How to Ace the Amazon Writing Assessment: Tips and Sample Responses

Amazon, the e-commerce and tech giant, is on the dream companies list of many job seekers. Amazon is indeed one of the biggest and top-performing e-commerce companies in the world, and this makes it a perfect place to either kickstart your career or take it to the next level. And this is where the real deal starts.

Getting a job in a company like Amazon is no easy task. The competition for even the smallest position is too high, and this should give you a basic idea of the scenario for the higher-level positions. Amazon has always been a leader when it comes to promoting workspaces, and it believes in remote work culture. To select only the best industry leaders for its workforce, the internet giant has a proper hiring procedure. And for your information, this is no regular hiring criteria.

What makes the hiring process at Amazon stand out is a definitive writing assessment that is conducted mostly after the telephonic screening and in-person interviews, and sometimes in between both. If you ask the people who have appeared in the same, they will tell you that cracking Amazon’s writing assessment is no easy deal.

In this post, we will look into the Amazon writing assessment, delving deeper into the strategies that you can use to ace the assessment and common mistakes that you need to avoid in the process.

The Amazon Writing Assessment – More About It

If you are preparing for a job at Amazon, you are going to come across this writing assessment in the hiring process for all the positions of Level 5 or Level 6 and above, but there are certain exceptions as well. This assessment is nothing like your regular English writing and grammar tests where you can choose the options or write something based on the question given!

About the Assessment

The Amazon Writing Assessment examines the candidates based on the level of their critical thinking, how well and effectively they communicate anything that comes ahead through writing, and their ability to deal with difficult situations. This assessment might come to you after your primary interview processes are over, or in between your interviews – but the hiring decisions are based on everything that is conducted.

Length & Time Required

Let us talk about the length of the assessment and the time required. The assessment should be completed in somewhere around 4 pages, but all the generic answers are mostly in two pages. There will be two written questions, and candidates can select either one or have to answer both depending on the circumstances. The hirers allow about 48 hours to complete the assessment, and this time frame is essential to design the best answers, nothing unprofessional or jolly is accepted.

How to Ace the Amazon Writing Assessment Criteria for Evaluation of the Assessment

The assessment will be evaluated based on five different criteria. Below are the same –

Content – The content of the writing will be checked. Whether the answer touches the core of the questions, or if the answer explains whatever is needed properly, or solves the problem put forward in the question – these are some bases you need to take care of.

Structure – The structuring of the answer plays an important role too. The answer should be well-organized and should be easy to understand while clearly answering what has been asked.

Formatting – You need to format your answer well to succeed. Fonts, their sizes, proper spacing between sentences and paragraphs – these are a few formatting guidelines to note and check.

Impact – If the questions are about any customer queries or any issues related to the in-house operations, whether your answer puts the impact needed or not becomes a question.

Creativity – The answer should be professional, there is no question about that. But you need to be creative at the same time! If you provide a creative solution to the problem put forward, you have a head start!

Tips & Tricks to Ace the Amazon Writing Assessment

Tips & Tricks to Ace the Amazon Writing Assessment

Below are some essential tips that you can keep in mind while drafting your answer for the Amazon Writing Assessment –

Understand the Requirement First

This is the first step while answering the questions, and most people tend to miss it. Once you have the questions of the assessment, take some time to understand what the questions actually are about. See what Amazon is trying to ask through the assessment, and note down any ideas or experiences that come into your mind. This will be the roadmap for your successful answer.

Practice As Much As You Can

Acing any competition or exam needs rigorous practice, and the Amazon Writing Assessment is no different. There are several online guides and study tools available online that can put you directly into the assessment scenario. Use those samples to practice mastering the art of answering within a limited time frame. It will help.

Keep It Easy to Understand & Simple

Keeping your answer simple, easy to understand, and targeted to the question is much more essential than you expect. Understand the fact that less answer is more appropriate. Try to draft your answer as simply as possible while keeping it well organized. Practicing this beforehand will give you a headstart. Keep in mind that your answer should be clear and concise so that the reviewers can scan through your deliverable and get a scope of your work.

