How Long Do I Wait Until I Can Interview With Amazon Again
Being rejected in an Amazon behavioural interview does not mean that you will never be able to get a job there again. On the contrary, at Day One Careers, we have helped many candidates who joined Amazon after a few rejections. So how quickly can you reapply after a rejection?
There is no set time limit. Sometimes your Amazon recruiter will advise you of a cooling off period, which can be anything between six months to two years. If this is the case, we recommend honouring the cooling-off period and taking the time to improve your resume with high-impact projects. If your recruiter did not advise you of a cooling-off period, there is no harm in applying to relevant roles straight away. However, give yourself the time to improve upon any areas you may have struggled with during the last interview.
Can I Share Multiple Situations From The Same Project
Yes, you can. You can chunk long projects into distinct situations where you demonstrate different Leadership Principles. Do not ever assume that just because one of your projects took years to come to an important milestone, you have to use it to answer just one question. Instead, consider long projects or programs as sources of multiple situations.
Example Answers To Amazon Interview Questions
Now that we know the basics of what questions Amazon interviewers like to ask and what sort of principles they value, we can start to answer their questions.
Customer Obsession: Tell me about a time you had a difficult customer.
In my last job as a customer success manager at ABC Inc., we had a client who was very disappointed with the deluxe package he had purchased from us. We were building a website for his company of roughly 50 employees, and he felt that the features offered werent necessary for his project. I asked to speak to relevant department heads to learn more about issues they were having and learned that they just werent really aware of all the bells and whistles in the subscription they had.
I then created presentations for each team, walked them through how we could implement their dream user interface along with all the features they wanted, and got them excited about working on a project they were beginning to fear wouldnt work. In the end, we got the website built 2 weeks early and 10% under budget, and the company still refers other companies to ABC to this day.
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Study The Role Youre Applying For
Given Amazon’s notoriously high standards for their hiring process, you should also do as much research as you can about the role you’re applying for along with the work that the role’s department/team actually does. Your interviewer is bound to ask questions aimed at evaluating if you’re a culture fit, and your prior research will only help to make the best impression possible.
Not only that but your research regarding the role you’re applying for can give you a good impression on the behavioral skills necessary for the job. And by extension, it can give you a good idea of the behavioral questions they may ask regarding those skills.
Technical And Skills Questions
How would you improve Amazon’s website?
Tell me about how you brought a product to market.
What metrics do you use to influence and drive positive change?
What skills do you possess that will help you succeed at Amazon?
Tell me about a time when you handled a project outside of your scope of work. How did you approach it?
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Amazon Leadership Principles: Questions And Interview Tips
Get prepared for your Amazon interview by studying their 14 Leadership Principles
Levels.fyi · September 24, 2022
It isn’t surprising that getting a job at one of the big tech companies like can present quite a challenge. The interviews for these companies have become almost as famous as the companies themselves.
One of the most significant differences between interviewing at and other FAANG companies lies in their approach to behavioral interview questions. Namely, Amazon has created the following 14 Amazon Leadership Principles.
These principles and the associated questions are designed to investigate your professional background and your ability to handle workplace situations. At Levels.fyi, we know how these may be difficult to improvise on the spot, so it is wise to prepare for them ahead of time. Read on for some of Amazon Leadership Principles questions, sample answers to them, and interview tips.
Update : Chat with former Amazon employees & recruiters that can review your resume or prepare for behavioral & technical interviews!
Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions
Why do you want to work with Amazon?
It is one of the popular questions you will get to hear in any behavioral interview, and the main reason is getting to know the things that capture your interest with Amazon. For this type of question, it is best to avoid making the answer solely on yourself instead, talk about the software Amazon produces and things you like about their work ethics.
Can you tell me about yourself?
The easiest way to answer this Amazon behavioral interview question is by dividing your response into three parts â present, past, and future. It implies you will talk about your current job role, the scope, and accomplishments. You can go ahead by telling the interviewer about your journey, and you can list out experiences in your previous roles and the next thing why you have interest in the vacant position.
Describe a problem you have faced before and the method you used?
Different situations can motivate different individuals. Therefore, applicants donât think abo anything motivation or motivating themselves. You will need to understand the question not to go off point. The right way to answer this is by giving examples of different times when you had to self-motivate to attain your goals. It could be when you were in adversity or problem. Also, you can say you motivate yourself daily because of the task you want to accomplish.
