Amazon’s 2021 internship program is off to a great start as we welcome our largest intern class ever, with more than 10,000 young professionals working across 45 countries. Last year, we hosted over 8,000 interns entirely virtually due to the global pandemic.
Our 2021 summer interns have the option of working fully remote or opting into a hybrid model, where they are relocated to the city of their internship and go into the office part of the week. So far, more than 60% of our interns have chosen the hybrid option. The health and safety of our employees is our No. 1 priority, so we continue to closely monitor each of our locations for vaccine availability, COVID-19 rates, and local restrictions.
“We provide our interns with meaningful projects, mentorship, and growth opportunities so they can learn firsthand about Amazon’s peculiar culture and what it’s like to work here,” said Beth Galetti, senior vice president of People eXperience and Technology at Amazon. “This summer, we look forward to collaborating—both in the office and virtually—with the largest group of interns we’ve had as we continue to hire and develop the best and most diverse talent.”
Our internships are designed to provide students with an understanding of what it’s like to work at Amazon. Interns do work that makes a big impact—diving into products, programs, and services that touch millions of customers. Participants go through a comprehensive onboarding and wrap up their internships with a presentation of their project (or projects) to Amazon employees.
We are grateful for the lessons we learned during our 2020 internship. Through intentional connection points, building community is a focus this year.
To kick off our peak internship season, we caught up with a few of our 2021 interns around the globe to hear what they are looking forward to most this summer.
It’s always Day 1
Saurav Desai, a software development engineer (SDE) intern on the Core Platform Tech team, is taking advantage of the hybrid model. He relocated from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the summer and is already heading into the Seattle office a few days a week to collaborate with his peers.
“I was most looking forward to coming into the office and meeting people on my team,” said Desai. “I specifically decided to relocate to Seattle to do meaningful work and make an impact on a service that will reach a large amount of people (while being in person).”
Last year showed the world that attending events and making connections can be difficult in a virtual setting. As a result, we are offering new experiences for the intern community this year:
- A first week event hosted by former interns to encourage Amazon interns to meet other fellow interns.
- The Amazon Intern Circles Program, where interns get the opportunity to sign up for a small mentoring group at the beginning of their internship. Each circle is led by a former Amazon intern, who knows what it’s like to be in their shoes.
- Virtual intern experiences such as a coffee master class and a hike on the Amalfi Coast.
Those kinds of connections are important to Gabriella Martins, who opted into the virtual option in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She has found ways to stay connected to her team and other interns during her marketing internship on the Retail and Marketplace team.
“When I started my internship, the first thing I needed to understand were the Leadership Principles,” said Martins. “My manager helped me on my first steps, and then I started to learn things on my own and with the help of other teammates via (messaging apps) Chime and Slack.”
Marcel Moya Granero also opted to do his Barcelona internship remotely, taking advantage of the opportunity to work from another part of Spain this summer.
“So far, I have been able to connect with other interns on my team, including a more experienced intern pursuing a Ph.D. in astrophysics, who I was able to collaborate with,” said Moya Granero. “Moreover, I’ve attended virtual coffee shuffles (casual meetings between two interns randomly paired together) a couple of times to meet other interns from around the world, which has included people from Germany and South Africa.”
Amazon regularly hears from interns that they feel like they work at a set of startups rather than a large company due to the breadth of opportunities. At Amazon, anyone can come up with the next big idea or innovation.
“From my first day, I’ve had all the support from my manager, my onboarding buddy/mentor, and everyone from the team,” said Devanshu Vithlani, a SDE intern on the AdTech team in Bangalore, India. “The learning experience is becoming more and more enriching as I attend everyday standup meetings, know more about Amazon through onboarding, and interact with fellow Amazonians!”
Learn more about internships at Amazon
Where can I apply for an Amazon internship?
To learn more and apply, visit the Opportunities for Students page on Amazon.jobs. There are no application deadlines for internships and full-time positions (most roles are posted late summer); however, we encourage students to apply early in the autumn preceding their graduation to increase the likelihood of interviewing for an open role.
What does Amazon look for in intern candidates?
We hire students from all backgrounds for internships while they are still in school and full-time roles upon graduation. At Amazon, we’re obsessed with innovating for our customers and keeping a Day 1 mindset. We take into account educational background and work experience, but we focus on assessing against our Leadership Principles.
What roles does Amazon recruit students for?
We recruit current undergraduate and graduate students for internship and full-time opportunities in a variety of roles, including software development engineers, support engineers, product managers, operations managers, applied scientists, vendor managers, sales specialists, and financial analysts.
What does the internship interview process look like?
The hiring process depends on the role, but generally the interview process starts with an online assessment—a set of questions that provide a sense of a candidate’s hard and soft skills—specific to the role for which they applied. Candidates then typically move onto interviews with Amazon employees from a variety of roles and teams, which helps students get to know Amazon better.
How many interns are offered full time positions every year?
We work with business teams to determine their need for student talent each hiring season – as Amazon’s customer products and services evolve, so does our need for talent.
To learn more and apply, visit the Opportunities for Students page on Amazon.jobs.
