Is it possible to appeal a down level at Amazon? I interviewed for an L7 Principal Product Manager - Technical (PM-T) position but was down leveled to L6 after the full virtual on-site interview loop. Can I ask for a recalibration? Or do I just have to suck it up given the supply/demand dynamics of the current market. A few things to note: 1. the hiring manager and entire loop were SWEs. Is it weird that I wasn’t assessed by a single product person? 2. the hiring manager and loop were all L6 and L7. No director involved. Seems weird or at least a conflict of interest (hiring decision made by people who could view the candidate as potential competition) 3. interviewed with Amazon a few years ago and was inclined for an L7 PM-T role after interviewing with the hiring manager but dropped out before the full loop b/c I accepted a diff offer at the time. Does that make a difference? Bind tax - TC is zero rn (startup was acquired) but prev $1M+ at director / vp level #amazon #tech #recruiting #pm #product #productmanager #productmanagement #hiring #hiringcommittee #hiringmanager
An L7 loop wouldn’t have any L6s on it unless shadowing or part of HR. If you haven’t accepted, no contesting. The HM and BR decided on inclined at L6. However if you are an employee your current manager can request a review with you demonstrating L7 impact. I forget the timing or process for that. Heck, it might no longer exist.
Yeah, it was weird. The recruiter said the job was flexible leveling and could go L6 or L7. Said the hiring manager and bar raiser were both L7 so they were OK from a procedural-perspective on assessing for L7 leveling. Only 1 of the 5 loop interviewers was an L6, the rest were all L7. But to circle back on your advice, if I join a team as L6, the manager can request a review to get me to L7? How long does the review take and can he initiate the review within the first 6-12 months? Cause I've heard the normal L6->L7 promo process is like 3+ years, and that's with luck on your side.
Yeah it would take at least 2 years unless you delivered something massive in the first year. They don’t have any reason to push for a higher level earlier since it takes so much internal political capital to get someone promoted.
You were interviewed for a L6 role bud. l7 loops only have L7+ interviewers. Now its time to accept the offer and wait 4 years for a L7.
Please see my comment above. Role was flexible for L6/L7. Only one member of loop was L6, rest were all L7. Also hard for me to wrap my head around Amazon leveling. L6 is entry level for MBAs. I have friends who did 3 years of consulting + MBA and hired at L6. Literally 3 years of work experience, and non of it in tech or as a PM. I commend Amazon for having faith in young, smart, ambitious ppl and giving them a lot of responsibility. But doesn’t make sense to place industry veterans in the same bucket. I have 10+ YOE and was rapidly promoted up to director / VP level at $2-10B startups (one of which went public, another was acquired)
I think the recruiters may have over promised this to have you do the loop. A L7 loop will comprise at least 1 L8 if not more and there won’t be L6s interviewing a L7 scoped role (you don’t interview for roles higher than your own since you can’t make a bar raising decision). Also- this is a mis conception you have that all L6s are created equal and/or are recent grads/MBAs with limited experience. L6 has a large band, and junior folks are brought in at lower end vs more tenured ones at higher end. Not uncommon also to see L6 report into L6.
On similar boat but have better offer that goes beyond the comp range of l6. My offer stands good for 6 months but I’ll probably interview again next year when market cools down
Amazon’s decision is final. Take it or leave it.
If you are considering L6 as a fall back then I don’t suggest contesting too much.. when you share your thoughts with the recruiter, they will go straight to the hiring manager with your concerns.. Amazon does not hire like Google and Meta where the interview is detached from team match. You need to be liked by the hiring manager in the interview process at Amazon. If you are ready to let go of the L6 option then I would definitely say take it up with the recruiter. With your experience you might still get a better offer..
Appreciate the thoughtful reply. To add another wrinkle - this loop approved me at the L6 level (and recruiter says that approval is good for 12 months). But the HM actually doesn't see me as the best fit for their specific role and team (niche domain expertise required) so didn't extend an actual offer. So no bridge to burn here with the HM since they already released me into the general pool of approved L6 hires. Does that change your advice on what to do?
This is a tough spot to be in because now any other hiring manager that sees your profile will automatically see you as L6 and they have no incentive to consider you for an L7 loop. They would prefer a quick hire at L6 since you don’t have to interview again for that level.