Does Amazon stop hiring during periods when they announce hiring freezes? The short answer is, 'No, they do not.'
I'm Nick, a former Amazon Bar Raiser who now runs Amazon Bound where we help talented job seekers to interview effectively with Amazon and other companies that practice behavioral interview methods. If this sounds interesting to you, please subscribe to our channel.
Today, I'd like to discuss the topic if Amazon stops hiring during periods when they announce hiring freezes. The short answer to the question is, 'No, they do not.'
The more nuanced answer to the question comes in three specific parts. Part 1 is that Amazon is a large enough company with lots of moving pieces, with lots of problems and lots of fires, to the extent that they will always need, on balance, to attract new people in the company.
Part 2 is that different teams at Amazon grow at different speeds and have different headcount needs. For example, a team like AWS is growing more rapidly, on balance, than the rest of the company, and would always require more headcount, even if the rest of the company has announced a hiring freeze. Or if Amazon wants to keep headcount neutral, at a company-wide level.
And, Part 3 is that even if teams are experiencing hiring freezes, if the Amazon hiring manager interviews a candidate who raises the bar, she can request her VP or her finance team to make an exception to the hiring freeze. And that exception could be granted on a candidate-by-candidate level, if the justification by the hiring team is logical and compelling.
So, what does this mean to you, if you are currently applying to Amazon? Two things primarily. One, arm yourself with patience. Know that in periods of hiring freezes Amazon could delay some of its hiring decisions. For example, we recently heard from a couple of our customers who have received hire offers by Amazon but have also been told by their respective hiring teams to wait, so that these hiring managers could check with the VP or the finance team and find out if they could get an exception to hire these two individuals. Or, if they would have to postpone the hiring start date at some near point in the future. Also, this wait period could be different for you, depending on your function. For example, Amazon tends to need Solution Architects, Engineers, Product Managers more than your average support function such as Finance, Recruiting, Biz Dev, Marketing, and so on and so forth. So, keep that in mind as well.
And, two, don't let the uncertainty of the hiring freeze creep into your mind and sow doubts, and throw you off your game. Allow into consideration that what is happening with you and the fact that Amazon did not immediately give you a Hire offer could be driven not by a poor performance on your behalf but by all these other hiring-freeze and other macro factors that are taking place.
So, to recap, even during periods of hiring freezes, Amazon tends to continue to hire people. So, do continue to apply. Keep in mind that depending on the individual team who you're interviewing with, and even on the individual position that you're going for, the outcome might be different. And, when you take that into consideration, stay focused and do not allow doubt to throw you off your game.
I hope this was helpful. If it is, please, subscribe to this channel. Please, ask us questions. And, the very best of luck as you interview with Amazon, even if you happen to do so during a period of a hiring freeze. Very best of luck. You've got this. Bye.