A month after Amazon inaugurated its sprawling new campus in Bengaluru, the spotlight has shifted from its scale to what it takes to actually secure a job at the tech giant. The 1.1-million-square-foot facility, spread across 12 storeys, can host over 7,000 employees and features a range of modern amenities, reflecting the company’s growing footprint in India.
The campus includes sports courts, landscaped open areas, community zones, an amphitheatre, and multiple cafeteria levels offering diverse cuisines, underlining Amazon’s focus on employee experience alongside expansion.
Inside Amazon’s Hiring Mindset
During a recent office walkthrough by Mashable India, Deepti Varma, VP – People Experience & Technology at Amazon, shared insights into how the company evaluates candidates. The video, hosted by Siddhaarth Aalambayan, offered a behind-the-scenes look at the workplace and hiring philosophy.
“When we interview people, we ask them this question – ‘Have you failed and what have you learnt?’,” Varma says, calling it something she does not often share publicly.
She adds that the company values candidates who are honest about setbacks and growth. “We want people who would have actually failed and then bounced back and learnt something instead of people who say, ‘Oh, I have never failed.’”
Beyond Infrastructure: Growth And Culture
As the tour continued, Varma highlighted Amazon’s long-term commitment to India, noting that the company has already invested over $40 billion and plans to invest an additional $35 billion by 2030. She also explained that the People Experience and Technology (PXT) team essentially functions as the company’s human resources arm.
Reacting to the tip, Aalambayan turns to the camera and jokes, “Guys, note this,” suggesting viewers keep it in mind during interviews. Varma, however, quickly counters with a smile, saying, “It’s not so simple to fool around.”
Another aspect that stood out during the discussion was the uniformity in Amazon’s office environments worldwide. Varma pointed out that regardless of location, the design and standards remain consistent. “Irrespective of which geography you go to, the standard of office is the same. The office in Seattle and the office in India, both setups are similar,” she explains.
Echoing the observation, Aalambayan notes that Amazon’s internal workspaces tend to look alike worldwide, creating what he describes as a sense of “perceptual constancy.”