What Is Amazon Workforce Staffing in 2024? Everything You Need to Know as a Job Seeker

Hey there! If you‘re considering applying for a job at Amazon, you may have come across listings and opportunities posted by Amazon Workforce Staffing. But what exactly is Amazon Workforce Staffing? And what does it mean for you as someone looking to get hired by Amazon?

Don‘t worry, I‘ve done the research so you don‘t have to. I‘ll explain everything you need to know about Amazon Workforce Staffing, the types of jobs available, what it‘s like to work for Amazon, how many people they employ, average pay rates, and tons more.

Let‘s get started!

What Exactly Is Amazon Workforce Staffing?

Amazon Workforce Staffing is the internal recruitment department at Amazon that handles the company‘s hiring process and staffing needs. Rather than using third-party agencies, Amazon manages its own job postings, applicant screening, interviews, hiring, and onboarding through the Workforce Staffing team.

The goal of Amazon Workforce Staffing is to identify, attract, assess, and hire the most qualified candidates to fill Amazon‘s many job openings. With Amazon experiencing massive growth in ecommerce, web services, brick-and-mortar stores, logistics, and more, they need to add thousands of new employees per year across the organization.

The Workforce Staffing department streamlines this process at scale so Amazon can rapidly staff up new fulfillment centers, corporate offices, stores, and technology teams.

So if you‘re interested in working for Amazon, you‘ll likely be dealing with recruiters and staffers from the Amazon Workforce Staffing department throughout the application and hiring process.

What Types of Jobs Are Available Through Amazon Workforce Staffing?

The great news is that Amazon Workforce Staffing lists open positions across almost every function and department within Amazon. We‘re talking:

Fulfillment & logistics – Warehouse associates, pickers, packers, sorters, shippers, fulfillment center managers, delivery drivers, transportation coordinators, and more. These roles make up the massive operations powering Amazon‘s delivery engine.
Customer service – Customer service associates, technical support representatives, account managers, and other roles focused on serving Amazon‘s huge customer base.
Corporate & business – Everything from financial analysts, marketers, project managers, procurement specialists, designers, and HR professionals to tax managers, technical writers, and paralegals. These professionals support Amazon‘s global business.
Information technology – Software development engineers, product managers, database engineers, cloud computing analysts, data scientists, UX designers, IT project managers, and other technical experts that enable Amazon‘s websites, apps, platforms, and internal systems to run.
Physical stores – Roles within Amazon‘s growing physical retail business including store associates, store managers, inventory specialists, loss prevention agents, and more.
Research & development – R&D specialists, scientists, researchers, and inventors developing future products and technologies for Amazon across devices, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and much more.

So no matter your education, background, experience level, or interests, Amazon likely has opportunities that could be a fit through their Workforce Staffing program. It‘s absolutely worth browsing the available openings.

How Do You Actually Apply for Amazon Jobs?

If you‘re ready to throw your hat into the ring for an Amazon job, applying is straightforward:

1. Visit the Amazon Jobs site – Go to amazon.jobs and click on "Jobs at Amazon" to start searching current openings.

2. Set your location – Use the location filter to scope down to job listings near where you want to work. Search by city, state, or ZIP code.

3. Filter job listings – Use filters like Job Category, Schedule, Date Posted, and more to zero in on openings that match your needs.

4. Click "Apply" – Once you‘ve found an appealing job, click the "Apply" button to submit your info.

5. Sign in – If it‘s your first time, create an Amazon Jobs account. Otherwise sign in to access your existing profile and resume.

6. Follow the application steps – Submit your resume and any other required info like employment history, skills, education level, etc. Some roles require assessments.

7. Wait for next steps – If your application is approved, Amazon recruiters will contact you to move forward with interviews and hiring.

The entire process is streamlined for simplicity. Within minutes, you can submit applications to all kinds of interesting roles at Amazon facilities located near you.

How Does the Hiring Process Work?

