How to Work at Amazon: Your 2025 Guide

Amazon is one of the largest employers in the US, with over 1.5 million people working full-time or part-time for the online retailer [1]. With a wealth of job opportunities, comprehensive employee benefits, a commitment to work-life balance, and a unique company culture, it’s a popular place to work. The hiring process is extremely competitive, but proper planning can improve your chances of landing a job with the e-commerce giant. 

Benefits of working for Amazon

LinkedIn named Amazon the top US company where people want to work in 2023 and again in 2024 [2, 3]. The employee benefits, career growth opportunities, and the company's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion are among the reasons people enjoy working at Amazon. 

Employee benefits

While competitive pay attracts many employees, Amazon’s commitment to its employees’ health is also a lure. Amazon offers a comprehensive benefits package that typically includes medical, dental, and vision insurance to full-time employees, no matter their level or position. 

The company also offers paid vacation and sick days, along with other forms of leave and medical accommodations that cater to employees’ physical and mental health. 

Additional benefits could include retirement plans, life insurance, and, in some cases, fully funded college tuition. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Amazon tracks the representation of women, underrepresented communities, and ethnicities in its workforce to build teams that represent its worldwide customer base. In 2023, for example, Amazon’s workforce was 31 percent Black employees, 29 percent white employees, 25 percent Latino employees, and 14 percent Asian employees [4].

Career growth

The online retailer makes large investments in upskilling to help employees secure high-growth jobs. Given the needs of the market, Amazon is currently encouraging employees to develop cloud computing and AI skills through free initiatives. 

How to navigate Amazon’s official career website

Amazon gives you a number of ways to explore open positions and encourages interested candidates to use its online directories to search for jobs. Discover a few of the ways you can explore available positions. 

Jobs listed via keyword search

On the job search page, you can enter keywords and use a handful of filters to find opportunities that meet your needs. You can filter jobs by industry experience (in years), job type (full-time, part-time, seasonal), job category, country/region, state, city, and team. You can also review a list of customized jobs, read thorough descriptions, and apply online. 

Jobs listed by category

If you’d rather search for positions by job category, like design, customer service, or fulfillment, you can explore the 30+ categories on its website, with thousands of positions open across the globe. Some of the categories listed include: 

• Administrative Support

• Amazon Design

• Audio/Video/Photography Production

• Business Intelligence

• Customer Service

• Data Science

• Editorial, Writing, and Content Management

• Fulfillment and Operations Management

• Human Resources

• Investigation and Loss Prevention

• Operations, IT, and Support Engineering

• Software Development

• Systems, Quality, and Security Engineering

Work-from-home jobs

While the majority of Amazon’s jobs are location-specific, some remote opportunities exist, most of which are in customer service. Amazon also lists remote jobs on its website. 

Overview of Amazon’s interview process

Every interview is unique, and your experience will vary according to the position you apply for. Still, some common practices apply to most roles. Interviews usually include four phases: an online application, assessments, phone screening, and an in-person interview. 

1. Online application

All jobs start with an online application. After you find the position you’d like to apply for, you’ll see “Apply Now” in the job description to start the process. You’ll likely need to create an account to begin the application, which gives you the chance to set up a profile, view your application information, and check on your application status. 

If you apply for a job in a fulfillment center, the application process is a bit different: You’ll select a preferred shift, answer a handful of questions, and fill out pre-employment forms.

No cover letters

While most jobs ask you to submit a cover letter, Amazon does not. Instead, the company focuses on your resume, so make sure this document has the most updated information. If you plan to apply for a job at a fulfillment center, you don’t even need a resume—you simply answer a series of questions. 

Add links to your work

On your resume, you can add links to your work to showcase your skills. If your work isn’t online or isn’t public, you can provide work samples during an interview if you’re selected. 

2. Assessments 

To ensure Amazon hires the best candidates through a fair process, the company requires applicants to complete assessments. Sometimes, the assessments are part of the online application process and other times, applicants finish them after the application process. 

Two common assessments include the following: 

Work Style Assessments

The Work Style Assessment explores your compatibility with company culture and leadership principles. You’ll likely complete it within about 10 to 20 minutes. To prepare, study Amazon’s values and mission prior to this test. 

Work Sample Simulations

Work Sample Simulations ask you to complete a virtual task you’ll do in your everyday job if you’re hired. Typically, tasks take around 20 to 60 minutes to complete. 

3. Phone screening

The next step in the interview process is a phone screening, where you’ll answer a series of behavior-based questions meant to explore your work style, experience, and skills. Expect questions like, “How would you motivate a team to complete a task?” or, “How will you use data to inform your plans in this role?”

Technical interviews

Some positions also include technical questions as part of the phone screening process. Positions in software development or machine learning, for example, require a technical interview to assess skills. 

4. In-person interview

If hiring managers choose you for an interview, you can expect to meet with an interview panel of two to seven people. The interview will evaluate your skills, growth potential, and how well you’ll fit within Amazon’s corporate culture. Interviews typically take about an hour. 

Amazon strives to follow up after interviews within five business days. 

Tips to apply for a job at Amazon

As you might expect, thousands of people apply for jobs at Amazon every day, so applicants face a fair amount of competition. To help you stand out in your application, Amazon provides these tips: 

Spend time selecting a job that fits your skills

Amazon has many, many jobs available. While your skills should guide your choices, you may be able to apply those same skills to a different position. Read job descriptions carefully and select a job you’re not only qualified for but excited about. 

Ensure your resume reflects your listed skills

As with any job application, it’s best to customize your resume and application to the role you want. Add relevant skills and duties mentioned in the job description to your resume as long as they are supported by your experience. Pull keywords from the description as well and sprinkle them into your application documents. 

Add data to your resume

To help hiring managers understand your role and effectiveness, add statistics to your resume. You want your achievements listed in a measurable way. Consider adding the number of new clients acquired, an increase in revenue, client retention rates, website traffic, donations, response times, number of awards won, or number of referrals. Using the STAR method to answer interview questions—by describing a Situation, Task, Action, and Result—can demonstrate to interviewers how you’ve been impactful.

Embrace Amazon’s leadership principles

Amazon follows 16 leadership principles that often play a role in the interview process. These tenets, which apply to every position within the company, help employees solve problems, deal with conflict, and make decisions. Some of the principles include focusing on the customer, taking ownership of problems and projects, pushing each other to innovate, and respectfully disagreeing. It’s best to review these principles ahead of your interview and use examples of them in your answers.

Build in-demand skills to work for online retailers with Coursera

Given Amazon’s prioritization of leadership skills, applicants could benefit from online leadership courses. Dartmouth’s Strategic Leadership: Impact, Change, and Decision-Making Specialization on Coursera can help you learn how to manage talent, improve decision-making, and avoid common pitfalls that executives make. Adding this course to your Amazon resume helps highlight your willingness to learn and elevate your career.