What Interviews To Expect
What’s the Amazon Technical Program Manager interview process and timeline? It takes takes four to eight weeks and follows the steps below. Note that the process at AWS follows similar steps.
Let’s look at each of these steps in more detail below:
1.1.1 Recruiter phone screen
In most cases, you’ll start your interview process with Amazon by talking to a Recruiter on the phone. They are looking to confirm that you’ve got a chance of getting the job at all, so be prepared to explain your background and why youre a good fit at Amazon.
You should expect typical behavioral and resume questions like, “Tell me about yourself”, “”, or “Tell me about your current day to day as a Technical Program Manager.” When answering even the most common interview questions, be sure to express your understanding of .
1.1.2 TPM phone screen
If you’ve passed the HR screen, you’ll be invited to one or two TPM phone screens. This step is called a “phone screen”, but it sometimes takes place over video chat using Amazon Chime which is the company’s video conferencing product.
Each interview will last 45 to 60 minutes. You’ll speak to a TPM peer or a potential manager and they’ll ask you a mix of system design and behavioral questions.
1.1.3 Amazon writing exercise
1.1.3 Onsite interviews
Question types
Bar raiser
List Of Product Manager Interview Questions: Leadership And Communication
Leadership and communication are two essential skills for all Product Managers.
Most PMs sit at the head of design and development teams, and all Product Managers have to collaborate with a diverse roster of stakeholders with different job responsibilities, specialties, and goals. Its a crucial intangible skill for Product Managers to get all of those different people working together in an organized, purposeful goal toward a common purpose.
To get a sense of whether you have these soft skills, questions to ask for interviewers include:
What Is The Key To A Good User Interface
Simplicity and functionality are both crucial to a good user interface. They should be intuitive to use and navigate, with a consistent look and feel. This question type could be a good opportunity for you to bring in a real-life example or two, showcasing a product that you think has a particularly attractive and functional interface and another that you think doesnt work .
Also Check: Top 10 Behavioral Questions
Get Ready For Your Next Product Manager Interview
Want to crack your next Product Manager interview like a boss? Enroll for Interview Kickstartâs FREE webinar to find out how we can help you. IK is the gold standard in tech interview prep. Our programs include a comprehensive curriculum, unmatched teaching methods, FAANG+ instructors, and career coaching to help you nail your next tech interview.
Check out some of our student reviews to learn how weâve helped students ace tech interviews at the biggest companies.
The Transition Into Product Management
What advice would you have for a new grad that is non-technical but looking to break into Product Management?
I also have a business background but Ive been in the coding kitchen for a long time, working shoulder to shoulder with developers. Understanding the customer is a very important element for a PM and conveying that message to developers is also an absolutely required skill. I suggest improving your basic coding understanding and attain technical insights. There are many great free online resources.
What do you think are the best ways to showcase your work to win a PM job? Did you make something like an online portfolio? Whats the Product Management community look like in Europe?
The best way of showcasing the value you bring is to show the impact youve had. Online portfolios may not be as easy as for a non-designer, however, you should be able to talk about how you improved the product you managed for example, a year-on-year increase while launching new features.
The Product Management community in Europe is big and getting bigger day by day. Many cities are start-up hubs and create shiny unicorns.
What kind of background preparation would you recommend for an aspiring Product Manager? Is there any online course or something similar?
Product Management is a booming area for a decade or so online resources are immense. Start with Product School
Recommended Reading: Questions To Ask Cfo During Interview
Recruiters Offer Their Best Tips For Interviewing At Amazon
- Prepare for behavioral-based interview questions
- Format responses using the STAR method
- Provide details
- Focus on “I” not “we”
- Don’t shy away from failures
- Know why you want to work at Amazon
- Ask for clarification when you need it
- Brush up on your writing skills
- Prepare for a phone screen and multiple interviews
- Study the Leadership Principles
Amazon Program Manager Strategy
- Explain the Amazon Web Services Business Model
- How can Amazon improve its logistics to aid buyers and sellers better?
- What aspects do you need to look at to enter new markets?
- Name some unexplored markets Amazon can target.
- What are our thoughts on the products Amazon should start manufacturing and selling on its platform?
- What would your price approach be for Amazon Prime?
- How would you improve user subscriptions for Amazon Prime? Tell us about some strategies that come to your mind.
Don’t Miss: Mailscoop Io
Your Bar Raiser Interviewer Will Be Looking For:
- Are you a fast worker who iterates continuously or detail-oriented and focused on quality?
- Are you a good fit as a PM in Amazon’s culture?
