Anna Imai – Amazon

Team Picture - Anna Imai

Two summers ago, I served as a Logistics Recruiting Intern at Amazon. During the three month internship, I mainly focused on sourcing both active and passive candidates from internal and external platforms. Internal platforms included our candidate application database, while external platforms included tools such as LinkedIn, Google Boolean, and general job search engines. I gained a better understanding of every role in the business, what qualifications are required, and which candidates would best fit the positions. More importantly, I learned how to detect which candidates would best fit and thrive in the Amazon culture.

Every day was slightly different. That’s the culture at Amazon; it’s full of ambiguity. Some days, I would be sourcing for candidates and scrolling through resumes. Other days, I would be given completely new projects to help improve the recruiting process. I was happily surprised by the large amount of ownership given to the interns. I appreciated how much our mentors trusted us to navigate through this fast-paced environment and deliver results.

The other two interns and I were encouraged to attend company social events as well. In the larger Amazon, there were “fishbowl” events such as live performances from Andy Grammer, Cage the Elephant, and Passenger. Various Amazon Affinity Groups also hosted events with influential guest speakers and Happy Hours. Within our immediate team, we had team lunches and spontaneous breaks.

At the end of the internship, I wrote a whitepaper explaining what I have completed and any feedback. Although other companies often use PowerPoint presentations, Amazon relies on hard-copy paper presentations. As for advice when looking for an internship at a larger company, persistence is key. The recruiters receive hundreds of emails a day, and your goal is to stand out. Overall, my advice to anyone is to be comfortable being uncomfortable; I believe that is when you learn and grow the most. Once you’re comfortable with where you are, that is when you know, you aren’t developing as much as you could be.