Great place for youngsters to start careers, but not many avenues for growth - Senior Manager Amazon Employee Review

1.0
22 Nov 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Good name on resume, and accelerated experience at all levels - Decent salary packages, with sign-in bonuses and RSUs - Somewhat decent exposure to upper level management compared to many other companies - Fast pace of work - High growth company with several positions open most of the time - Good opportunity to gain some leadership experience at all levels - Great customer-obsession driven environment, and people truly live by that value!

Cons

- Absolutely NO promotion potential or opportunities. Promoting from within is not in Amazon's DNA. Most senior leaders are brought in from outside who have been in that "title" position elsewhere irrespective of scope of their responsibilities. - Poor HR and recruitment policies; HR never visible anywhere. - Sub-par annual raises (common to receive < 1% raise for great performance) - Below average benefits compared to other tech giants that Amazon "wants" to compare itself to during recruitment process - Brutal, non-responsive, no feedback recruitment culture, often to the point of arrogance - Even lateral movement within company is tough or nearly impossible - Most offices organized like "call centers", with people butting up against each other at elbow distance - Too much politics since everyone is trying to move up in the organization but can't. Information hoarding is common. - Amazing how many people leave in their first year!! Employee retention doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar, but attracting new talent seems to be. - Extremely slow decision making - Too much churn

Explore other reviews about Amazon

5.0
4 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Cross training that helps for faster growth and more experience.

Cons

Sometimes you gotta hurry and find equipment or pit equipment before others snag them and leave you with the “bad” ones. That take forever to get repaired.

5.0
10 Jan 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Really smart people, a lot of opportunity for growth, always encouraged to be innovative, think big, and create something new. Competitive salary and benefits with other major tech companies. 100% self motivating work environment. No dress code and 4 legged friends are welcome.

Cons

You have to be self motivated. NO ONE will hold your hand and tell you that you're doing a great job. If you need constant affirmations from management, this company isn't for you.

3159
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