How to Get an Amazon Referral

Working at Amazon is an extremely coveted role in tech. Amazon employees work on some of the largest scale problems in the entire technical sector, and have an opportunity to change millions of people's lives.

So, how do you actually get to interview with Amazon? The most important step you can take is getting an internal referral from a current employee at the company. Here's a guide on how to get that referral, and why it's so important.

Why Referrals Matter

Getting a referral at Amazon can make or break your ability to make it to the interview round.

The strongest way to stand out in the application process is to get a referral from someone internal at Amazon. Of course, getting one referral from anyone at the company helps, but here are some factors that can boost the signal from your referral:

Role: The referral should ideally be of an employee that has the same role as the one you're applying for.
Seniority: Referrals are stronger from folks who have higher seniority.
Team: If applying to a specific team it helps to have someone from the team refer you.
Familiarity: Amazon can tell if a referral is genuine and if the person is familiar with your background–this helps in the application process
Quantity: The more referrals, the better–Amazon does note if there's a large quantity of internal employees referring a candidate.

Now that we know how important referrals are, let's strategize how to land them.

Sourcing Referrals

The best way to get referrals are to reach out to people you already know. In this section, we'll discuss how to identify those people and reach out to them or their second-degree connections.

The easiest way to find referrals from people who work at the company is to use LinkedIn's search feature. LinkedIn has a powerful advanced search feature that lets you browse people who work at the company you're applying for, in addition to people who used to work at the company.

In LinkedIn search, search for the company you're applying for (in this case, Amazon), and click "Advanced Search" to see a panel like the one below:

Note that you'll also want to filter by 1st degree connections or 2nd degree connections to see the individuals that are in your network. We've included the filter for past company in case those who used to work at Amazon could reach out to others they know at the company.

In addition to LinkedIn, let your personal network know you're applying for a role at Amazon (as well as other companies you're applying for). This helps your friends and network search on your behalf. A simple text message or email can do wonders for helping leverage your weak ties to get connected.

If you're affiliated with a university, there are often alumni networks and programs where you can reach out. Browse through the university network and find people who might be a good fit who went to your school that would be interested. Ideally, they currently work at the company.

Ultimately, it may not be possible to actually find someone in your network who works at the company–we know this can be frustrating! That's why we're testing the beta of a new referral network for Exponent members. Sign up here to submit yourself to be referred at a top company.

Now, hopefully you've generated a list of at least a few people you could reach out to for referrals. But now comes the hardest and most important step of the process, and one that 99% of people get wrong: how to ask for a referral.

Asking for Referrals

Asking for a referral can feel uncomfortable and daunting. What if the person doesn't know you that well? What if they don't respond?

Keep in mind that in general, employees want to refer you–Amazon employees get thousand dollar bonuses for successful referrals, so they're motivated to work with you and refer you if they think there's a good fit.

That said, let's take a look at how to draft a cold email to different types of contacts.

Close Connection
For a close connection (someone you would consider a friend), you can send a simple message to them as you normally do. Here's an example:

Hey friend! I'm applying for a few roles including the Amazon Product Manager role. I heard that getting a referral helps my application, and I was wondering if you'd be able to refer me? Let me know if you'd be up for it and I'd be happy to provide you more materials to make the process as easy as possible for you!

Here are some key elements of the message:

Keep it personal: this is your friend, you don't need to be formal!
Explain what role you're applying for: this helps set context for your friend!
Explain why their referral would help: the part on "getting a referral helps my application" helps explain to your friend why it'd be valuable (not everyone has that context!)
Offer help: This request doesn't end here; in fact, you should offer to provide more information and make sure it's as easy a process for them as possible.

Less Close Connection
Now, let's imagine you're reaching out to someone from an alumni network or someone who you knew professionally but a bit distantly.

Hey Stephen! I'm a Greendale university student and I'm applying for an Amazon Product Manager role this year. I saw that you currently work at Amazon as a product manager – working at Amazon as a product manager is my dream job.

I saw that you work on AWS which is one of my favorite Amazon products (I used AWS in a bunch of my hackathon projects!).

I'm looking to get your advice on applying to the Amazon PM position as well as how working at Amazon has been for you. I'd also love to ask you for a referral if from our conversation you thought I might be a good fit for the role.

Let me know if you'd be up for a conversation - I should be free all day next Monday and Tuesday, and I'm happy to work around your schedule.

Here are some key elements of this message:

Mention the connection: highlight what brings you together, whether it be your university or a mutual friend
Do your research: Show that you've done the research about the person you're reaching out to. What about their profile in particular is a good fit?
Be upfront: Don't hide that you're looking for a referral. Instead, talk about how you'd like a referral alongside wanting other advice and support in the process.
Clear action item: Make it easy for them to take the next step in the process by offering times to connect.

Asking a Close Connection to ask another person
Sometimes, you'll want to ask your connection to ask someone else on your behalf. Here's an example:

Hey Stephen! I'm applying for a few roles including the Amazon Product Manager role. I've heard that getting a referral boosts my chances of landing the job. I saw that you're connected to Jeff Bezos who works at Amazon as a product manager, and I thought we'd be a good connection given that we both have experience in the public sector as well as the private sector. I was wondering if you'd be open to passing along a message on my behalf (I can draft it!) and see if he'd up to chat with me?

Here are some key elements of this message:

Explaining why the fit is good: Why should your friend connect you to this person? Explain what makes this connection worthwhile.
Offer to draft the message: Don't simply ask to be connected. Instead, offer to draft a quick message that your friend can send on your behalf. This starts a "Double opt-in" process - Leslie will have to confirm she would like to connect with you before the connection is made. Offering the request this way makes it easier for the friend to actually send over the request.

After the Referral

So, now you've gotten someone to say yes–that's great! Be sure to answer all the questions they have in preparing your referral for review. Amazon often asks for a resume, how the referrer knows the candidate, and a few other role-specific information. You can work with your referrer to fill in the information and gaps.

Once they've referred you, you'll get a confirmation, and a recruiter may reach out to you. Keep in mind that regardless of a referral, you should still apply to the role on Amazon's Jobs Page. The referral will augment your application, but not replace it entirely.

After a recruiter reaches out, you can then focus on the phone screen with the recruiter, which will usually be a conversation about your resume and background, before you get to the interview stage.

At Exponent, we recommend starting interview preparation before applying, given how tough the interview processes are. Here are a few of the most common questions that Amazon may ask you:

Product Management

What's your favorite product and why? Watch our guide on answering this question

Software Engineering

Design a URL Shortener. Watch a video explanation
Write an LRU Cache. Read our example problem.
Answer an Edit Distance coding algorithm problem. Watch a Google SWE's answer.

Technical Program Management & Engineering Management

How do you set up projects for success? See how to talk about project success.
How do you balance feature development and technical debt? Read our example answer.
How do you recruit great engineers? Read our guide to recruiting and hiring.

Behavioral

Tell me about a time you failed. Watch a founder's answer
How do you prioritize engineering projects? Watch a LinkedIn Engineering Manager's answer.

Read the full guide to Amazon's behavioral interview questions and leadership principles.

More Resources

While we hope this article was helpful, chances are you'll need more resources to best prepare for the Amazon interview. Luckily, there are tons of different resources on Exponent to help you practice and get ready for your upcoming Amazon interview:

💬 Get prepared with example Amazon interview questions

📖 Read through our Amazon interview guides

👯‍♂️ Practice your behavioral and product sense skills with our interview practice tool.