Amazon Interview Preparation Nerves Hack| Ex-Bar Raiser

How I know these hacks work in an Amazon interview

I’ve done over a thousand hours worth of interviewing at Amazon and I’ve seen many nervous candidates at Amazon interview. I saw those that manage it well as part of the Amazon interview preparation and those that didn’t. And over time, that little tips and tricks they employ interview stuck with me. Sometimes if they were hired I’d ask them to share their strategies.

If you’ve met me in person on seen me on video, you might be surprised to know that I get very nervous in interviews and sometimes high pressure meetings. I have an Essential Tremor; I shake when the adrenalin starts pumping- so I’ve needed these strategies, even in my own Amazon interview preparation.

Nerves Hack #1- Practice In Real Life

This one won’t be popular with many employers or hiring managers, but they don’t have to know.

As part of your Amazon interview preparation go for interviews for jobs that if you don’t get, you’re not going to be heartbroken. It gives you real life experience and practice of interviewing. The experience will get familiar and you won’t be as intimidated. The when you make mistakes, particularly if you’re also a bit rusty you can reflect on the interview and work on the areas for improvement. If you do get them- then either decline or keep them as options in case your Amazon interview isn’t as successful.

Nerves Hack #2 Practice In Mocks

Sometimes you just can’t get the first type of practice and maybe you don’t even have time because your Amazon interview is coming up really soon. So practice through mock interviews. It’s not going to be as real in terms of the simulation, but if you do plenty of practice mock interviews, it will still help familiarise you with the experience

It doesn’t need to be with someone who understands Amazon.

It doesn’t even need to be someone who Amazon who understands the Leadership Principles.

It can just be people who just do interviews regularly and just practice with those. It will just get you into the flow of question and answer and the habit of situation, task, action, results.

Nerves Hack #3 Safety Tools

Take in tools that will give you some comfort that you can rely on them to help you in the Amazon interview process. The tools that I think of when I imagine doing that is

Always write down the question
Take in light bullet point notes

Always Write Down the Question

It’s helpful because your brain isn’t constantly panicking, thinking “am I still answering the question?”, “ am I on the right track?”. Because you’ll have written it down and you’ll know.

Take In Light Bullet Point Notes

They have to be brief and high level. No reading them like they’re any essay. That will give a terrible interview and you’ll probably be asked to stop using them.

if you have those type of tools, the parts of your brain that would usually spend energy thinking and panicking about those things can rest easy.

A brave one but I really recommend it. Tell your interviewer that you are particularly nervous. Not because you want sympathy and you want them to go easy on you, but once you’re got it off your chest your brain isn’t going to be putting a load of cognitive energy into trying to pretend, that you’re not nervous. Equally it helps your interviewer understand certain behaviors that you’ll demonstrate in your interview and put them into context. They won’t spend any cognitive load on it either.

Use these tips and it won’t be your nerves that make you fail the Amazon interview.