- How is your intuition when thinking strategically about a market? What about when thinking about tactical product decisions?
- Do you always need data to make decisions?
- Will you be good at managing a project and ensuring it gets delivered?
- How will you ensure a high quality bar?
- Do you have a growth mindset?
How To Answer Amazoninterview Questions
While you could just jump into the fray, memorize a few Amazon interview questions and be done with it thats not the best way to go about things.
Sure, you might be ready to handle specific questions. But, if something unexpected comes up, you might be caught flatfooted. No one wants that.
Instead, you need to take a different path. Think of it this way how does a brave knight ensure they come out ahead? By honing their skills and developing a winning strategy, thats how.
With the right techniques and overall strategy, you can face off against unanticipated questions. Youll be able to parry any potential blows and delivering some impressive strikes yourself.
Now, exactly how you need to prepare can and will be a bit nuanced. After all, there is a slew of positions at Amazon, and each one involves something different. If you want to get ready for your Amazon interview, then you need to take that into account.
How do you make sure youre ready for YOUR Amazon interview? Start by reading the job description for the position. In that handful of paragraphs, youll find a ton of specific, actionable information about what the hiring manager is looking for in a perfect candidate.
For example, the list of must-have skills you find on most job descriptions reflects their priorities. Those keywords or qualities you see over and over? Yeah, those fall into that category, too.
MIKE’S TIP:
You May Like: Best Interview Attire For A Woman
Questions Asked At Amazon Phone Interview:
Amazon Program Manager Roles And Responsibilities
Amazon hires multiple Program Managers to help manage the functioning of various teams. Below is the broad scope of the main responsibilities of Program managers:
- Plan independencies for projects and ensure that requirements are met
- Allocate resources efficiently to ensure the smooth progress of the project
- Foresee risks and take appropriate action to mitigate or eliminate them
- Work cross-functionally with various teams to ensure dependencies are met
- Create performance reports, track performance metrics, and come up with strategies to improve performance
- Take key decisions based on datasets and available information
- Manage a team and ensure things run smoothly within the team
Don’t Miss: Interview Attire Women
Gear Up For Your Next Product Interview
Have an upcoming product interview? Interview Kickstart has successfully trained thousands of individuals for product interviews at the biggest companies.
Our expert instructors are highly experienced professionals who are hiring managers at top tech companies. Practicing mock interviews with them and scheduling 1-on-1 sessions will undoubtedly benefit you and stand you in great stead for your next big interview.
If you want to know how we can help shape your career by helping you land dream offers at FAANG and tier-1 companies, register for our free Technical Interview Webinar.
Get Familiar With The Product Manager Interview Process
The interview process for Product Managers will vary significantly depending on the company, the specific role, your level of seniority, etc. However, there are some elements that are pretty typical across the board.
So, in this section we’ve summarized common elements of PM interviews to help you get an overview of what to expect. This is an important first step because it will help you gain a high-level understanding of the steps you need to prepare for, allowing you to be more strategic with how you allocate your prep time.
Don’t Miss: Interview With Cfo
How To Prepare For The Amazon Interview
To prepare for the interview, spend an hour on warm up questions such as Why Amazon? And Tell Me About Yourself?
Next, familiarize yourself with the 14 principles and develop work-related stories for each sample question, using .
-
I wish I had found this article before my interview at amazon. 🙁
-
OUTSIDER May 16, 2018
When I was at Amazon Lab126 in Sunnyvale, CA, I taught the class on Making Great Hiring Decisions where we trained employees how to interview based on behavioral techniques. STAR format for stories works well and easy to remember: Situation, Task, Action, Results. We told everybody to peel the onion and listen for inconsistencies or points for a follow up question. Try to keep the answer short and leave out unnecessary background information . If the position is technical, prepare for domain knowledge questions as well, perhaps writing code or explaining on a whiteboard your approach to problem solving. Good luck!
-
Brandon W May 16, 2018
I work for Amazon and this article is a very good base of what you will encounter in a leadership role opportunity. It has helped me obtain two separate jobs. Use this tool during interview stage and while you work. It will only help you be more effective Amazonian! Good luck!
Work Hard! Have Fun! Make History!
-
Manjeet Kaur February 11, 2018
I want to work with amazon I am very impressed with this company I love it ??
-
Thank you for such an informative post.
Amazon Product Manager Interview Tips
Here are valuable tips to help you prepare effectively and succeed in the product manager job interview with Amazon:
Many candidates fail from the start because they dont even know what the product manager job is all about in the Amazon context.
