What Is the Amazon Assessment Test?
The Amazon assessment test is a series of online tests that Amazon uses to screen its candidates. The most common assessments are the Work Simulation and Work Style Assessment, but there are over 10 other assessments for specific roles, such as SDE, AWS, Maintenance, and more.
The Amazon Recruitment Process
For most positions, the Amazon hiring process looks like the following:
- Submitting an Amazon Job Application.
- Resume Screening
- Online Assessment
- Phone Interview
- Virtual Interview / On-site Interviews
- Job Offer
Below is an overview of the most popular Amazon assessment tests:
Amazon SDE Online Assessment
The Amazon Software Development Engineer online assessment combines coding and behavioral tests given to candidates for SDE positions - interns, new grads, and experienced roles.
For interns and new grad positions, the Amazon online assessment is divided as follows: two coding questions, Work Simulation, and Work Style Assessment.
For more experienced SDE roles, you’ll get a coding test that includes two coding questions, a coding approach questionnaire, a Work Style assessment (two parts), and a Work Simulation assessment.
Note that Amazon puts a premium and bases its behavioral and personality assessments on the 16 leadership principles. So, learn them and take them into account while choosing your responses.
Amazon SDE Assessment Sample Question & Answer (SDE Work Simulation)
You've received the following email from your colleague:
Hi,
We have to develop a system to provide a solution for image thumbnails of the inventory items.
I wish to hear about your thoughts, as I have already outlined a few storage options that may be helpful.
Here are some storage options that could be used. Which option is the most effective one?
- Flat-file store
- Relational database
- Key-value data store
- Elastic search
- Cloud file store
The most effective option is (5) - Cloud file store
Amazon S3 Simple Storage Service (S3) is a secure, highly durable, and extremely cheap cloud-based file store. S3 stores files and data objects as objects, and not file system directories like other cloud storage providers.
S3 is an ideal storage solution for storing valuable data that can be retrieved in the shortest amount of time. S3 can also be used for storing and retrieving files such as images, pdfs, etc. The storage over cloud over own server will be better and easy to access and use connections, it will be helpful to look at the firewall.
Access the complete Amazon SDE online assessment prep guide here >>
Amazon Work Simulation
The Amazon Work Simulation is one of the most common Amazon assessment tests and it's used to screen candidates for numerous positions. In this assessment, you’ll get an inside look at the types of challenges commonly faced by Amazon employees.
This work simulation assesses your prioritization, multitasking skills, problem-solving skills, how you work under pressure, and of course – your use of Amazon’s Leadership Principles.
Each scenario will begin with email communication that gives context into the nature of the issue you’ll face. When the simulation starts, you’ll be prompted with emails and instant messages from your virtual Team Lead, team members, etc.
Within each scenario, you’ll get more details to help you solve the problem in the form of charts, graphs, spreadsheets, and tables. You’ll then be asked questions and given a set of responses you need to choose from.
Note: there's a less common test version, which is called "Amazon Hiring Simulation," that is used for some positions. It resembles the Work Simulation but focuses more on analyzing and interpreting numerical data reports and tables and graphs. JobTestPrep offers accurate practice materials for the Hiring Simulation version as well.
Amazon Work Simulation Sample Question
While examining Samuel’s document, you noticed an error in the metrics calculations that may cause differences between the stated and actual costs to the customers. How would you address this error? Rate based on how effective each response will be.
Email Samuel to notify him of the specific issue, while also cc’ing the team lead.
- Ineffective
- Slightly Effective
- Moderately Effective
- Very Effective
- Highly Effective
Note: the full question in the preparation pack has 4 additional responses
For more info and sample questions and to access the full prep, enter our Amazon Work Simulation page.
Amazon Pathways
If you are a recent Master's graduate or have been discharged from the armed forces, Pathways is a program designed to get you on an accelerated path to senior management.
Amazon's rationale behind this program is to bring in people with proven leadership abilities and walk them through all the information they need to maintain management positions at the company, without requiring them to take on entry-level positions first.
As such, the 5-year program is considered challenging, packed, and intense. However, its successful completion will guarantee a full-time management position at Amazon.
JobTestPrep is happy to accompany you through the initial selection process using preparation materials and guides.
Read more about our Amazon Pathways Test package.
