Amazon gives software engineers a say in filling open roles

It’s a good time to apply for a software engineer job at Amazon. 

The e-tail giant is introducing Best Fit, a new program that allows software engineers to apply once and be considered for thousands of jobs across the company. Candidates interested in software engineering jobs at Amazon apply once and are automatically considered for thousands of different relevant jobs across hundreds of teams within the company. 

As part of the Best Fit application process, candidates are asked to define their ideal job, from their tech stack and domains of interest, to their preferred location, to the kind of team they are looking for and their working style. After passing an online assessment and interviews, candidates are presented with multiple matches in the fields they prefer, as well as in new areas in which Amazon thinks they would be successful. 

Candidates get to meet all the hiring managers, and then they get to choose their preferred role. The company says it believes that pairing a candidate with a team that fits their working style and personal interests will help them be more successful and accelerate their career. The tens of thousands of open software engineer roles include positions on teams supporting the Alexa voice assistant device developing new features for Amazon Fashion.

According to Amazon, initial feedback from job seekers has been positive. The company, which recently took the top spot in LinkedIn’s fifth annual ranking of the companies that offer the best places for professionals to grow their careers and develop skills, is actively trying to recruit new employees. Amazon also recently launched Amazon Returnship, an initiative to help 1,000 professionals get back to work after they lost or left their jobs—including those displaced by the impacts of COVID-19.

“The best, most rewarding part of my job is connecting people with a role where they will thrive and grow,” Alfonso Palacios, VP of recruiting, Amazon, said in a corporate blog post. “We have tens of thousands of opportunities, and my team works obsessively to improve the experience for those who want to come join us. That means helping candidates save time when navigating our open positions and—most importantly—giving them choices when it comes to relevant roles.”