The journey began with a competency test, which I completed during a family trip to Thailand. Shortly after, Amazon arranged a supportive call to guide me through their 'loop' interview process—a thoughtful and much-appreciated gesture and a great early insight into the culture at Amazon (I thought). It was during this call that I learned I had made it through to the last few candidates, standing out from a vast pool of applicants. This news lifted my spirits and motivated me to put extra effort into preparing for the first interview. Despite battling a bout of Covid, I dedicated several days to reflecting on my past experiences and crafting compelling 'stories' that aligned with Amazon's leadership principles. Although this process was time-intensive, it gave me the confidence to tackle any question effectively, particularly by leveraging the recommended STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, and Result). Despite asking me to select a few times and days for the first interview, I was randomly allocated an 8AM interview slot. I woke up at 6AM to prepare, and drink some coffee and center my mind. 8AM rolled around and I sat back in my chair with a mixture of nerves and anticipation - would I be caught out with difficult questions? Would I remember all my best examples of Leadership? Would I be able to talk without coughing too much? Anyway, none of that mattered as the Interviewer didn't turn up, or send me any contact details, or reach out in anyway. 8:15...then 8:30...nothing. I sent frantic messages to the hiring manager, but nothing! Confused I decided to carry on with applications elsewhere when suddenly I got an email from Amazon recruitment - Phew! There was an apology and request to select some more dates for another attempt at an interview, which I did with much relief! After suggesting some more dates, I was again allocated another random 8AM interview the following week - I didn't care though, it was such a relief to get another slot. Besides, I felt this was a god-send as my coughing was easing and it gave me another week to prepare more STAR stories for the interview. Again, I got up at 6AM with the same nerves and anticipation as the previous week, drank coffee and finally logged onto Amazon Chime at 8AM and....nothing. 8:15AM...then 8:30AM...not a flicker! So I frantically emailed the hiring manager again to see if I was doing anything wrong? Nothing. In the afternoon, I received another apology email—it turned out the interviewer had been ill. I was relieved to know I hadn’t made a mistake, and after wishing them a speedy recovery, I once again provided a wide range of date and time options for a third attempt at the first interview. I offered a full week of availability from 9 AM to 6 PM, Monday, December 16, through Friday, December 20, to ensure I could be accommodated. After a few days without a response, I followed up with Amazon Recruitment, asking about potential slots. When Monday, December 16, came and went without an update, I sent another email to check if they needed new dates. Still, I heard nothing. By Friday, December 20—the last of my suggested dates—I had yet to receive any response. By this point, I assumed the other candidates had moved on to the second round or perhaps even been selected for the role. Amazon takes pride in its selection process, and I’m sure it works well for many candidates. However, my experience was deeply disappointing. I was made to jump through hoops—while on holiday and while unwell—only for the process to stall entirely, using energy I could have dedicated to other opportunities. I was genuinely enthusiastic about joining the Amazon team, which makes this outcome all the more frustrating. This confusing and poorly managed series of events feels like a missed opportunity and an experience I’ll always find disheartening.