How to answer the interview question, "Why do you want to work at Amazon?"

The interviewer is looking for a candidate who (1) can do the job and (2) knows why Amazon will be right for them. The response should be unique, not the same generic answers most candidates give.

Why they ask the “Why Amazon?” question

Interviewers will often ask this question and “Tell me about yourself” at the beginning of the interview to start the conversation. It’s an easy question for them to ask because it’s an icebreaker, an introductory question that will get the conversation flowing. That doesn’t mean it’s an easy question to answer - your answer will reveal your level as a candidate.

• If you don’t have a good answer or you ramble and can’t think of what to say, they’ll think you’re a below average candidate.

• If you have an answer and you say it clearly and with confidence, but it’s basically the same info that every other candidate says, they’ll think you’re an average candidate.

• If you have a clear, well-presented answer that shows how you can help them and why you like the company, and your reason is tailored to the role and not just the same old generic stuff everyone says, then you’ll seem like an above average candidate.

How to answer the “Why Amazon?” question

Include (1) “how you can help them” and (2) “amazon is great because” sections.

You can switch the order of the two sections - I prefer to have the how-you-can-help-them first, but if you feel like this is too much bragging, put it second. If you’re genuinely passionate about the company’s mission, you can put that section first.

The “How you can help them” section

“My skills are perfect for this job because X.” or

“I’ll be able to help you because of my experience in X.” or

“The [job title] job is a good fit for me because I have X experience.”

• “X” is your strengths. What are you best at? Your #1 goal in the interview is to tell them your strengths.

• Make this about them, not about you. How can you help them by using your strengths? Not how will your career improve if you get the job, not what you will learn from the job, etc. This isn’t about your needs, it’s about theirs.

• Answers that have your strengths first stand out more because your strengths will be unique to you.

• Yes, you should put your strengths in this answer even though they haven’t asked you about them directly. This answer should have two parts - how you can help them (with your strengths) and why the company is great (or why you like their mission, etc.).

Amazon is a [great] company because…

Don’t actually use the word “great” - say why you like them.

• Do you like them because they’re innovative? Tailor the answer to what you like about them (they’re innovative) but also relate this to what you do (logistics).

  Say “I want to work at Amazon because it’s the most innovative company in the world in the logistics space right now.” And give some details about that - what are they doing in logistics?

Don’t say these generic things like everyone else:

Amazon is

…so innovative

…so disruptive

…growing so fast

…so data focused

Amazon cares so much about their customers

I’m an Amazon customer and they’re so good at customer service

I love their startup - Day 1 - fail fast mentality

Don’t use one of those, unless you tailor it to your skills, and try not to use it even if you tailor it because everyone else will.

Don’t include more than three ideas:

Don’t have more than three points overall. Many of my clients will try to cram in many more things.

Don’t say “Amazon is innovative and it puts the customer first and it keeps innovating and it’s the biggest player in the cloud space and and and…”

You aren’t trying to convince them you know all about the company but rather that you’ve thought intelligently about it.

Use two or three points and say a paragraph about each one. Not ten points with two sentences about each one.

And it counts as more than one point if it has subtopics under it. Three is enough.

Possible mistakes when answering the “Why Amazon?” question

1. Don’t mention the salary. Yes, you probably want to work at Amazon because they pay well, but that is not what they want to hear.

2. Don’t talk about how your career will improve if you get the job or what you’ll learn from the job. That is about you, not them. Plus, it’s sooooooo common. If you say it you’ll blend in to everyone else.

3. Don’t talk about the Amazon leadership principles. What? Aren’t I supposed to talk about these in the interview? Yes, but not in this answer. Talk about them elsewhere, like your answers to the behavioral questions. But if you’re using your limited time to cram that topic into this answer, you’re wasting the chance to talk about your skills, experience, or other strengths, or a reason you like the company that is targeted to the role itself.

4. Don’t mention prestige. Yes, Amazon is well known and you might be attracted by its reputation. But this won’t sell them on your skills and it isn’t saying anything unique. It actually might make you seem immature.

