How to get a job at Amazon: Marlen Myngjasar's experience

Marlen Mynzhassar, city — Dublin, Technical Program Manager, @mynzhassar

About Me

I am a Technical Program Manager at Amazon. In this role, I am responsible for executing technical projects and managing the team.

Since September 2022, I have been working at Amazon's European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

How to Join Amazon

A recruiter from the company contacted me via LinkedIn and offered me an interview. From that moment, I began actively preparing for the interviews. As a result of successfully passing all stages, I received a job offer.

The process started with correspondence with the recruiter on LinkedIn, followed by a phone call with them, and then six remote interviews with six different employees of the company. The entire process took about a month. After successfully passing the interviews, the company initiated the process of obtaining a work permit for Ireland, as well as visa processing for me and my family members to enter the country. This took another six months.

After a brief call with the recruiter, I was scheduled for my first interview—a phone screen—with a Senior Technical Program Manager at the company. This was the most important and difficult interview, during which the company typically eliminates more than 90% of all candidates. This stage can be compared to a knockout game in sports, where there is almost no room for error. After successfully passing this stage, I went on to five more interviews, where Amazon employees assessed my technical and management skills, as well as my understanding of corporate values. Ultimately, the decision to hire me was made collectively.

I recommend focusing on developing communication skills and studying the English language. It is important to be able to clearly articulate your thoughts and professionally present your experience. Technical skills are also important, but soft skills—such as teamwork and adaptability to different cultural nuances—are equally significant. From the perspective of technical skills and knowledge of exact sciences, specialists from our country are quite competitive.

You need to tailor your resume to the specific job opening. Do your homework and learn as much as possible about the company, its projects, and its field of activity. It is also important to familiarize yourself with the company's corporate culture and values. For example, Amazon has 16 Leadership Principles, and everyone who wants to join the company must understand them. During the interview, you should provide examples from your experience, demonstrating adherence to these principles. For instance, customer obsession and diving into details.

Work Features

My team develops internal infrastructure solutions and platforms to increase the productivity of internal teams. The company has several hundred internal teams working on various tasks for external and internal customers. As a Technical Program Manager, I am involved in strategy development, planning, implementation of internal projects, and delivering the final product to our internal customers.

We use a wide range of tools, from Microsoft Excel and Word for basic tasks to specialized solutions for working with data, such as big data analysis tools, project planning tools, and internal tools for evaluating and tracking tasks.

Often, I encounter tasks for which there are no perfect solutions. Sometimes it is possible to find a solution that only partially solves the problem. Quite often, decisions must be made with minimal data, evaluating different scenarios and risks. Being in such a state of uncertainty can cause stress. It is important to be able to break down large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks and solve them step by step.

The ability to communicate effectively with business units and technical teams is the most important factor for successful job performance. A Technical Program Manager must be the link between the business and the technical team, deeply immersing themselves in technical details and translating them into language understandable to the business. It is also important to be able to express thoughts concisely and clearly, both orally and in writing. The company places great emphasis on writing culture.

The company provides the opportunity to work on complex and interesting projects among strong specialists. Internal transfers are widely practiced at Amazon—you can change projects, teams, and sometimes even countries, as the company has a global presence. This contributes to continuous learning and professional growth.

Besides technical skills, it is important to have developed soft skills, such as communication and teamwork. Working in an international team requires strong cross-cultural communication skills. It is important to take cultural differences into account and be able to interact effectively with colleagues who may have different work styles and approaches to problem-solving.

The main advantage of working in an international team is the diversity of perspectives and ideas. This allows approaching problem-solving from different angles. However, cultural differences can create communication difficulties, especially in the early stages of work. For example, some people may be straightforward, while others may be evasive in their answers, which can lead to misunderstandings. Over time, people get used to each other, find a common language, and work more effectively.

I enjoy interacting with different people from different cultural backgrounds, solving various problems together, and learning something new. Ultimately, the people and colleagues you spend a lot of time with have a significant influence on you.

To succeed in this field, it is necessary to constantly learn new things and be open to different approaches.

About Life Abroad

As a rule, staying abroad for a long time without a stable income can be difficult if a person does not have a serious financial cushion. Therefore, the classic option—finding a job first and then moving—seems less risky and more straightforward. Quite often, a visa and the opportunity to move abroad can only be obtained with an invitation from an employer. However, I have met people who moved first and then found a job—this option is also possible, but it is less common.

My company provided assistance with moving belongings, purchasing airline tickets, and paying a certain amount for relocation. They also booked accommodation in Ireland for the first 45 days, provided a car for one month, and a real estate agent who helped find permanent housing. The company also assisted in finding a school for children and helped with obtaining residence permits for me and my family members.

Amazon in Dublin is significantly different from other Irish companies. The company has its own unique corporate culture, which requires high dedication from employees. Each year, goals are set for teams, for which they regularly report. These goals are often ambitious and require significant effort to achieve. Working in such an environment can be interesting and educational, but at the same time exhausting if you do not prioritize and manage your time effectively.