Here's The One Type Of Person Amazon Loves To Hire

Advertisement

jeff bezos amazon

REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.

Amazon goes to great lengths to manage its workplace culture.

Advertisement

At its Seattle headquarters, every single job candidate is interviewed by at least five employees from different departments. Every interviewer is given veto power over the candidate, in order to make sure everyone coming to Amazon fits its distinct corporate culture.

But what kind of person is Amazon looking for?

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

In a story earlier this year for The New Yorker, George Packer explains that the company seeks out a certain type of introverted, detail-oriented person who can get things done, but is not necessarily a great communicator.

A former employee tells The New Yorker that about 80% of the company's employees fit this mold, and that Amazon subjects many of its managers to Myers-Briggs personality test to make sure they do.

Advertisement

"The vast majority fall within the same personality type - people who graduate at the top of their class at M.I.T. and have no idea what to say to a woman in a bar," the former employee tells The New Yorker.

This description fits with the deeply competitive office culture depicted in Brad Stone's book, "The Everything Store," a place where common courtesies are set aside in favor of doing whatever is necessary to give customers the fastest, cheapest service they can find.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.