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In these past few weeks, multiple students and designers have reached out to me asking this question, “Hey Leon how do I prepare for Amazon’s UX interview process?”
As a Coach on UXGO, Interview prep, (especially with Amazon) is one of my specialties, I am happy to share that over 10+ students Ive helped in 2022, almost everyone was able to secure the offer from Amazon.
Let’s see some of their responses:
I am really proud of you all! Finding internships can be stressful, so congrats on getting those early offers!
In this article, I will share with you 5 detailed and focused tips on how to succeed at Amazon’s UX internship interview.
These are some of those same tips I offered during my 1:1's, that people said were extremely helpful.
Although a few of these might apply to different companies, I will cover how to succeed at UX interviews as a junior designer in general, with a future article.
Now before diving deep into the tips, here are 3 common FAQ’s answered for you
The interview process will be split into two parts, a 45min portfolio review, and a 45min behavioral interview.
The portfolio review is extremely standard. You will find this being required for almost every single tech company UX internship hiring process. (There are exceptions for example Google. This might have changed, but when I interviewed with Google in both 2019 and 2020, I did not have a portfolio review section even at the final team match interview stage)
Since the portfolio review is so standard, I will not put my focus on this section of the interview. For future portfolio, review tips feel free to follow me on medium.
Yup, just those two sections listed above. Amazon will schedule you a back to back 45 min portfolio walkthrough and a 45 min behavioral interview.
I talked with my mentor at Amazon about this recently to hear the hiring process from the interviewer's perspective.
The interviewers from the portfolio review and behavioral sections usually compare notes right after, and a decision is made extremely fast.
As you probably imagined, the number of candidates applying to Amazon is extremely high, and to my knowledge, there is not a set number they are looking for on that day or week.
If you get an interview scheduled, it means you have a headcount for sure. If you do well, you will get an offer usually within the same week of your interview. (Things move fast at Amazon)
Hard to answer based on how qualified you are, but in my opinion, Amazon’s UX internship process is one of the friendliest and easiest out there.
Why? Compared to some other final-round intern interviews I’ve done a few years ago, the one-round back-to-back Amazon does is very friendly.
Google has screening than a team match interview. Apple and Microsoft ask for a full-day onsite, meaning it is usually a 4–5 hour-long section taking up the whole day. Some other companies I had final rounds with such as Indeed had whiteboarding challenges as well.
Being just 90 min total at Amazon makes it very friendly to students and designers who might not have had lots of interview experiences.
The shorter time isn’t all that makes it friendly. A huge part of Amazon’s company culture is having straightforward expectations and standards. Amazon sends you lots of information in its email to clarify expectations and help you prepare. Imagine it as taking a test with the answers, how much you study and prepare for it is 100% up to you.
I highly recommend you review all those details in the email regardless of how confident you feel.
They even mention basic interview techniques like the STAR method, which I will not cover since it is available to learn anywhere on the internet. What I want to share with you here, is tips and tricks that aren’t widely available online.
Still with me? Awesome, here are the 5 tips proven to be effective during the Amazon UX intern interviews.
Try to schedule a 1:1 with them, and don’t even ask them to help you prepare for the interview.
Your goal is just to have a fun chat with them, and ask them about their work at Amazon. Try to ask them to share what they do, funny stories, and what design projects they have done at Amazon.
Observe how they talk about their work. Pay extra attention to how they share things and talk about problems they run into. Every designer talks in a different way of course, but speaking with someone who works at Amazon, is always a great place to learn more about the company and get yourself familiar with speaking to an Amazon designer.
This will help you feel much more comfortable when being interviewed by a designer from Amazon since you have had prior experience chatting with one.
I am serious, it matters.
Think about it. In most contexts, user-focused design and customer-focused design should almost be interchangeable.
So try to get into the habit of using the word customer. Say things like customer persona, customer journey map, and customer experience. This detail is easy to overlook if you don’t pay attention.
Why does this matter?
In simple terms, on a subconscious level, your interviewer will think you are more Amazonian and understands customer obsession a lot more since you keep mentioning the word customer.
When Amazon designers talk with each other, we use the word customer, not user. When we write, we use the word customer, not user. If you can do this during your interview then you will make your interviewer feel a sense of familiarity. Your interviewer might also think the way you present work is more Amazon standard if you are able to use more of our Amazon vocabulary.
