Merriam Park, Amazon’s director of university recruiting, spoke about how to land a job at Amazon in an interview with Cosmopolitan.
Her first piece of advice: understanding that the company culture is focused on the customers, a trait they look for in new hires. “It’s understanding that about us and researching how it manifests itself in how we operate,” says Park. “Everything we do makes a difference in added value to our customers.”
That’s something CEO Bezos points out himself. “Many companies describe themselves as customer-focused, but few walk the walk,” he says. “Most big technology companies are competitor focused. They see what others are doing, and then work to fast follow.”
By listening to customers instead, Amazon is able to give them what they actually want, says Bezos. An example of this is Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud service platform designed to solve a simple problem for customers: not having enough storage space.
Bezos says, “90 to 95 percent of what we build in AWS is driven by what customers tell us they want.” The service now has a valuation of $160 billion.
Amazon also looks to hire individuals who are able to solve complex issues. Park tells Cosmopolitan that in interviews with the company, applicants should “focus on a problem and how to solve it” to show that they can deliver successful results.
“I encourage candidates to give examples that show how they can follow an inquiry and get to the root cause of something,” Park tells Cosmopolitan. “Give an example of going above and beyond serving their customers’ needs.”
See also:
Facebook’s HR chief reveals how to get a job at the social media giant
CNBC managing editor reveals the 11 most common job interview mistakes