Tech Business Panel Interview
Interview with Former Amazon Web Services (AWS) Intern, Marta Iorgulescu
Written by Elias Roubache, DSS Events Team
For Part 3 of our Tech Business Internship Panel, I sat down with Marta over Zoom to ask her about her experience interning at Amazon Web Services in Summer 2020. Here’s what we discussed:
Elias: Hi Marta, thanks so much for joining us! Could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the internship that you did?
Marta: Hi everyone! My name is Marta. I am from Romania and I am a third-year student in Economics at LSE. I enjoyed my time at Amazon this summer working there as a sales intern in the Amazon Web Services department (AWS). I gained many skills and had a lot of networking opportunities. Overall, this was an amazing experience to work there during the summer.
Elias: One of the reasons why we’re doing these interviews is because tech is not currently a common career choice at LSE. Could you share with us why you decided to apply to internships in tech companies?
Marta: Personally, I did not apply for a lot of tech companies but Amazon is one of the companies I wanted most because of its popularity. I really wanted to work in sales since I loved my previous sales experiences in LSE societies. I applied to the sales department of many tech companies but what made Amazon stand out was that it is more focused on numbers with some data analysis. Their Web Services department is also huge and it was clear that I wanted to be part of the Amazon culture. Amazon also gave me the opportunity to work in a new environment with the Madrid team. They also have a team in London and in Germany so I had the chance to take a break from London for the internship.
Elias: Could you tell us more about the application process and how you prepared for it?
Marta: The application process was pretty generic. I filled up the application form online. There was no need for a cover letter, but a CV is required. The first steps were an online test and then an interview led by a computer with AI. It was probably the most different step from the other company, and we had more time to answer the questions. Then I had 3 1-hour interviews with real people. I applied in October 2019 and the final interview was in early December. It was quite a fast process, and I heard back about a week after the interview. These interviews were mainly conducted to test if I could fit with the Amazon culture, which is very strong. They are really testing to see if your answers align with their principles. The interviews were informal, so I was more relaxed and had more time to prepare my answers.
Elias: It’s great to hear that the interview was less stressful than expected. I think many of our members would be interested in what you did and learned on your internship. Can you tell us more about your department and the projects you worked on?
Marta: Yes of course! I worked in the Commercial Sales department, where I was assigned to the Demand Generation cell, which is the first point of contact with clients. We had to reach out to Amazon’s corporate customers to promote new services. Around 30% time on the internship was dedicated to learning the different AWS services. The information was quite technical, but we were given a lot of material to understand concepts like how data is stored in the Cloud.
I worked on many projects. I was paired with another intern, and we mainly worked to improve the platform that connects the sales representative who gathers data from clients like their country, their industry, if they use blockers or not, and the dashboard that reads more qualitative data. I had very poor coding skills, and my partner was actually the only intern who knew how to code. It is important to say that most of the coding is done in Python. I was responsible for the business part of the improvement; I reached out to many people in the client’s company to get their feedback on the platform’s current issues.
Most of the job involved writing massive narratives in a way that is specific to Amazon. In these we explained the situation, the issues the team had to face and what solutions they found to address the issues. Again, we were supported by material provided by the company since the reports were as technical as a personal statement to write. We were given a lot of support which is characteristic to tech companies, and especially in Amazon. The company culture is very different from investment banking where LSE students usually apply to.
Elias: Yes, people in tech companies indeed seem nicer and more relaxed. What are some of the skills you gained and your biggest takeaways from this internship?
Marta: Networking was definitely my biggest takeaway! We had a lot of events to get to know people during the summer, even though we were working remotely. The most memorable event was probably the Intern Day, where people from all Amazon services like Amazon Prime, Video and Music gave presentations about their business areas. We had weekly meetings with our teams and the company also paired us up randomly with people in the wider department for special coffee breaks. This really helped to strengthen team working, which is one of Amazon’s main principles.
I think initiative is also one of my biggest takeaways and I encourage every future intern to be proactive, even if your internship is spent remotely. Even though my internship lasted 6 months, it was too short to master everything I learnt. However, tech culture requires us to be adaptable. Just a few days before a technical presentation, my partner fell sick and I had no choice but to learn to understand each line of code he wrote. I learned new data analysis and Excel skills in order to work with data more efficiently, and I also learned how to better approach clients with persuasive sales strategies.
Elias: Network, technical knowledge, sales strategies - this sounds like a very broad and fruitful learning experience! Do you have any advice for our members who might be interested in applying to tech companies for business roles?
Marta: Although technical skills vary between departments and roles, it would be very helpful to have some high-level understanding of how to read Python code, and basic data and Cloud concepts, even in sales marketing. People should also know that the interview process is very informal so do not overthink your answer. Your personality should naturally come through and being authentic is important. More generally, I would say that understanding the culture of tech companies and being adaptable is important in these internships.
Elias: Thank you so much for your precious piece of advice. Is there anything else you would like to say?
Marta: For sure! I would say to never underestimate the importance of company culture. If you don’t like the culture, it can be very frustrating to work in a company where your potential is not fully expressed. I knew right away that the company was a good fit. I loved the application process and the interview, and it was a good teaser of my internship at Amazon.
Elias: Marta, thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. I am sure all of us will appreciate the advice and tips you shared to secure an internship at Amazon!
Thanks for reading and we hope this article has been helpful ! If you’d like to learn more about careers in tech and data science, and network with LSE alumni, make sure to sign up for our upcoming events including the Data Science Weekend on 27-28th February 2021!
31/01/2021