So I was excited to hear back from Amazon when I applied for Area Manager. I did my due diligence and researched the company, visiting this site as well as others to prepare accordingly. Overall, the process and company were not exactly what I was expecting. Am I dissapointed I didn't get an offer? Yes. Are Amazon and its employees as intimidating as this site and others seem to imply? No.
Long story short, the interview was a valuable experience. I felt prepared and up to the task. This site is very good as for what you should expect. There was no excel test, there was a simple math problem (made hard by a curveball during the actual panel interview - the only reason I rate the overall as hard instead of easy), and finally, your basic interview questions you should be prepared to answer for any interview.
As for the warehouse and its employees, firstly, I was not impressed at all by their "state of the art" warehousing. Yes, it's big, maybe 5 football fields end to end. But it was sloppy. Frankly, we do a better, more sensible job warehousing items at my Mom and Pop shop.
The one employee I spent time with on the floor was very nice, yet wasn't exacly a genuis, so to speak. Since this Co. seems to stress the intelligence of its employees (and yours in getting a job), I must say I felt highly confident in comparison. If this person can do it, I know I can was my exact thought process at the time.The other folks on the floor were a good mix of young and old of all races, and neither looked happy nor sad to be there. In fact, I might have made eye contact with only one of the 20 I was in close contact with. The warehouse was typically drab, decent lighting, but again, the actual warehousing seemed a mess to me.
As for the upper management, my least favorable impression of the company comes from the Ops. Manager I would have been working for. This person was rude at first contact, largely dismissive of me throughout the process in general, and just didn't seem like a nice person at all (or one who would be fun to work for). The other 2 folks on the interview panel were seemingly nice and overtly neutral.
Looking back, it seems to me that Amazon is looking for a very specific type of personality and/or intelligence. Again, I wasn't intimidated by them or the job. By my standards I had a good interview. But based on what I saw, heard, and felt, perhaps it's a good thing I didn't make the grade. The actual experience was nowhere near what I was expecting, from the cell phone policy (nobody checked my phone at security) to the warehouse itself.