Amazon Work Style Assessment
The Amazon Work Style assessment is a personality test that evaluates your work preferences and qualities to determine your suitability to Amazon’s unique culture.
In most cases, this test comes before or after other Amazon online assessments, and you’ll rarely receive it as a single exam.
On this assessment, which takes about 15 minutes to complete, you’ll see pairs of statements, and you’ll need to decide which is most like you or more like you.
Amazon’s Work Style Assessment is completely based on the Amazon Leadership Principles. These are core values that are super important to Amazon, and its workers address and follow them daily.
So, before starting the Work Style Assessment, read the Leadership Principles and learn how to implement them in your past work experiences.
Amazon Work Style Assessment Sample Question & Answer
Both these statements highlight the Leadership Principle: Earn Trust
Amazon team members do not over-inflate their capabilities and achievements. They are ‘vocally self-critical’ and come forward when problems occur and they need assistance. When help is offered, they always publicly acknowledge it and appreciate it.
MOST or MORE
Most of us have been assisted and supported by colleagues on many occasions and acknowledging this support on a daily basis is important. There are however potentially people who have previously worked alone or independently. We recommend choosing the answer "more like me"; however, this would thus be an item that could go both ways, "Most" or "More".
To access the complete practice for the assessment, visit our Amazon Work Style Page.
Amazon Maintenance Technician Test
The Amazon Maintenance Technician Test (also referred to as Amazon Tech 2 or Tech 3) is a Ramsay Corporation test assessing your theoretical and practical knowledge over a variety of topics. It contains 75 multiple-choice questions and lasts around 2.5 hours.
Test topics include:
- Print reading
- Electrical theory
- Control circuits
- Power tools
- Preventive maintenance
- And more...
Amazon Maintenance Technician Test Sample Question & Answer
Try this Print Reading sample questions that resemble questions from the actual test:
What will happen if the forward button is pressed and released after a while?
- M1 will start running and keep working even if the forward button is released
- M1 will start running and stop when the forward button is released
- M2 will start running and keep working even if the forward button is released
- M2 will start running and stop when the forward button is released
The correct answer is (1).
Answer choices C and D cannot be true because M2 is not affected.
In this circuit, the forward button is an in-parallel auxiliary connection with M1. This means the forward switch enables M1.
However, when the forward button is released, the M1 connection maintains the current and keeps energizing the forward circuit.
For more information and prep materials, visit the Amazon Maintenance Technician Test page.
You can also try a free Amazon Ramsay practice test, which gives you a taste of the prep package and the actual assessment:
Amazon Control Systems Tech/Lead Assessment
The Amazon Control Systems Assessment is used for tech and lead positions in Amazon, and revolves around 8 topics, including schematics, process control, electrical theory, motors, and more.
The overall time to solve the test is around 90 minutes. Similar to other Amazon technical tests, this test is also conducted by Ramsay Corporation.
Amazon Control Systems Technician Assessment Sample Question & Answer
Try this Power Distribution sample question that resembles some of the questions on the real test:
In a 110V electrical system, there are three appliances: appliance A (550W) appliance B (770W), and appliance C (330W). Given that all appliances operate simultaneously, what is the minimum required fuse rating?
- 30A
- 25A
- 20A
- 15A
The correct answer is C.
The minimal fuse rating should be higher than the normal operating current of the system. Since an electrical system is connected in parallel, the total current in the system when all three appliances are working is the sum of all three.
The current consumption of each appliance is calculated by:
I = P/V
Where:
- I = Current [Ampere]
- P = Power [Watt]
- V = Voltage [Volt]
Therefore:
- Appliance A consumes 550/110 = 5A
- Appliance B consumes 770/110 = 7A
- Appliance C consumes 330/110 = 3A
The total current in the system is 5 + 7 + 3 = 15A
In order to withstand normal working conditions, the minimal fuse amperage rating must be greater than 15A, thus 20A.
For more information and prep materials, visit the Amazon Control Systems Test page.
Amazon AWS Online Assessment
Note: We have a new preparation pack for the AWS assessment test. Click here for more info.
The assessment covers different aspects of the candidate - In most cases, the assessment will be comprised of:
- A Work-Simulation test that deals with Amazonians' work scenarios. In it, candidates will need to rate or rank possible solutions to dilemmas they might face, much like with the Work Simulation test.
