Amazon recruiter reached out to me about this opening in AWS (Amazon Web Services). Not sure why this position because it was well beyond my years of experience. I had put in applications before but for low-level (read: analyst) positions. But I wanted to get into strategy after spending enough time in project management so I gave it a shot anyway. I was set up for a phone interview with the department director. Unfortunately there was a lot of static, so when asked "Do you know about AWS" I couldn't understand him and automatically answered "no". I'm fairly certain this counted against me regardless of the fact that I'm quite familiar with their cloud storage systems. The rest of the questions were about decisions I would make as strategy manager. While I was able to provide answers for all of them, it was very clear that this position could not be fulfilled by potential alone - you really needed the experience in overseeing data center strategy. Not surprisingly I received a rejection the following week. This is where it became weird. I sent a thank-you and request for info on other openings, since the recruiter had originally said he had other roles if I thought this one didn't fit. There was no "We'll get back to you on that" reply, nothing. I like Amazon so the next time I think I'll just try for easier positions from the start.

First interview with senior leader followed by an interview loop (5 interviews in one day). They do put a lot of effort into briefing you and making sure you are ready. Toughest part of the loop is that you can’t repeat stories. You also need a lot of stamina. But it’s a nice way to also meet some of your new team members