Amazon.com Product Management Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated May 22, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 34 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 34 ratings
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| 21–30 of 34 Amazon.com Interviews | Sort by |
Product Management at Amazon.com
Posted Aug 15, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2010 in Seattle, WA (took a day)
Submitted resume. Contacted by a friendly HR coordinator asking if I was interested in interviewing.
Submitted available times.
Called by Hiring Manager. Obviously very passionate, committed person. Be prepared to talk about your leadership and problem solving skills and general PM competencies such as ....
- how did you determine pricing of a product from your past?
Received second interview.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Amazon.com
Posted Aug 12, 2010
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Mar 2009 in Seattle, WA (took 2 days)
The interview process was broken into two parts a series of phone interviews and then a full day of in person interviews. I had 8 in person interviews in one day and a about three had 2-3 interviewers. The interviews ranged from typical interview questions to practical questions like "how do you think we should do this?" There was also a lot of math. They also seemed to be big on what college you went to. Several of the interviewers made it known to me what college they attended which I thought was really weak.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Amazon.com
Posted Apr 30, 2010 — 9 of 9 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2010 (took 4 days)
I found the position through an online job search - the position was in Amazon Web Services area. I received a call from a recruitment coordinator (very junior, secretary like position, don't ask them anything through out the process, they are fairly clueless - also don't be surprised if you hear from 2-3 different recruitment coordinators, with no hand-off or updating of each other!) The first interview was a phone interview with the hiring manager which lasted about an hour. I was asked interesting and relevant questions. Advice - be prepared, do your research - they expect you to know everything about the product area, even things you could not possibly know if you didn't work for the company! I had a second phone interview with another person (peer level) on the team, that lasted about 45 minutes. Afterward, I was told that HR would be in touch. A few weeks, I was called by a different recruitment coordinator for the first set of in-person interviews. The first set of interviews with the hiring manager and immediate team seem to go really well. I was asked to come in for a second round of interviews, another 4-5 more hours with 4-5 related Seattle-based staff. Another warning - Amazon is big on having you interview with everyone you may ever possibly work with. The hiring manage doesn't seem to ultimately have a lot of control in the decision making process. They believe they get better candidates this way - and maybe they do, but somehow I doubt it as folks you will not work for or with alot seem to be able to nix you. You will need to sell everyone who you talk to and you will likely talk to at least 8-9 people! You will be put in a conf room while you cycle through interviewers (each about 45 min to an hour). Overall, I feel that the interviews were much more about me being a good fit with the various (some very self-impressed) personalities on the team. They "think" they want to know how you would improve, impact, advance the product but they really don't. They think they already know everything and that the way they do business is the only way it needs done. You get the impression some folks know the way they do business needs to change - but the very arrogant staff who are deep in a bizarre Amazonian culture thing seem to think they have all the answers already. And those are the folks most likely to "thumb down" you as a candidate. Also be prepared for a lot of bragging from the incumbents - and how cool they are to be under-paid, overworked and under-staffed as if an Amazonian game of "PM Survivor" is the point - not growing the business. The Seattle office are atrocious, poorly lit, terrible small dark cubes - but they are known for 'not spending money on anything that doesn't benefit the end-customer'! Maybe the new Seattle offices will be better - but their corporate vision statement does brag about 'our desks are old doors' as if they still were a start up working out of someone's garage! And lastly - they do not believe in market rate salaries - they will require 'senior level, 10+ year experience' in the job description - then want to offer you a miserably low salary by any standards! The actual recruiter for the job blurted out 'well you are very overpaid don't expect that salary here!" It was rather bizarre, unprofessional - but she also seemed arrogant, young and clueless (a theme?!) And the stock grants are stacked to not put money in your pocket until the third or fourth year! There is no way they are pulling in the best talent - they are hiring a lot of 'just like me' folks who are hoping working 65+ hours a week pays off 4-5 years in the future. Just say no, unless you are unemployed and /or a glutton for punishment!
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
Incredibly low offer - if you want to work for Amazon assume you will pay them for the privilege!
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
View Comments (2)
Inappropriate?
Product Management at Amazon.com
Posted Apr 16, 2010 — 2 of 2 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2010 in Seattle, WA (took 4+ weeks)
Got an email to setup interview, two 45 minutes telephonic interviews
.Three different areas: Leadership, Analytical Skills and Culture
.Give me examples of your past experiences of leadership, analytical skills and culture.
.Some specific questions related to the projects
.Questions related to Operations experiences and leading employees
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Amazon.com
Posted Mar 2, 2010
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2010 (took a day)
I had a decent phone interview with one of the hiring manager's team. However, post-interview I did not hear from the recruiter, when I emailed to check up on my status I recieved a very simple "I'll let you know when I hear something". Two weeks later I still did not hear anything back from them. All the other companies I had phone interviews with had kept me informed post-interview. I was disappointed with how Amazon.com conducted themseleves.
The phone interview itself was pretty simple, talked about my own experiences and asked them about what the position entailed. That was it, no trick questions or technical questions.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Amazon.com
Posted Feb 23, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2010 in Seattle, WA (took 2 weeks)
Photo screen interviews take up to 3 times before an actual invitation to an on-site intervew.
I was approached by the recruiting department of the company. The first interview was with a sr. product manager and then second one was with a peer in the product management team. A lot of case analysis related to the business side. It is definitely one of the most intensive interview processes I have been through. Be papared about setting up pricing strategy, go to market strategy and presentation structure/outlines etc.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Amazon.com
Posted Feb 10, 2010
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2009 in Seattle, WA (took 2+ weeks)
I had 2 interviews the same day - face to face interviews. I found the interview by applying to the university job bank and by networking with Amazon current employees. I seems very important the networking to get the interview.
The culture is very data driven and consumer focused. You need to clearly understand their business model.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Amazon.com
Posted Feb 4, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2009 in Seattle, WA (took 2 days)
The whole recruitment process lasted 2 days, with 2 interviews per day. Besides behavioral questions (tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership, when you had to work excess hours, etc.), there were some mini-case questions. These questions refer to real-life problems faced by the interviewer. For instance, one of the interviewers was managing magazines. She told me about a time when she noticed that sales had decreased. She asked me to help her understand what could have gone wrong.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Management at Amazon.com
Posted Jan 21, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2010 (took a day)
Applied through school, although they have postings for the same position on the company website. The interview was very rigorous. A lot of case questions mixed in with some behavioral. The interviewers were very aggressive, pushing back on anything said.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Management at Amazon.com
Posted Dec 20, 2009
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2009 in Seattle, WA (took a day)
Phone interviews - 2 interviews lasting 45mins each. Both asked some basic questions about background and why Amazon, why that particular position etc... they also asked some basic mini-cases, such as a new feature to introduce, things you like/don't like about the website etc.
Q: You have done [experience 1] and [experience 2] before applying to us, so how do you think amazon could benefit from these experiences of yours.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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