- A Work-Style assessment which is Amazon's custom-made personality test, built around their famous 16 Leadership Principles.
- Some sort of technical knowledge test, depending on the role.
- A test that simulates scenarios that involve working with customers for customer-oriented roles.
Here are two examples of AWS assessments you might face:
The Amazon Solution Architect (SA) online assessment is sent after you pass the initial resume screening for a range of Solution Architect roles at AWS.
This assessment takes about 75-90 minutes to complete and is divided into five different sections:
- Work Simulation with several real-life scenarios
- Amazon Work Style Assessment
- General Technical Knowledge section to assess technical skill
- Proficiency Interest Survey
- Technical Indicator Assessment
The AWS Support Engineer assessment has almost the same structure as the AWS Solution Architect assessment.
It includes a job simulation, a multiple-choice assessment on general technical knowledge, a profile preference and proficiency questionnaire for the many AWS cloud support roles, and a work-style questionnaire.
The technical questions’ content is different from the SA assessment, as it requires different levels of technical knowledge.
Amazon AWS Online Assessment Sample Question & Answer
Here's an example from the Technical Knowledge test section of the AWS Online Assessment test (taken from the full prep package):
Which option from the following will likely ensure the minimum transfer time in migrating 10 PB data from one data center to another in a diverse geographical location or continent?
- It would help if you had a new and dedicated internet connection for the data migration.
- Store the data to an external device and transport it via airship.
- Transfer the compressed data files via FTR on the internet.
- Transfer the encrypted and compressed data via the VPN connection.
The correct answer is (2).
Petabytes and terabytes of data from one data center to another on the other side of the continent will take months and years to transfer the data no matter how fast your network is.
A practical method to transfer 10 PB of data is to load it to a physical appliance and ship it to a cloud provider. However, another cost-effective, time-saving method is AWS Snowball, where shippable snowball edge storage optimized devices are used to migrate petabyte data and ship the data to the AWS cloud.
Click here for a detailed guide and full practice for the AWS online assessment.
Amazon Area Manager Assessment, Operations Manager Assessment, and Pathways Assessment
The Amazon Area Manager and Operations Manager assessments include 4-5 sections that evaluate your knowledge and skills in several different aspects:
- Working With the Team - scenarios of real-life work and dilemmas that Operations Managers and Area Managers may encounter
- Working With Metrics - numerical problems that evaluate your math and data analysis skills
- Planning for the Team - work-related scenarios that assess your prioritization skills and your use of Amazon's Leadership Principles
- Work Style Assessment - a personality test that focuses on Amazon’s culture and Leadership Principles
- Work Experiences - ranking questions that measure different aspects of your work experience
Note: the previous assessment version, which is named "Manager in Operations Virtual Job Tryout," is no longer in use by Amazon.
Amazon Working With Metrics Sample Question & Answer
The table shows the sales for different products of a retail store. Select the best response for the question, based on the information from the table:
Product sales by month (in thousands):
Online stores place the hottest product on the main page every month, based on their recent sales. Which product should be put on the main store’s page in October based on this information?
- Product A
- Product B
- Product C
- Product D
- Product E
The correct answer is (5).
The table shows five products’ sales numbers across five months. According to the question, hot products are displayed on the website’s main page. We should be using the given data to look for the best-selling product of the previous month to choose which product is the hottest and is to be placed on the main page.
In this case – the month we should be looking at is September – where the best-selling product, according to the table, is Product E (765,000 sales).
To access more sample questions and the complete preparation pack for all sections, visit our full guide to this assessment.
Amazon Technical Academy (ATA) Assessments
To get accepted into the Amazon Technical Academy, there are three Amazon ATA assessments you must pass (as well as other hiring stages). Here's a quick overview of these assessments:
- AMCAT Test: The Aspiring Minds Computer Adaptive Test (AMCAT) is a 24-question logical reasoning test that takes 35 minutes to complete.
- Work Style Assessment: This assessment is a unique type of personality test that's widely used by Amazon. It evaluates certain personality traits and behaviors to see if they fit Amazon's famous 16 Leadership Principles.
- Technical Assessment: This 3-hour assessment measures your Java fundamentals knowledge. It includes multiple-choice questions that assess your theoretical coding knowledge as well as a coding question that evaluates your practical coding skills in Java.
