of time wasted. They make you believe that you are a suitable candidate and after a round of interviews, one written assessment, and a final 5 hour interview with 5 different attorneys they take more than two weeks to tell they cannot give you an offer and they cannot provide feedback.
I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2025
Interview
I applied online for an Amazon Corporate Counsel role, and about two weeks later a recruiter reached out to schedule an initial phone screen. The recruiter asked general background questions about my experience, where I was admitted to practice, geographic preferences, and what type of legal work I was most interested in. Based on that conversation, they determined I would likely be a fit for the “generalist” corporate counsel pipeline rather than a specific posted role.
I was then scheduled for an interview with a senior member of Amazon’s legal team who was not tied to any particular business unit or opening. Prior to the interview, I had to complete a writing exercise.
The interview itself was fairly comprehensive. It included:
* questions about my resume and prior experience;
* why I was interested in Amazon;
* substantive and hypothetical legal questions testing legal judgment and analysis; and
* scenario-based behavioral questions.
About two weeks later, I heard that I had passed that round and would move forward in the process. At that point, I was told they needed to match me with a specific team/business group before proceeding further.
After that, communication became less consistent. I followed up a few times over the following months. Initially, recruiting responded that they were still trying to identify the right team fit and asked me to be patient. Eventually, though, the responses stopped and I never ended up being matched with a team or advancing further in the process.
Interview wasn’t “difficult”, just a lot of prep, without actual possibility of there being a match.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
* questions about my resume and prior experience;
* why I was interested in Amazon;
* substantive and hypothetical legal questions testing legal judgment and analysis; and
* scenario-based behavioral questions.