I'm a Software QA Engineer at Amazon and I apologize for the poor experience you had with your Amazon phone interview. I am one of the folks who performs phone interviews for my group so if you'd are willing to give Amazon a second chance let me know and I'd be willing to interview you for our groups open QAE position.
Testing from A to Zof WA12:43PM July 01, 2009
I prepared for weeks for a phone interview with Amazon, and when the big day came..the interviewer called 20 minutes late, asked terrible and unclear questions that were not even remotely relevant to the job right after saying hello, and at the end as I tried to salvage it, he cut me off by saying he had a meeting!
The first question out of the box was technical, and although I tried my best, I could not even understand what he was asking for!! That's how bad the communication gap was. And it got worse from there. I knew WHAT he was talking about, I just did not understand what he was ASKING for. Pathetic.
The biggest problem? The interviewer was foriegn. He clearly spoke English as a second (or third?)language. I had to ask at least a dozen times for him to repeat questions or clarify what he was saying, because he was making no sense at all.
It took forever to get on the same page communication wise, and when I finally started to hit my stride somewhat because he finally asked a reasonable and straightforward question, he cut it off to go to a meeting.
I cannot believe that a company like Amazon would use that type of tactic, or create such a mismatch that it was doomed to failure. I would like to think they did it on purpose to test my mettle, but I don't believe he was even listening to me!
I would chalk it up to attempting to frustrate me from the beginning to see how I handled adversity, but to be honest, I think he was completely unprepared, did not care to do the interview, was detached, and focused on things not remotely relevant to anything the position entailed.
I was applying for an Amazon QA Tester position, and found out at the end of the interview that he was an SDET. Nice matchup, Amazon! He had NO clue about test process or methodologies. It was painful, but to my credit I did hold it together and did everything possible to show NO frustration or annoyance (VERY HARD to do).
There went my one great opportunity. I guess, however, that if that is the way they do things, maybe it is for the best that I don't work there. If I had failed by messing up and I felt it was on me, I'd be the first to admit it, but this one fell squarely on Amazon. Guess they won't have to a chance to evaluate my true skillset, and what I could have brought to the company.
Life ain't fair. Sometimes you draw the short end of the stick. The one thing that bugs me is it took 5 weeks to secure a phone interview, and that was the best Amazon could do? Find a SDET reject who could not care less if I got a chance to showcase my skills? after the initial anger wore off, I've come to the conclusion that "Whatever. Life is not fair, but God knows what I need."
I'm certain my talents will eventually be appreciated somewhere else. IMO, it's their loss to not at least let me talk more in-depth about my experience, beliefs and methods as a QA tester for Amazon.
Shocking. horrible. Disappointing. But perhaps meant to be...:(
Sparky the QA tester dogof WA6:59PM June 02, 2009
I received a phone call today from a potential employer...I was almost getting ready for work and the person asked me for a 15 minutes interview, right there and there!!!!...at first I asked the person if she could postpone the call for the next day...but for her tone of voice I immediately thought it was not a great idea...so I said " Let me see what time is it...okay if you wish we could maintain the phone interview now"...so we did....
Was it a smart thing to do or was it no so great?
Carmenof NY7:48PM April 30, 2009
Very good points.
Another thing to consider is that if you live with others, you may want to give them a head's up on potential employers calling you.
I don't know how many times I've spoken to roommates or family members that clearly do not want to take a message and/or cannot tell me when a candidate will be home.
Also - if you are actively looking for work, you may want to consider a grown-up message on your machine. It's all part of the overall impression you provide us.
Julie8:15AM November 06, 2008
As an applicant, I'm amazed at how often the recruiters have NO CLUE what the job entails. All they have is a couple of boiler-plate bullet items about language x and communication skills.
Frank Boothof NC2:38PM September 18, 2008
Alison -
Good points all.
<b>7. Use a Cheesy Cell Phone<b>. Nothing enhances your interview image like a partial connection that hisses, pops and drops every third syllable. Instead of this, double-check your coverage, and plan to use a land-line where ever possible. Oh - and just because you can do a phone interview while walking down a busy urban street doesn't mean you should. The honking and traffic noises will interfere with your interview.
Troy
http://notjobs.wordpress.com/
Troy Bettinger, SPHRof CO5:41PM September 06, 2008
As a recruiter, I am amazed at the number of people who call me looking for a job who are not prepared with a pen and paper. If I call you, I expect that I may be catching you off guard and you may have to go get a pen, but if you're calling me, be ready to take down the info you're calling for! Of course, not nearly as much of a deal-breaker as the points mentioned, but certainly an annoyance and it doesn't convince me you're an organized and prepared candidate.
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Testing from A to Z of WA 12:43PM July 01, 2009
Sparky the QA tester dog of WA 6:59PM June 02, 2009
Carmen of NY 7:48PM April 30, 2009
Julie 8:15AM November 06, 2008
Frank Booth of NC 2:38PM September 18, 2008
Troy Bettinger, SPHR of CO 5:41PM September 06, 2008
Aimee of NJ 8:34AM September 03, 2008