Amazon has been on a hiring spree lately and it appears that employees are liking what they see. The retail giant topped LinkedIn's 2018 Top Companies list, unseating last year's No. 1 Google.
The e-commerce site, which has 566,000 global employees, enjoyed a successful 2017 with the $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods. The Seattle-based company also has plans to expand by securing another U.S. headquarters. Cities like Boston, Atlanta, New York City and Washington, D.C. are rumored to be possible locations.
With so many prospective candidates vying for a position at the rapidly expanding company, CNBC Make It spoke with Amazon's director of university recruiting Miriam Park to find out how the company hires. Her No. 1 piece of advice? "Be your authentic self."
The head recruiter, who has worked at the retail giant for almost six years, says that companies are truly interested in learning about their prospective employees.
Employers want to know "how you have owned a role and moved the needle forward, demonstrated curiosity and where you have solved a problem," says Park.
More importantly, applicants should express who they are rather than who they think the company wants them to be. "Be you," she says.
Amazon, which hired 110,000 employees last year and plans to grow its full-time U.S.-based workforce to over 280,000 in the next 18 months, looks for candidates who fit the company culture. Core company-wide beliefs include customer obsession, ownership, curiosity and thinking big.
"We have phenomenal thought leaders, and we have built a brand that's amazing," says Park. "It's a very dynamic environment because we are growing at a fast rate."
To find candidates who can help the company grow, Park says interviewers must get to know candidates authentically during the interview process.
Candidates go through an online assessment and a phone screening before their first in-person meeting. Interview questions can run the gamut, she says, from behavioral and situational to technical and functional questions.
"We focus on hard and soft skills to learn about candidates and how they operate in different situations," says the recruiter.
Another suggestion for young professionals seeking a job: "Don't be nervous. Focus on what your strengths are, your accomplishments and a demonstration of deep curiosity."
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See also:
Facebook's HR chief reveals how to get a job at the social media giant
Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates say they work best after a full night's rest
Female Google engineer on viral memo: 'I was painfully unsurprised'