Also please don't use them in the wrong way.
To some, the leadership principle might seem like company Koolaid.
To me, it has always been my favorite part of Amazon. Leadership principles are such an amazing thing to have, I honestly wish every company had it. These principles are so well rooted in every Amazonian, from the biggest CEO at the very top, to the smallest working bee at the very bottom, we all know it by heart.
Therefore it is absolutely your number one priority to incorporate them in a MEANINGFUL way during your interview. This is really important, so to make sure you understand exactly what I mean here, please read the examples below.
(Quick disclaimer the leadership principle is this specific list. It does not mean you need to show “the qualities of a leader”, meaning you cant make up your own leadership principle. I did not realize that this was a misconception until some of my 1:1's)
Try to answer this question here: “Share a time where you encountered pushback from working with another PM or cross-functional team member?”
That is one of the most common questions asked by any UX interviewer from tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsft, Apple, Facebook, etc (you get my point here)
With Amazon, this could be a perfect time to show disagree and commit. This question would be appropriate to both name drop and give a specific example. Maybe you were initially unable to convince a PM that their proposed alignment of the product MVP was going to hurt the customer or business impact. However, instead of backing off, you reached out to a researcher to synthesize the right data and show that certain priorities need to be realigned and compromises can not be made in those areas. You ended up convincing them through concrete actions, and your actions can be justified with a clear metric of success, such as an increased customer retention rate.
On the other hand, a bad example would be during your portfolio review, if your interviewer asked you a question about why a certain feature on your design was not fleshed out. You paused for a bit, then mentioned you were being “frugal”
(Don't laugh this was something someone actually told me they said)
Not only is this a bad justification of your design choice, but you are also utilizing the leadership principle extremely wrong here. Being frugal is about succeeding with fewer resources, not justifying failure because you needed more resources.
Needless to say, if you make these kinds of mistakes again and again it is probably going to be a game over for you.
Continuing on the theme of the leadership principles, you should only identify and hone in on a few areas of the leadership principle that you personally really agree with.
For me, dive deep, learn and be curious, deliver results, insist on the highest standards are all ones I hold very true to. I apply these almost every day at work.
My point here? Rather than trying to cover as many leadership principles as possible, building yourself around a selected few leadership principles will actually leave a stronger impression on all your interviewers that day. When your interviewers from both sections compare notes, they will agree on who you are, and why you are a good fit for Amazon.
Showing consistency is important. Show who are you really, and why those leadership principles define you.
Trying to name-drop every leadership principle on the other hand…makes you seem very not genuine and unmemorable.
Finally, a question I find surprised people don't prepare for. Why do you want to intern at Amazon?
You should really have a good reason for this or else you frankly do not deserve getting an offer.
Reasons that are not valid: I want to work in Seattle, the pay is good, I want a resume booster, etc
Acceptable reasons: This leadership principle rings true to me, I am obsessed with my customers, I am very passionate about this specific thing Amazon does, etc
My point here? It is easy for people to forget, but interning at any company is a privilege, Amazon specifically. Amazon is on a path to almost world domination, expanding into every cutting-edge field you can possibly imagine. There are tons of exciting learning opportunities here.
Yes, you might have heard things like the work-life balance sucks, the work is hard and challenging, other companies pay more, etc.
Yet let me ask you this, isn’t it your number one goal to learn and improve your skills as an up-and-coming designer?
Learning doesn’t stop at getting an internship or a job, in fact, that’s really where the learning begins.
If you just want a resume booster or to work at an “easy” FAANG company, then I would advise you to think again before applying or accepting an offer here at Amazon.
To wrap things up, think about the qualities that make a good UX designer at Amazon.
Amazon wants someone who is customer-focused, understands leadership principles, and is excited to work at Amazon.
Your goal is to convince your interviewers that you are this person. In my opinion, the best way to do that is to actually be that person.
I am sure there are many other ways to convince someone you are qualified and a great fit at Amazon beyond what I shared, but I think if you want to be happy at Amazon, these tips are a great way to get you in the right mindset.
Besides, never forget a huge part of acing any interview is just being prepared and confident. How prepared you are is all up to how hard you work. Remember, that is all up to you, so I trust you will do a great job.
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