Have you made a customer happy with your service?
Have you worked under pressure?
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Tell Me About A Time You Had An Interpersonal Conflict At Work
You dont have to pretend youve never disliked or disagreed with a co-worker. Explain what you learned, rather than spending time on the details of a conflict. Did you notice some room for growth in your communication style? Did you pick up a strategy for handling tough situations or competing interests?
People want to know that youre going to take accountability, Stenzel said. Its about being honest about what went wrong, but then I think youve got the opportunity to say, Heres what I learned from that. And heres what I did the next time, or heres what I would do in that situation again.
Always share how you adjusted your behavior in response to the conflict. For example: Maybe you failed to set expectations for a project, and as a result, you and a client miscommunicated. Going forward, you adjusted the cadence of your communication and sent out status updates once every week.
What Are Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions
It is vital to know the meaning of amazon behavioral interview questions to have a basic knowledge. Generally, their questions center on receiving information regarding your conduct, attitude, outlook, and past behavior in previous positions. The information tells more about you and your workplace. Therefore, these are things that Amazon is interested to know.
However, the kind of answers you give the interviewer will help determine your skills. Also, it is a determining factor to your overall performance and whether you are a good fit to work with them. The interviewer will have a glimpse of how you reason things out. The truth is if you have leadership principles, you can pass these amazon behavioral interview questions successfully.
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Top 10 Amazon Interview Questions With Example Answers
Alright,lets take stock. Right now, you have a winning strategy for answering Amazoninterview questions. Thats a great foundation.
But, havingclear examples can also help. It lets you review questions you may face and seehow to put the tips above to work. We arent going to leave you hanging.
Here are thetop 3 Amazon interview questions you could encounter when meeting with thehiring manager, along with tips for answering them.
Good Behavioral Questions To Ask Your Interviewer
The interviewer is trying to decide if they want to work with you, but youre also evaluating whether you want to work with them.
Seize the opportunity to learn about the person who may become your manager, or, if youre speaking with a recruiter, about the company culture.
Asking plenty of questions also helps you cross-check the claims your interviewer makes. Stenzel talked about a time she finished an interview with a hiring manager who stressed his companys friendly culture, only to leave the interview room and watch him walk past dozens of employees without saying hello.
Here are some behavioral questions to ask your interviewer, according to Brown, Hedges and Stenzel.
- What are the external pressures on this team?
- From the companys perspective, does this team cost money or earn money?
- When this team has a new project to tackle, how do you start? How do you know when its finished?
- Is this role a backfill? Why did the last person leave?
- Why is this role necessary or important?
- How much support would I receive in this position, and from whom? What would that support look like?
- Can you tell me about a moment you were particularly excited about this companys culture?
- Can you tell me about a time something didnt fit this companys culture? What happened next?
Stephen Gossett contributed reporting to this story.
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What Are Employers Looking For In A Behavioral Interview
For interviewers, your responses to behavioral questions supply concrete evidence about your skills and on-the-job behavior. This can help them predict how you’ll perform in the role at hand. Employers will be looking for candidates who can demonstrate the skills needed in the role, and give a clear, succinct response.
How To Answer Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions Correctly
How to expertly answer Amazon behavioral questions.
One of the key ways that Amazon interviews differ from other FAANGs , is how they approach behavioral questions.
Namely, they are modeled after the 14 Leadership Principles pioneered by Jeff Bezos, that Amazon holds dear. These principles, and the questions associated with them, are designed to dive deep into your professional background and how you handle workplace situations. Amazon views this as an area that’s just as important as how you deal with technical questions so make sure you’re ready with some good answers.
Practice Amazon behavioral interview questions here.
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Why Do Interviewers Ask Behavioral Questions
Traditionally, weve thought of behavioral interview questions as the ones assessing how a candidate acts on the job as opposed to their skills, like building algorithms or spinning up React elements. Now, that definition is evolving.
That might be because the line between hard skills and soft skills is so tough to parse. Plenty of technologists work closely with teammates all day long. Why act like skills and behavior are somehow separate, or that emotional skills arent skills in themselves?
It also might be because sizing up candidate behavior poses so many problems. Being good at acting hirable in front of strangers and being good at writing software are two entirely different games. And, whenever likability gets conflated with behavioral skills, it opens the door to biased interview processes.
