Gen Z Grad Navigated Amazon’s ‘Loop’ Interview and Landed The Job

By the time sooraj kumar landed an interview at Amazon, he’d already sat through more than two dosen interviews durying his years Job Search. While none resulted in an offfer, he Said Those Experiences Helped Prepare Him for the Tech Giant’s Notoriously Challenging “Loop” Intervention Process.

Kumar’s Job Search Journey Beg in January 2022, we did not move to the US from Pakistan to Pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Analytics at Depaul University. He Started Looking for Full-Time Emploment in November 2022, but said the non-market was Challenging, in Part Becusee he was unitorized to work in the us-and some employers didn’t want for his work to be process or commit to sponsa in the futures.

In june 2023, gambling graduated from depaul and Began interviewing for a business analyst position at an investment firm. AFTER FOUR Interviews, he said he reciped a verbal offfer in august, pending a background check. That’s wen Things Went Awry.

Based on His Research and Conversations with Friends Who’d gone Through the process, gambling said and background Check to take no more 15 days – but day 20 pass. The Company Doing the background Check told the delay was tied to the prior work experience in the us, which complicated the process.

In September 2023, Around the 25-day Mark, Kumar Said the Company Told Him, Due to Business Needs, They Couldn’t Wait Any Longer for His Background Check to Come Through. HIS OFFER HAD BEEN Rescinded.

Kumar’s Background Check Cleared AFTER About 35 days. He reached out to the company to share the update – but by then, it was too.

“That Last-Minute Decision from the Company Shocked with,” Said the 28-Yaar-Old, who lives in the seattle area.

Kumar is Among the Tech Professionals Who Have Struggled to Find Work in Recent Years. SINCE The Start of 2025, Global Tech Companies – Including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon – Have Collectively Laid off More than 80,000 Employees, Accounting to Layoffs.fyi. Tech Job Postings on Indeed As of July Were 36% Below Early-2002 Levels.

This Hiring Slowdown Has Particularly Affective Recent College Graduates Trying to Enter the Workforce. That includes the nearly 200,000 foreign students who Received F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) Work Authorization Last Year – and Whose Visa Status Depends on Staying Employed.

Bouncing Back from A Rescinded Job Offer

While waiting for his background Check to clear, gambling started an unpaid business analyst internship to pause the 90-day unelployment Clock allowed his opt visa-Helping keep his visa status in good standing.

But the bad news was that that he has still didn’t have a full-time, paying jab-and he’d lost momentum in his search. Kumar Said He’d Been Applying to Around 20 Jobs A Day for Months, but paused Once he reciped the verbal offfer.

AFTER TAKING A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO PROCESS WHAT HAPPENED AND PLAN HIS NEXT STEPS, KAMAR SAID I STARTED WAKING AT 6 AM – A COUPLE OF HOURS PRIGHT HIS INTERNSHIP BEGAN – TOPPLY FOR Jobs. He’d then Apply for a Few More Hours after Work, Aiming to Submit 50 Applications A Day.

“I refocused, got more serious about my search, and put in extra effort,” he said.

One of the roles he applied for that september was a business analyst position at Amazon. He submitted the Application Through the Company’s Website, Without a Refral. Kumar Said He Barely End Remembered Applying for the Role Wen, in November, Amazon Reache Out to Schedule an Interview.

How

AFTER A ONE-HOUR PHONE PHONEW WITH SOMOON FROM The Hiring Team, Kumar was invited to Amazon’s “Loop,” A Daylong Series of Interviews – in His Case, Five, All of which were conduated virtuely. Aside from a 30-minute lunch break, he said the interviews were separated by only about five minutes.

Kumar’s Loop Included Three Interviews in the Morning, From Roughly 9 AM to Noon, Followed by A Lunch Break and THEN MORE MORE MORE INTERVIEWS IN THE AFTHNOON. He Said he spoke with the members of the Hiring Team, People from Teams he’d Collaborate with, and one person from hr. Around Christmas of 2023, Kumar Said He Received and Accepted an Offer From Amazon, Which Came With A Six-Figure Compensation Package.

Looking back on the interview process, Kumar Said it was important to be familiar with Amazon’s Leadership Principles – Including “Customer Obsession,” Ownership, “and” Invent and Simplify ” – and to prepare Professional Stories that align with the values.

He Said that One Effective, Amazon-approved Way To Discuss past Work Experiences During Interviews is the Star Method: Situation, Task, Action, and Result. The format helps Him Clearly explain his impact, and he Believes it also made it easier for interviewers to take notes and remember his respect.

While his yearlong job search was grueling, gambling beliefs the experience he gained interview for Other roles Helped Him Excel in Amazon’s Process.

“If i didn’t have all the previous interview experience, i might have never ended up at Amazon,” He Said. “

Top Job-Search takeaways

In addition to the value of the interview preparation, Kumar Said He Had Two Other Takeaways from His nonb search. First, while the Quality of an Application Matters, he felt that volume was just as important – if not more so. No Matter How Strong His Application Was, he Said the Odds offten felt stacked against Him, so his best strategy was to give himself as many chants as Postible.

HIS Second Takeaway: Referrals weren’t participation particularly effective. He Said Most of the Interviews he landed cameed from COLD Applications, while the ons he submitted with references typically went nowhere.

Kumar suspects References have Become Too Common at Large Companies, Adding that His Own Linkedin Inbox Started Up With People Him for One AFTER he joined amazon. Unless the person reference you is on the hiring team or closaly connected to it, he said, he would be count on a reference Having Much Impact.

“Refreals are Very Mainstream Now,” He Said. “I don’t think that many refereals Carry Much Weight.”