Once you‘ve applied for an Amazon job opening, here‘s an overview of what to expect in the hiring process:

Application review – Your application will first be evaluated by Amazon recruiters against the qualifications for the role to ensure you‘re a match on skills, experience, etc.
Assessments – Many positions require online assessments to test abilities like critical thinking, coding skills, aptitude for the role, etc. These provide data points about candidates.
Phone screen – A short preliminary phone interview to learn more about your background and interest in Amazon. Helps determine if you‘ll move forward.
In-person interviews – Qualified applicants usually have 1-3 rounds of in-person interviews with Amazon managers and team members at the facility. Assesses culture fit.
Offer – If you shine in the interviews, Amazon will extend a formal job offer for the position! This kicks off onboarding.
Onboarding & training – Once you accept, you‘ll complete paperwork, onboarding tasks, product training, safety protocols and begin working.

The process can move quickly thanks to Amazon Workforce Staffing, so stay on your toes. With preparation and persistence, you can land an exciting role with them.

What Kind of Training Does Amazon Provide?

Once you‘re hired for your new Amazon job, the company provides training to set you up for success in your specific role. The training you‘ll receive includes:

New hire orientation – Covers Amazon culture, values, business overview, workplace policies and expectations.
Job-specific training – Step-by-step instruction on all processes, systems, tools, and responsibilities related to your role. Hands-on practice with job duties.
Safety training – Rules and protocols to follow for minimizing workplace injuries and maintaining a safe environment.
Ongoing coaching – Check-ins with managers throughout onboarding to provide feedback, observe progress, and answer questions.

The combination of classroom-style sessions, hands-on practice, observation, and coaching enables new hires to quickly ramp up. You‘ll gain confidence performing your role independently in no time!

What Are the Pros of Working for Amazon?

Amazon offers a lot of appealing perks even for entry-level employees that make it a top choice for job seekers:

Minimum wage of $15 per hour – This exceeds federal minimum and most state minimums for full-time and part-time workers.
Health insurance – Employees have access to health, dental, and vision insurance options starting on day one of employment.
401(k) plan – Receive retirement savings options including 50% matching contributions from Amazon up to 4% of your pay.
Stock grants – Amazon provides Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that vest over time to give employees ownership stake.
Tuition assistance – Get $12,000+ in tuition coverage for career-relevant certifications and education.
Paid time off – New employees receive paid vacation, medical, and personal time off. More tenured staff get additional vacation time.
Employee discounts – Take advantage of discounts on Amazon purchases as well as partner brands. Saves you money!
Advancement potential – Amazon encourages promoting from within and provides clear paths to advance into management, corporate roles, etc.

The combination of competitive pay, health coverage, retirement plans, education benefits, time off, discounts, and career growth make Amazon an extremely enticing place to work overall!

What Are Potential Drawbacks of Working at Amazon?

However, working at Amazon does come with some downsides to be aware of, including:

High performance targets – Amazon sets ambitious productivity goals. Consistently underperforming can lead to termination, so there is pressure to hit targets.
Required overtime – Mandatory overtime is common during peak seasons in fulfillment centers. You may need to work 10-12 hour shifts and additional days.
Repetitive tasks – Warehouse associates spend most of their shifts focused on a single process like picking, which can feel tedious over time.
Fast-paced environment – Amazon moves and evolves extremely quickly. The high speed of operations can feel intense for some.
On-feet work – Fulfillment center roles require standing and walking for 10+ hours per day. Proper footwear is essential to meet the physical demands.
Easy to get fired – Amazon has streamlined processes in place for terminations. You need to meet expectations to avoid suddenly losing your job.

Weigh the pros and cons carefully based on your personal preferences and needs in a job. Amazon offers major benefits, but the culture also emphasizes high achievement.

What Kind of Hours Do Employees Work?

Amazon provides a ton of flexibility when it comes to shift options for fulfillment center associates and many corporate roles.

Typical shifts for hourly associates include:

Full-time – 30-60 hours per week
Part-time – 16-29 hours per week
Reduced time – Less than 16 hours per week

You can also find seasonal and temporary opportunities.

Usual shift times are 8 to 12 hours and occur any day of the week. Overnight and weekend shifts are common to meet 24/7 operations needs.

If you require a specific schedule – like needing Sundays off for religious reasons – discuss any restrictions with your recruiter upfront to assess accommodation viability. Overall though, Amazon offers diverse shift timing choices.

How Does Amazon‘s Company Culture Rate?

