I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in Feb 2013
Interview
Vey simple interview process. First I had two phone interviews followed by an in-person interviews with 4-5 people. Nothing special or challenging.
One thing that I remember that the recruiter was kind of rude during salary negotiations. She demanded that I tell her my previous company pay. That should have been a big red flag but I thought maybe she was having a bad or something.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I cannot think of anything specific. Just questions on my background
I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Róterdam) in Oct 2015
Interview
After a 25 min. analytical test (passed), I had two 1/2hour interviews with two different HR managers. They asked behavioral questions. The experience itself was ok, and the guy were polite during the 1/2 hour interview. The questions were not very easy, and sometimes they interrupted me with more questions. I wanted a feedback but they said that they don't give feedback about the interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me a situation where things didn't go as planned and you had to decide quickly what to do.
I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Sep 2015
Interview
1 Phone Screen + On site.
For the Phone Screen - Recruiters were slightly slow on response but the information they gave was spot on. They know what you need to know about the job. Guess they have too much work :-)
For on-site - Very Prompt and active in arranging everything. So this worked out really well and loved the experience. They have an awesome travel process and process briefing you on what to expect on THE day and there were no surprises. You meet different people (4 to 7) from all departments - Ops, Product, Marketing, Sales etc. but they didnt throw their field knowledge and jargon at you
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They give a strong NDA. Cant talk about question details but overall here it is -
Phone screen - Is a generic question and answer round. Trying to see whether you should be called for on site. It consists of resume review(some direct pointed questions from part of your resume which looks most relevant). Rest are couple of situational questions.
On-site - You meet different people (4 to 7) checking different skills for the position but most people check those skills with giving situation questions. The recruiters are awesome, so they make sure you aren't up for a surprise in the interview.
If you have really done relevant good work and can explain what you did well, you shouldn't be worried. Rest is up to them if they think you bring some added skills which they dont need or you have a critical piece missing. Amazon is big on culture. So you need to be a smart and a good person.
Forget the NYT article etc. That is just crap. Every company has pockets of distress.
(Disclaimer - I have also worked at Amazon before)