Amazon Writing Exercise
For L6 and above product roles at Amazon, you will be asked to write an essay on one of two topics.
Why?
In addition to being a data-driven culture, Amazon has a preference for written communication. Don't get me wrong, leaders still have to stand up and present to large crowds, but day-to-day you must write 1-pagers and 6-pagers. Because of the emphasis on written communications, Amazon tests Senior and PM Leaders on their effective writing skills.
⚠️ WARNING: These two questions are also common prompts/questions you can also get during the live/onsite interview. You can NOT repeat this story during your onsite interviews. Therefore, choose your story carefully and know in great detail the other options for answering these same questions during your live interviews.
The Questions
Option 1:
What is the most inventive or innovative thing you have done? Describe something that was your idea, e.g., a process change, a product idea, a new metric, or a novel customer interface. It does not need to be something that is patented. Do not write about anything your current or previous employer would deem confidential information. Provide relevant context for us to understand the invention/innovation. What problem were you seeking to solve, and what was the result? Why was it an important problem to solve? How did it make a difference to the business or organization?
Option 2:
Most decisions are made with analysis, but some are judgment calls not susceptible to analysis due to time or information constraints. Please write about a judgment call you’ve made recently that couldn’t be analyzed. It can be a big or small one, but should focus on a business issue. What was the situation, the alternatives you considered and evaluated, and your decision-making process? Be sure to explain why you chose the alternative you did relative to others considered.
Getting Writing Help
We do not focus on giving feedback on the written assignment. The following are companies/people who specialize in the written feedback on Amazon essays.
Interview Genie - Provides a nice framework that is basically our framework for each behavioral interview (minus the learning section). Intro > Problem > Action > Results > Conclusion
Dan Croitor - Dan has a series of videoes and examples.