In addition to these three assessments, you'll need to have a positive manager nomination form and to pass an interview process. There's also an optional coding project, which was mandatory in previous Cohorts.
Amazon ATA Assessment Sample Question & Answer (AMCAT)
Which of the given options does not follow the same pattern as the others?
- AZB
- EDF
- LMN
- XWY
The correct answer is (3).
To answer the question – each answer should be examined to find the pattern it follows while using the alphabetical order:
1. AZB – Z is the final letter in the alphabet; therefore, the following letter in the pattern would be A. The order of Z and A was swapped – and B is the next letter in order.
2. EDF – this option has the same pattern as option A – the order of D and E was swapped, and F is the next letter in order.
3. LMN – this option shows a different pattern from the other options – it follows the alphabet in regular order, so it is the correct answer.
4. XWY - this option has the same pattern as options A and B – the order of W and X was swapped, and Y is the next letter in order.
To get more information about the Amazon ATA assessments and access an exclusive practice for all three of them, make sure you visit this page.
Amazon Financial Analyst Assessment Test
The road to becoming an Amazon Financial Analyst includes a series of challenging assessments and interviews.
For most Financial Analyst positions at Amazon, the assessments will include:
- Work Simulation: a unique situational judgment test with scenarios that represent situations you might experience on the job at Amazon. Takes about 50 minutes to complete.
- Work Style Assessment: a 15-minute personality assessment that evaluates qualities important to your success within Amazon.
- Financial Analyst Excel Test: the Amazon Excel assessment test requires you to master the different features of the software. Most of the questions on this excel assessment will deal with formulas, macro creation, advanced formatting, advanced formula creation, and document properties.
Amazon Financial Analyst Assessment Sample Question & Answer (Work Style)
Both these statements highlight the Leadership Principle: Earn Trust
Disclosing weaknesses, mistakes, and failures to colleagues and acknowledging the assistance of others builds teamwork, connection, and mutual respect in the wider organization and builds foundations of trust. Being self-motivated is required at Amazon rather than a person needing others to prompt them before considering desirable actions such as expressing thanks to others.
MOST or MORE
Interdependence and the building of trust are a strong foundation for building effective and cohesive teams. This is thus a trait worthy of being marked ‘Most like Me’ or ‘More like Me’ depending on whether it is a key personal quality of yours or not. We recommend the answer "more like me"; however, if this is a personal strength, mark it as ‘Most’.
Learn more about the Amazon Financial Analyst assessment test on our dedicated page >>
Amazon MBA Online Assessment
Note: We have a new practice pack for the MBA assessment. Click here for more info.
The Amazon assessment test for MBA is the first online assessment given to MBA and master’s level graduates and interns applying to full-time roles and internships.
The online MBA assessment includes three sections, in which no specific Amazon or functional knowledge and skills are evaluated. Nevertheless, you must successfully pass it to advance to the interview stage.
These three sections are:
- Work simulation: a simulation that presents scenarios (mini business cases) you might encounter while working at Amazon.
- Work Style assessment: a personality test that evaluates your preferred work preferences, tendencies, and qualities.
- Agree or Disagree: a series of statements regarding your personality, traits, preferences and etc. You will be asked to rate each statement on a scale of five options - between Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree.
- Work priorities: ranking questions where you rank your interest in different activities that Amazon workers may encounter in their everyday work
environments.
Amazon MBA Sample Question & Answer (Agree or Disagree)
I am very good at persuading reluctant stakeholders to embrace process modifications.
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Neither Agree nor Disagree
- Agree
- Strong
The correct answer is (4), Agree.
The capacity to influence others is an essential quality in the team, both for leaders and, to a lesser degree, for team members. This is likely to be an essential trait in production and project roles, at least at a moderate level for team members and at a high level for leaders.
To learn more about the assessment, try sample questions, and access the complete prep package, visit the Amazon MBA assessment page.
Amazon Numerical Reasoning Test (SHL)
The Amazon numerical reasoning test is a multiple-choice interactive aptitude test designed by a huge test provider named SHL. It tests your mathematical abilities by the use of graphs and charts. You will be evaluated in relation to other test takers and will face a strict time limit.