5. Answer is too long. 60-90 seconds is a good length.

6. Answer structure is confusing. Talk about your two points, or three at the most, one at a time. Finish the first, then move on to the second, then the third. Don’t circle back to one after you’ve moved on to two.

Sample answers for the “Why Amazon?” question

Here's a few answers that I've made comments on so you can see why the answers are good or bad.

A Senior Product Manager's Example Answer

"I want to work for Amazon for several reasons: 1. The most important reason I want to work for Amazon is for the kind of impact I can create. Amazon has disrupted every industry it has set its foot in, from the way we shop, Amazon prime, the way we buy grocery and fresh produce, Amazon fresh, to cloud computing – AWS. 2. Also, I've spent a decade in consumer goods industry working in leadership roles in sales and marketing so I can see that Amazon is in a very interesting space at the intersection of speed and reach. The possibilities are huge. 3. It was during my time in a FMCG organization that I developed passion and curiosity to learn and understand consumer behavior and creating marketing strategies to delight customers. It is really about putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer to win their trust and confidence. 4. At work I enjoy diving deep and staying connected to details. And from what I have learned Amazon is a very data driven company. 5. Versatility has been a hallmark of my career. I excel at immersing myself in new industries and applying that knowledge to deliver above average results."

Problems with this answer:

• Too long - it took me 2.5 minutes to read this, which is too long for the answer to one of the basic questions like this one. If you're answering a behavioral question and have to tell a story, it's fine to go over 2 minutes.

• Not focused enough/too many ideas. I like all of these ideas individually, although each one is not developed enough, but there are too many. What am I supposed to focus on? The length wouldn’t be such a problem for me if the content were clearer. But with too much length and the lack of focus combined it overwhelms me.

• #3 is the only point where she gives her own strengths, although she doesn’t develop them enough.

Improved version:

"I want to work for Amazon for 3 reasons. 1. The most important reason I want to work for Amazon is that the possibilities for creating products that have a huge impact are great. I've spent a decade in the consumer goods industry working in leadership roles in sales and marketing so I can see that Amazon is in a very interesting space at the intersection of speed and reach and so whatever products they sell are going to have a good chance of succeeding. 2. At work I enjoy diving deep and staying connected to details, and from what I have learned Amazon is a very data driven company so I could use data if I worked there. 3. It was during my time in a FMCG organization that I developed passion and curiosity to learn and understand consumer behavior and creating marketing strategies to delight customers. It is really about putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer to win their trust and confidence and I would have a chance to do that on a broad scale at Amazon."

Problems with this answer:

This version is better because it has fewer points. However, in #1 and #3 she talks about her experience but doesn’t say enough about it. She’s spent 10 years in the industry in “leadership roles” but doesn’t say specifically what those are. If she added more specifics there it would make her answer more memorable.

A Finance Manager's Example Answer

"Amazon is one of the leading global online retailing companies with 136 bn USD Net Sales and is 12th on the Fortune 500. In the past four years its doubled its sales. Such a fast growing company and a pioneer in the internet retail sector is a place I’d like to work."

Good points: 

• Numbers: 136 billion, 12th, 4 years (numbers are good for everyone to include)

• Money: $136 billion (good for a finance person to talk about)

• Awareness of company's market position

Problems with this answer:

• A bit short

• Needs more specifics about why he wants to work there. For example, how could it help his career? How specifically could he contribute to this fast-growing company? And I don't want to hear "This would be a great opportunity for me" or "Amazon is such a great company if I work there it would really help me." It needs specifics.

Improved version:

"Amazon is one of the leading global online retailing companies with 136 bn USD Net Sales and is 12th on the Fortune 500. In the past four years it’s doubled its sales. It's such a fast growing company and a pioneer in the internet retail sector, so it's a place I’d like to work because I know I'd have a chance to do financial reporting and develop long-term plans for the business based on these reports.”

