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Let me describe my experience with the application process. I did not accept the job. I applied to be an Amazon Fulfillment Specialist (or whatever they're cal

by zatkin 10y ago

Let me describe my experience with the application process. I did not accept the job. I applied to be an Amazon Fulfillment Specialist (or whatever they're called) back when I was without a job in Silicon Valley a few months ago. I applied online and got the job offer without any interview at all whatsoever. They asked me to attend a 'training session' in a conference room at a nearby hotel. When the doors opened, there were tables lined up on the perimeter of the conference room with a small projector in the middle that illuminated the Amazon logo on the screen. In one corner, people started lining up to get their photo taken and were also given a piece of paper with their name and other information like a candidate number. After you had your photo taken, you had to take a seat at one of the tables which had a swab stick for a drug test as well as some other paperwork for the drug test (like a consent form). The presenter was a real prick because when people asked him questions he would be very assertive and act as if people were wasting his time trying to get through the slideshow, which described their work ethics and talked more about the job. At some point we got to the drug test part which involved the presenter slowly going step by step through the process and checking to make sure we were all in sync. Once we were done, we put the drug test into some kind of bag and were free to go. Overall, the process was horrendous and really showed that Amazon just wants anyone and everyone to become part of their fulfillment center. It doesn't surprise me that people would sleep outside of the fulfillment center given how smooth sailing the hiring process is, if it's anything like what I went through. It's meant to be open and 'friendly' to anyone without any recent drug usage.

JakeTheAndroid 10y ago
Is this a direct position with Amazon? I did contracting for Apple (working at their facilities with direct Apple employees) and this sounds like the experience I had there. No interview, low wages, strict work environment, and everyone made me feel like I was wasting their time, even when I had a relevant question to my job. We had "required" overtime a couple times a month, meaning I had to be at the facility by 5 am on a Saturday. it was miserable, and the pay was crap. I took it because I was in between jobs, and it would at least keep a tech company on my resume.
BurningFrog 10y ago
I'm not sure I understand the complaint here. Is it really that this job is too easy to get?
philovivero 10y ago
> process was horrendous and really showed that Amazon just wants anyone and everyone to become part of their fulfillment center It sounds like you're saying this is a bad thing. Here we are with a hiring process that really lives up to the ideals we've been preaching for the past 50 years. Equality. Actual, real equality. Women, Blacks, Ethnic Undesirables, Special Needs... It doesn't matter who you are, you can get the job. And it's "horrendous." For what it's worth, I actually agree with you, but it does seem telling that this process that clearly lives up to the requirements all the underprivileged of our society demanded, we call it horrendous. Are you suggesting that a meritocracy is better?
Inconel 10y ago
From what I've heard Amazon doesn't seem like a great place to work and this comment isn't meant to defend the company's overall work culture, but as someone who was once without any real marketable skills, little education, no job, and homeless, that honestly sounds like an awesome hiring process to me.
krapp 10y ago
I currently work at an Amazon fulfillment center. They will more or less hire anyone, but that's because they're essentially hiring meat robots to perform repetitive tasks for ten hours a day, six days a week at peak, until actual robots become economical. There is no reason for Amazon to care about the interview process when they hire and fire constantly, and any particular task is so compartmentalized that you can learn it in an hour. It's tedious and brutal, but in my experience, no one ever told me it would be otherwise.

by zatkin 10y ago

JakeTheAndroid 10y ago

Is this a direct position with Amazon? I did contracting for Apple (working at their facilities with direct Apple employees) and this sounds like the experience I had there. No interview, low wages, strict work environment, and everyone made me feel like I was wasting their time, even when I had a relevant question to my job. We had "required" overtime a couple times a month, meaning I had to be at the facility by 5 am on a Saturday. it was miserable, and the pay was crap. I took it because I was in between jobs, and it would at least keep a tech company on my resume.

BurningFrog 10y ago

I'm not sure I understand the complaint here. Is it really that this job is too easy to get?

philovivero 10y ago

> process was horrendous and really showed that Amazon just wants anyone and everyone to become part of their fulfillment center It sounds like you're saying this is a bad thing. Here we are with a hiring process that really lives up to the ideals we've been preaching for the past 50 years. Equality. Actual, real equality. Women, Blacks, Ethnic Undesirables, Special Needs... It doesn't matter who you are, you can get the job. And it's "horrendous." For what it's worth, I actually agree with you, but it does seem telling that this process that clearly lives up to the requirements all the underprivileged of our society demanded, we call it horrendous. Are you suggesting that a meritocracy is better?

Inconel 10y ago

From what I've heard Amazon doesn't seem like a great place to work and this comment isn't meant to defend the company's overall work culture, but as someone who was once without any real marketable skills, little education, no job, and homeless, that honestly sounds like an awesome hiring process to me.

krapp 10y ago

I currently work at an Amazon fulfillment center. They will more or less hire anyone, but that's because they're essentially hiring meat robots to perform repetitive tasks for ten hours a day, six days a week at peak, until actual robots become economical. There is no reason for Amazon to care about the interview process when they hire and fire constantly, and any particular task is so compartmentalized that you can learn it in an hour. It's tedious and brutal, but in my experience, no one ever told me it would be otherwise.