The Amazon interview process: from screening interviews to the Loop

If you’re interviewing at Amazon soon you may have heard about the “Amazon interview process.” The process varies by job and department, but there are some similarities it’s useful to understand. The overall process works like this:

1.   Screening interviews

Each candidate should expect at least one but possibly as many as four separate phone screenings. These screenings are 45-60 minutes each and not on the same day.

If you pass all of these screenings, you will be scheduled for the on-site interview.

These are called “phone screens” but will sometimes be on Amazon Chime, which is the company’s video conferencing platform. Unfortunately you will know ahead of time whether they want to use Chime (they will send you a link) but not if they are going to turn the video on, so be prepared for video. I know, that really sucks right? If it’s a phone interview you want to be able to use your notes, but you can’t if it’s on video - or at least you can’t let them see you using them.

2.   On-site interview / The Loop

On-site interviews are also known as “The Loop.” The number of people who’ll interview you for your onsite depends on the level of job you’re applying for, but you should expect to meet with four to eight people. These meetings occur on the same day, although you can (and should in my opinion) ask that they be broken up into two separate days. With Covid-19 the company has switched to video interviews on Chime for this phase, so I guess I should start calling them the final round instead of the onsite.

Screening interviews

Who conducts the screening interviews?

The process usually starts with a recruiter. After that you will probably talk to the hiring manager or a peer, or sometimes both. The mix, and I say mix because there is sometimes just one call but can be up to four, of people you should expect to talk to is some combination of recruiter, HR manager, hiring manager, and/or future peer.

Are screening interviews difficult?

Don’t plan on the screens being any easier than the on-site interviews.

The screening interviewers will ask much the same questions as later interviewers – they won’t ask easier questions just because they’re conducting a “screening” interview.

The interviewer may focus on going through your past experience point by point, which they may not do in the final round, but they will also likely ask you a mix of the other questions as well.

I advise you to take the screens as seriously as the other interviews. After all, if you don’t do well with them, you won’t go any further in the process.

People ask me this all the time, “But can’t I wait to prepare until after I see how the screens go?” Sure, you definitely can, but if you think you need interview prep then why would you wait until after you’ve already started the interviews? It doesn’t make any sense to do it this way. If you need to prep, and you must if you’re reading this, start before the first screening interview.

Loop interviews

Who conducts the onsite/Loop interviews?

The Loop interviewers will be a mix of positions. Some of them will be in jobs that are related to your position and others will be from different departments. They’ll try to have most of them be from jobs related to the position, because these are the people who can best test you, but sometimes people are busy so they can’t wait for the perfect line up.

Even if the interviewer won’t be your supervisor or colleague, they’re still there to test you.

Be prepared for a mix of interviewers. If you’re a technical person, you may have to talk to someone who isn’t as technical or has different technical skills, so you want to be mentally prepared for this. Be prepared to change your language from technical to non-technical so that they can understand you.

You may know the names of your Loop interviewers beforehand, or the job titles, or only the number of people you’ll be meeting. I know it’s annoying not to know the names beforehand, but Amazon isn’t trying to confuse you by withholding information. Sometimes people are busy or schedules change and they may not be sure who’ll be able to do the interview until the day before.

If they do give you the names, check them out on LinkedIn and review their background. This preparation will help you target your answers. It’s definitely okay to look them up on LinkedIn – most candidates do this.