The SHL test Amazon uses is comprised of 10 questions and takes 18 minutes to complete. There's also a less common version consisting of 18 questions that take 25 minutes, depending on the job you're applying for.
On these numerical reasoning tests, you'll be given partial numerical data that you'll need to calculate in order to find missing data. Then, based on the data you've found, you'll need to tweak blank graphs accordingly.
This SHL numerical assessment requires excellent math skills and a quick eye for details. On the real test, there's only about a minute and a half for each question. That includes reading it, conducting the calculations, and tweaking the graphs.
To get a taste of the real test, try the following free SHL numerical sample test.
And if you’d like to read more about the Amazon Numerical test and access its complete practice pack, visit this page on our UK Site.
Amazon Assessment Test for Warehouse
Candidates for Amazon’s Warehouse and fulfillment associate positions take an online assessment named Amazon Associate Game On Virtual Job Tryout.
The assessment consists of two sections:
Tell Us Your Story: On this part, you’ll get 22 multiple-choice questions asking about your work experience, background, and approach. Here are a few examples of questions you’ll likely see on the assessment:
- How would your most recent employer rate your attendance compared to others?
- In your most recent job, how many times per year did you have an unexcused absence?
- How would your most recent supervisor at work rate your drive to become a top performer compared to others?
You’ll see additional statements in which you’ll need to choose an answer from “Strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”
Stow Pro: This section includes three games that showcase the type of work you’ll do as a Warehouse associate.
All three games have rules similar to those used in existing facilities. In these games, you’ll need to place virtual items onto shelves, load packages into aisles, and place grocer items into shopping bags.
What Happens After You Pass the Amazon Online Assessment?
After you pass the online assessment, you’ll usually start the interview process, which consists of several interview steps, detailed below:
Phone Interview
The phone interview will be either behavioral or technical, depending on the job you’re applying to.
Behavioral interviews will focus on past situations or challenges you’ve faced and how you handled them, using the Leadership Principles to guide the discussion.
Technical interviews will usually include coding and system design problems that you’ll need to solve on a whiteboard. There are 10 technical topics that you might come up with during your interview, from data structures to artificial intelligence.
It’s recommended to contact your recruiter to find out which specific topics you’ll likely be asked about. Either way, Amazon won’t be evaluating your ability to memorize these topics, but rather your ability to apply what you know and solve problems efficiently.
You’ll usually hear back from Amazon within two business days after you finish the phone interview.
In-person Interview
As of 2021, all of Amazon’s face-to-face interviews are conducted virtually, using Amazon Chime.
As with the phone interviews, each of the in-person interviews will be either behavioral or technical (depending on your desired job).
For technical interviews, you’ll need to use a whiteboard and prepare to address these technical topics. For some positions, such as SDE, you'll also discuss and explain some aspects of your online assessment.
For the behavioral interviews, you’ll need to focus on Amazon’s Leadership Principles and implement them in your answers and when you describe past experiences.
The behavioral interview at this stage will be longer and more thorough than the behavioral phone interview. You’ll need to elaborate more on every answer you provide and the interviewers will “dive deep” into each of your examples with many follow-up questions. Additionally, the face-to-face interviews will include the famous "Bar Raiser" interview.
Expect to hear back from HR within five business days following your interview.
Written Exercise
The Amazon Written Exercise is another screening step that’s usually sent before the actual face-to-face interviews. It is sent to applicants for positions in level 5 or 6 and above.
The writing exercise will be answering one of two questions. The recommended length of your answer should be 2 to 4 MS Word pages (with 11-12 font size).
In most cases, you’ll have until 48 hours before your interview to submit the written exercise.
Amazon Interview Preparation (Behavioral & Technical)
Since the interview stage is the last and most crucial step before your hiring decision, it’d be wise to prepare for it beforehand.
If you’re looking for a thorough and reliable prep option, then JobTestPrep has the perfect fit for you.
We’ve teamed up with a leading interview prep platform that offers the following services for Amazon candidates:
- Behavioral interview prep
- Technical interview prep
- Mock interviews
- Written exercise help
- Offer negotiation
- System design practice
The coaching and prep services are given by former Amazon hiring managers that know Amazon’s unique culture and Leadership Principles inside out.
| Other Amazon Assessments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Customer Service Associate Online Test | Amazon Data Analyst Assessment | Amazon TRMS | |