He hasn’t used my structure - he’s put the Amazon is great parts first, but that’s okay. But he has given one specific thing he knows how to do (financial reporting).

Problems with this answer:

The length is still a bit short - I’d prefer it if he added more in terms of his skills / what he can do for them.

An Engineer's Example Answer

"My current job is great, but I think that I can increase a lot my skills working at Amazon by sharing ideas with other talented engineers and solving challenges in a bigger scale. Also, I always wanted to extend my Master degree research project regarding home automation, smart meters and Big Data, and I think that the Alexa Division at Amazon can give me an only opportunity to exploit these topics and even helping Amazon to open a new business opportunity."

Good points:

• Very very specific. This answer is better at the start than the previous answer because he is so specific about the home automation thing.

• Sells himself. He talks about how he did this research project on a cool topic, which is a good way to use this answer to bring up something he wants the interviewer to focus on (his research experience).

Bad points:

• Weird English. It's not terrible, but it's a bit off and so it distracts me.

• It's all about him. "I think I can increase my skills" - "my research project" - "can give me an opportunity." Do you really think they care what they can give you? No. They want to know what you can give them. He does include that this can help Amazon exploit a new business opportunity, but he adds this last.

• How does the Alexa division relate to his research project? He needs to spell this out. It may not be obvious to a recruiter or HR manager why Alexa relates to home automation and smart data. Many technical people think that everyone understands their projects, but in general only the other technical people do, and recruiters and HR people (probably your first interviewers) may not.

Improved version:

"I'd like to work at Amazon because I think I can help the company open a new business opportunity in the area of home automation [it would be better to be even more specific here and say what niche exactly in home automation it would fill]. Since the Alexa division is working on home automation, I can extend my Master's research project regarding home automation, smart meters and Big Data. [Again, it would be better to be more specific and say what idea you have in this area.]

Pros and cons of this answer:

This is good because it talks about his skills and experience and says how that would help the company, but he could go much further with it. 

A VP of Product's Answer

"Amazon is the most exciting and dynamic company in the world now in my opinion. It always puts the customer first and isn't afraid to take risks and innovate. It seems like they're really blue sky thinkers, so nothing is off limits, and I want to work in an atmosphere like that."

Good answer for a senior person

It seems like this might be too short, but it actually isn't if it comes from a great communicator with significant career achievements. The person who used this answer has a confident demeanor, a calm personality, and excellent experience and education and so doesn't need to do a lot of selling himself in his answers. 

If you’re not fairly senior in your career, you should probably stick to my formula of having two sections in your answer. This answer isn’t really using the time to sell his qualifications, which he doesn’t need to do, but you might.

A Sales Manager's Answer

"Amazon is the most customer-centric and innovative company in the world and I want to be part of the movement that is Amazon."

Good answer for a senior person

You can use an answer this short if you have a stellar resume and a hugely charismatic personality. Otherwise, I would put more effort into it. 

I would never even attempt to use this, but it worked for him (no, I'm not even kidding, he did get the job, but he had a really strong personality and could say this without it seeming like a joke).     

How to practice your answer

Write it

Now that you’ve heard my formula and seen some examples, try writing your own answer.

You need two sections:

1. Your strengths - Brainstorm the top 5. Do they align with the job description? Are they the things that the interviewer most needs you to be able to do?

2. Why you like Amazon - What is the company doing in your area? If you’re a Cloud Architect, don’t talk about how they’re improving grocery store checkout. Make sure what you talk about is relevant to your area.

Say it out loud

Now try saying your answer out loud. How long is it? Write out some bullet points on a cheat sheet for you to use during the interview.

Practice on your own and then time yourself and then keep practicing until you can say the answer smoothly, without sounding robotic.

Record yourself

Try recording yourself. Watch the video and see if there’s anywhere you can improve.

Get feedback

Then practice with others. Start with friends and if you need some expert feedback, I’d be happy to help.

Related topics:

How to answer behavioral questions in your Amazon job interview

How to include data in your interview answers

Amazon leadership principle Dive Deep interview questions