Amazon maintains a fast-paced, data-driven culture centered around innovation and delivering results. Key aspects include:

Innovation obsessed – Amazon encourages "Day 1" thinking where employees treat each day as the company‘s beginnings and fearlessly explore new ideas. Failure is accepted.
High standards – Employees are expected to hold each other to uncompromisingly high standards rather than settling for mediocrity. Feedback flows freely.
Efficiency focused – Amazon seeks to make decisions quickly, bias for action, simplify constantly, and achieve maximum output with fewer resources.
Customer obsessed – Every team prioritizes designing experiences that earn and maintain customer trust above short-term financial gain.

The culture rewards willing risk-takers who operate at high velocity and have an entrepreneurial spirit. It may not suit candidates looking for slower-paced, highly structured corporate environments.

How Many People Does Amazon Employ?

As of October 2022, Amazon employs a staggering 1.54 million workers worldwide. Around 1.1 million of those employees are based in the United States.

To put this into perspective, Amazon is the 2nd largest private employer in the U.S. behind only Walmart.

Just 5 years ago in 2017, Amazon employed just 566,000 people total. They‘ve increased staffing at an incredible clip, adding over 300,000 employees in the U.S. alone since the pandemic began. This supports expansion into new ventures like brick-and-mortar retail, healthcare, self-driving vehicles, and more.

Clearly, Amazon needs all hands on deck to achieve their ambitious plans. With so many new roles constantly opening up, it‘s a great time to get your foot in the door.

How Much Do Amazon Employees Get Paid?

According to Amazon‘s 2021 annual report, the average hourly wage across their workforce is $18 per hour. However, pay varies considerably based on role type, work location, experience level, and other factors.

Here are some examples of average hourly wages reported by Amazon employees on Glassdoor:

Warehouse Associate: $15 – $22 per hour
Delivery Driver: $18 – $27 per hour
Customer Service Associate: $15 – $20 per hour
Account Manager: $23 – $37 per hour
Software Development Engineer: $48 – $90 per hour

It‘s important to note Amazon has committed to a $15 per hour minimum base pay rate for all regular full-time and part-time employees across the U.S.

Many also earn hourly incentives and productivity bonuses on top of base pay. Overtime pay, shift differentials, and geographic adjustments also apply.

Higher pay rates are available for skilled corporate positions, management roles, and employees who have been at Amazon longer. Overall compensation scales up nicely the more you progress at Amazon.

How Many Warehouses and Facilities Does Amazon Operate?

To make their fast shipping promises a reality, Amazon operates an enormous fulfillment and logistics network including:

750+ fulfillment and sortation centers – These massive warehouses store inventory and process orders. They average 1 million square feet – about 28 football fields!
Over 170 Prime Now hubs – Local fulfillment centers providing ultrafast delivery on a million+ products.
50+ Amazon Fresh locations – Grocery store and pickup sites for Amazon Fresh members.
Thousands of delivery stations – Local hubs for last-mile transportation of orders to customers.
Growing physical store network – Amazon Go, Amazon 4-star, Amazon Books, and other retail locations.

In fact, Amazon‘s worldwide logistics footprint provides over 600 million cubic feet of storage space. Their infrastructure enables speedy shipping across their retail business.

So whether you want to work in bustling urban Seattle or small-town America, Amazon likely has facilities with job openings near you. You can filter job search by location.

Should You Apply for an Amazon Job?

I hope this inside look at Amazon Workforce Staffing gave you a better sense of the incredible variety of work and advancement opportunities available within Amazon.

As one of the fastest growing companies on Earth, Amazon offers:

Competitive compensation and benefits even for entry-level roles
Possibilities to take on more responsibility and pay over time
A culture that embraces innovation and disrupting the status quo
Exposure to the cutting edge of technology, retail, logistics and more

But the pace, performance expectations, overtime, and physical demands also merit consideration. Review both pros and cons carefully relative to your career values and professional needs.

If you‘re excited by the prospect of playing even a small part in revolutionizing the future of commerce, check out Amazon‘s job site today and kick off your application!

With preparation and persistence, you could land an amazing role with Amazon and begin building your career at one of the most influential companies worldwide.

I wish you the very best of luck pursuing your dreams and taking that first step towards something great at Amazon. You‘ve got this!