Master the Amazon Financial Analyst Excel Test, Interview, and Case Study with This Thorough Prep

The Amazon Financial Analyst hiring process consists of several stages; each one is highly competitive.

Each step is testing a different skill that will allow you to show your competency for the job. These stages usually consist of the following:

1. Phone screening interview
2. Finance Excel test – either online or on-site
3. Up to 6 hours of in-person interviews (yes, it's A LOT)

Let's dive into each one of these stages.

• The phone interview: Lasts between 30 minutes to one hour and includes mostly behavioural questions and questions about your work experience and skill set. The behavioural part is the trickiest, and to pass it you should answer the questions using the STAR Method.
  
  
• The Excel assessment (senior financial analyst candidates typically don't take this): The Amazon finance Excel test is a timed assessment that is used to assess your proficiency in using various complex Excel formulas. This Excel assessment usually lasts for about an hour if it's on-site, while candidates for an intern position will have more time to complete it (up to 24 hours or more).

But it's not just that.

Your interviewers will be interested not only on whether you managed to succeed on the assessment, but also on your thought process. So, while preparing for the Excel assessment, get used to presenting your solving process and thoughts clearly and thoroughly, just like on a case study interview (our Excel and Case Study prep will help you with that).

• The in-person interviews: The Amazon financial analyst interviews are comprised of 4-6 back to back sessions with several hiring managers and team members (may be conducted using a video call as a result of the Coronavirus epidemic).

Usually, part of the interview panel consists of the infamously known (by candidates) Amazon Bar Raisers. These are Amazon workers that aren't part of the team and act as "third-party" interviewers, whose job is to ask the tough questions, dive deep, and challenge your answers.

The detailed interview practice PDF found in our PrepPack™ can help learn how to handle any interviewer and any interview question. We have a dedicated chapter that deals with the different types of interviewers and how to treat them properly:

Conquering these in-person interviews is not possible without familiarizing yourself with Amazon's 14 leadership principles and learning how to tie them in your answers.

Amazon's "obsession" with these leadership principles may seem exaggerated to you (we think so, too). But unfortunately, to succeed on these interviews, you have to master these principles.

So, to greatly increase your chances of acing the Amazon financial analyst interview, we recommend you to start prepping right away for the Amazon excel test and the rigorous interviews.

This program's goal is to hire and develop financial and accounting professionals by bringing in talents from universities. Once they get hired, these freshly-graduated talents go through various tracks, whether it's the accounting, finance, or operations track.

Furthermore, this program offers an exceptional opportunity to become a financial analyst or an accountant at Amazon, even if you don't have an accounting background.

The interview process for the AFRP program consists of:

• HireVue video interview: questions appear on the screen, while each of your responses are being recorded. Note that this interview may take between 45 to 60 minutes and that you have only one attempt to answer each question. So, make sure there aren't any distractions around you and that you're fully prepared.
  
  The HireVue interview consists of mainly behavioral questions, along with a few financial-related questions. Amazon expects you to answer the behavioral questions using the STAR Method (Situation, Task, Action, and Result). Thus, to pass this interview, you should learn this technique by heart and structure your answers using it.

In our preparation pack, you can find a PDF with the most common interview questions:

There is a 100% likelihood that you will find more than one of these questions on your real interview. So, don’t miss it!

• Amazon Finance Rotational Program Interview: 2-4 interviews, which mostly include behavioral and situational questions. As mentioned before, Amazon's a huge fan of the STAR Method, so be ready to use it in your answers.

Moreover, Amazon puts great weight on its 14 leadership principles and excepts candidates to be familiar with them and mention them in most of their answers.

Note that it's highly possible that one of your interviewers may be an Amazon Bar Raiser. This "external" interviewer will investigate your answers deeply and maybe even try to throw you off balance.

But don't let that annoy you, because it's just part of the interview and meant to see how you handle pressure and whether you maintain your composure.

In our interview preparation PDF, we have a whole chapter with foolproof tips on how to deal with different interviewers.

This PDF study guide and additional interview prep resources (created by occupational psychologists) can be found within the PrepPack™ you see on this page.

The Amazon FLDP (Finance Leadership Development Program) is a fantastic opportunity for MBA students to join Amazon as senior financial analysts interns. On this program, you'll learn from the best and get hands-on business experience that will help you skyrocket your career.

Amazon's looking for FLDP candidates who have high proficiency in Excel and demonstrate strong leadership skills. Both of these skills are closely evaluated during the Excel case assessment and the in-person interviews.

For this excel case, which is sent as an online assessment or given on-site, you'll need to analyze raw data and use complex functions, such as Index and Match, Vlookup, Pivot Tables, and more.

The Excel case itself will take you about 45 minutes. Later on, during the first interview, you'll discuss this Excel assessment with your interviewer, and you'll need to present your thought process and reasoning concisely.

But, explaining the solution for this Excel case is only the tip of the iceberg on the FLDP interview process…

This interview consists of four face-to-face interviews, each is 45 minutes, and usually, there are no breaks in between (so, empty your bladder beforehand). The interview questions are primarily behavioral (except for the Excel case discussion) and focus on Amazon's 14 leadership principles.

Since these are Amazon's core principles and you've applied for a leadership development program, they will expect you to base your answers on them.

Additionally, the interviewers will dive deep (aka one of the leadership principles) into your answers and analyze every detail you provide. Therefore, try to stay very consistent with your answers.

Many candidates mention that one particular interviewer was different from the others. This interviewer is there for a reason, and they are called Amazon Bar Raisers.

The Amazon Bar Raisers are skilled evaluators that are not part of the hiring department. Their central role is to provide authentic and reliable opinions on whether you should get hired or not. For that, they use several tactics designed to throw you off and test your leadership skills and resilience.

The best way to handle them is by maintaining your composure, keeping your answers and explanations tight, and sticking to Amazon's leadership principles.

Our test experts have created a fantastic preparation for both parts of the FLDP interview process.

It's comprised of a professional practice for the Excel case (intermediate level) that will help you brush up your Excel skills with ease. Moreover, it includes a thorough case study preparation in which you'll learn the best ways to structure and present your explanations.

Here's a sneak peek into a section of the case study practice:

Additionally, you'll get a foolproof preparation for the challenging in-person interviews (including how to handle difficult interviewers, aka Bar Raisers). This is a glimpse of the comprehensive interview prep PDF found in the pack:

Start prepping today and increase your chances of nailing this interview process and securing a great career as a financial analyst!