There are different stages of the interview process. You will need to be aware and ready for them. It reduces tension.
The question comes in different types and forms. You would also need different strategies for them.
Amazon is built around 14 leadership principles. You cant succeed without knowing them well.
A PM candidate would be expected to have a good knowledge of Amazon products.
Amazon will test your creative abilities your capacity to improve on products and create new ones.
Make your ideas big enough to catch their attention. Thinking big is an important leadership principle in Amazon.
Candidates often find it difficult to state how their product ideas would be created. Interviewers want to know how you plan to create your product idea. They need tactical details.
Also Check: Questions To Ask A Cfo
The Role Of An Amazon Product Manager
Working on product development and promotion with the primary objective of raising revenue, earnings, and profit margins is what product management means. A PM is responsible for evaluating market trends, overseeing product growth, and deciding the features of their product.
Amazon recruits PMs from a variety of backgrounds, including undergraduates, MBA graduates , and seasoned professionals. Although Amazon’s e-commerce division is open to people from all walks of life, AWS favors those with a technical background.
The following interview guide will walk you through the process of interviewing for a Product Manager role at Amazon, including useful tips and sample questions.
How To Prepare For Amazon Phone Interview
Getting a job definitely is not easy, more so if it is at Amazon.
The whole process is made more complicated with a series of tests or interviews with the company. This is required to analyze if the applicant/candidate is a good fit for the job profile.
For this reason, a person has to be well prepared for the interviews. Some jobs, like at Amazon also include telephonic interviews as part of their screening process.
This article here discusses some points on how to prepare for Amazon phone interview.
Also Check: Women’s Outfit For Job Interview
Amazon Program Manager Interview Questions Based On Program Management Planning Execution And Process Design
- How do you deal with obstacles that you encounter while planning a project?
- Explain how youâd manage timelines in a highly matrixed environment
- How would you help sellers maximize their visibility on Amazon?
- How would you ensure that the security of user information isnât compromised?
- What are your thoughts on creating a business process from scratch?
Related reading:
Amazon Manager Job Description
The role of a manager for Amazon is crucial in ensuring the company continues to maintain its position as the number one online retailer in the world. Depending on the specific Amazon Manager role you are applying for, the following core responsibilities may form part of your everyday working life:
- The requirement to manage, inspire and lead a team of people to ensure all task are completed to the highest standards possible
- Conducting staff appraisal on a periodic basis to ensure all staff have the necessary training, skills and qualities to perform the duties correctly
- Keeping up-to-date with Amazons operating procedures, company guidelines and protocol
- Learning, understanding and making sure all of the 14 Amazon Leadership Principles are at the core of everything you do
- Keeping the Area Manager updated on your team or departments performance in line with company goals
- Attending management meetings and reporting on team performance
- Motivate and lead your team to achieve Amazon targets and objectives
- Use an innovative and concise approach to dealing with difficult situations to ensure Amazons operations run smoothly and in line with operational protocol
- Achieve all target set by your Area Manager.
To make sure you are fully prepared for your interview, we strongly recommend you download a copy of our 26 GREAT ANSWERS TO YOUR AMAZON MANAGER INTERVIEW!
Don’t Miss: Questions To Ask The Cfo In An Interview
List Of Product Manager Interview Questions: Technical Skills Questions
Product Managers will need to understand technical concepts and translate them to non-technical audiences. You may already know how to communicate these concepts to someone on your team, but how would you explain something technical to someone else?
The purpose of this type of interview question is to assess your product management knowledge and how well you can communicate your understanding.
A few examples of questions interviewers may ask include:
List Of Product Manager Interview Questions From Top Companies
Examples of Product Manager interview questions that some of the top tech companies ask candidates include:
- Pick a product that you used this morning and tell me why you like it.
- Pick a product you hate and tell me how you would improve it.
- Which tech trend are you following at the moment?
- What is your take on leadership?
- Tell me about a time you had a difficult problem to solve.
- Tell me about an unpopular decision you made on the job.
- Tell me about your greatest innovation.
- What is something that you learned from a failure?
- How would you improve X product?
- How would you design X product for Y people?
- Tell me about a competitive move by a company in the past six months and what you think about it.
- Explain the concept of protocol to a four-year-old child using an ice cream store as an analogy.
- Describe a typical page load time distribution on desktop. What about on mobile?
- Pick an app or product. How would you improve it?
- Take any production chain. How would you optimize the production process?
- How would you motivate users to use an app every single day for a month?
Previous
get started
Don’t Miss: What To Wear For An Interview Women