Follow the STAR Method

A lot of you might not be aware of the STAR method, it means Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Stick to this method while drafting your response. Start with the Situation and Task, explaining the situation you were in and the task allotted for you to solve. Move towards the Action part explaining what you did to approach the task and how you worked towards it.

Finally, tell about the Response you got after you were successful in completing the task. A lot of people also know this as the PAR (Problem, Action, Response) method, but following this will give the reviewers an idea about how you deal with difficult situations.

Add Data to Your Answer

Understand one thing the Amazon people love reviewing data; they need data in everything. Use this to your advantage during the Amazon Writing Assessment. Add as much data as possible to your answer, but try to keep the data part authentic. You can’t just pick random numbers and add those for credibility.

Review, Review, and Review Again

Once you are done drafting your response to the questions, take out time from those 48 hours to review and proofread your answers. You might find some errors or might get a different approach to a sentence or phrase that you added.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Drafting the Assessment

Here are some common mistakes that you need while drafting your responses for the Amazon Writing Assessment –

Answer the Questions

This is the first mistake to avoid. Don’t skip answering the questions in the excitement of answering the best. The reviewers look for people who can handle situations in the easiest way possible, So try to answer the question as simply as possible without being over-creative.

Do not use Slangs or Unprofessional Terms

Make sure not to use any slang or colloquialisms while drafting your answers. This is not the place to describe what you went through or what you did. So try to avoid any informal words or phrases that can be deemed unprofessional.

Submission Without Proofreading

Make sure to proofread what you have drafted before sending the final submission. You never know if you have skipped any typos, punctuation errors, or grammatical mistakes. Who knows, you might find an even better approach to what you have written while you proofread!

Never Fail to Add the Impact

While the situation you faced and how you dealt with it is essential, you need to focus on the impact as well. A strong problem statement is well-judged with a powerful outcome. So make sure to keep the impact of your approach in the answer as powerful and unique as possible. Skip using any generic outcome sentences.

Sample Responses for the Amazon Writing Assessment

Sample 1 – An email for a scenario where a customer got a damaged product and is dissatisfied.

Answer –

Subject – Resolving the issue with your recent purchase

Dear Alex,

Thank you for bringing the issue with your recent purchase to our notice. I apologize for the inconvenience caused by the damaged product and the time you had to invest in the whole process.

As a solution to what you had to face, I have already shipped a replacement product to your address and it will arrive to you within the next 72 hours. Additionally, I have credited $30 to your shopping account as a token of apology.

Guest satisfaction is our top priority, and we are saddened by what you had to face. We are working on addressing this issue so that such instances do not occur in the future.

Thanks for your continued patience and goodwill. Keep shopping with Amazon!

Best Regards,

Jeremy

Sample 2 – A question where you are asked about a task that you had to lead and the outcome of it.

Answer –

When I was working with XYZ company, our team was focused on implementing a software update that would revolutionize the way we approached our business and our clients. In a team meeting, the higher management focused on getting the software ready for implementation during its final phase, thus speeding up the process. Since I was familiar with software and product development, I could foresee the issues that would arise due to the implementation of the software before time.

I voiced my concern to the management and was allowed to mend things as much as possible. I worked with the tech team hand-in-hand and figured out alternatives that could speed up the process while keeping potential risks in check. The software implementation was done as planned and this saved my company from client dissatisfaction and losses.

Key Takeaways

Amazon believes that the only mode of effective communication is written communication. If you want to nab a position in the company, you have to ace the Amazon Writing Assessment, and that is not an easy task. But with rigorous practice and keeping the above things in check, you can successfully beat the competition and secure a bright future for yourself!

Explore our top-rated services designed to meet your needs:

Discover more content you may find helpful:

Leave a Comment