Its a lot to process. Thats why a simpler approach might be best. Robin Stenzel, chief people officer at candidate-experience platform OutMatch, said behavioral questions are essentially just ways to get insight into how candidates think about previous work challenges and successes.
A behavioral interview question is talking about your experiences, Stenzel told Built In in 2021. Behavioral interviewing gets to tell a story about the experiences had.
If One Of Your Closework Colleagues Stole A $1 Item What Would You Do
Shrinkage isa major concern for Amazon. As a result, many prospective employees especially those working in Amazon warehouses are going to face behavioralinterview questions that discuss how theyd react to theft.
Its important to note that the small value of the item in the question is meant to throw candidates off. A dollar may seem meaningless to a retail giants bottom line. But, if every person took a $1 item and turned a blind eye to others doing the same, it would add up quickly. As a result, theres only on correct answer. Luckily, its fairly short and sweet, so its easier to nail.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
Theft, in any amount, is against policy and is illegal, so it needs to be addressed. If I witnessed a colleague stealing, I would report the activity per Amazon corporate procedures.
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Example Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions: Deliver Results
- How do you prioritize tasks?
- Give me an example of a time when you were 75% through a project, and had to pivot the strategy – how were you able to make that into a success story?
- If you are given two conflicting priorities from two separate managers, how do you figure out how to proceed?
#15 Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer
“Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what’s next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees’ personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.”
Introduced in 2021, this principle focuses on creating an environment that is the best for its employees – in terms of safety, productivity, growth, fun, progress, and results.
Amazon Behavioral Questions: Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their teams body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.
The key part of this principle that candidates often miss is the vocally self-critical detail. Amazon wants its employees to focus on fixing mistakes instead of figuring out who to blame. Youll want to show that you take action when something is wrong and acknowledge your own faults before resorting to blaming others.
Example behavioral questions asked by Amazon: Earn trust
- Tell me a piece of difficult feedback you received and how you handled it
- How do you earn trust with a team?
- A co-worker constantly arrives late to a recurring meeting. What would you do?
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Sample Answer #: Software Engineer
I am interested in working at Amazon because I want to help this division of Alexa develop new business opportunities in the realm of voice recognition. This is a topic that excites me on a personal and professional level. In fact, I did my Masters research thesis on new uses of Big Data in voice recognition software. Thats why I was drawn to this role specifically.
More broadly, I am attracted to Amazons culture of diving deep and taking ownership. I see a lot of value in taking projects seriously and trying to find clever ways to improve results as a team. These are some of the values I implement in my work, and Id like to join a team that is already reaching for those standards.
I think that Amazon is at a very unique and interesting place in the market, and the resources Amazon has makes it possible to explore ideas with a good chance of success. Voice recognition is huge right now, but Amazon offers tools and metrics that make it unique, as compared to other big names, which draws me to the company.
Prepare For A Phone Screen And Multiple Interviews
You will meet with between two to seven Amazon employees during your interview process. They will likely be a mix of managers, team members, key stakeholders from related teams, and a “Bar Raiser” .
To keep track of your stories and key details during multiple interviews, Dia Harris, Senior Diversity Recruiting Program Manager, Student Programs, recommends bringing a pen and a notebook with helpful notes to your interview. “Prep for the interview by writing down the questions you want to ask each interviewer, scenarios you think they might hit upon, and certain Leadership Principles that might apply to the role,” said Harris.
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Can I Reuse A Situation From A Screening Round During The Loop
It depends.
If you get a question during the Loop that is precisely the same one someone asked during a phone interview, then advise the interviewer about this. Tell them that you will use the same answer you used on the phone screen and ask them if this is ok. You will then know if you can use the same response or not.
In all other cases, if possible, our guidance is to avoid reusing phone screen answers during the Loop. This is because different teams, hiring managers and Bar Raisers will have different attitudes to candidates reusing the same material. Therefore, the only fail-safe strategy is to have fresh material for the Loop.
I Do Not Recommend You Use The Star Method
I recommend a different framework called CAR:
Context is about describing a situation and setting the scene for a relevant example from your past. The key here is to choose your example well one that clearly demonstrates the quality or skill the employer is asking about.
Action is about explaining what action you took. Be really specific rather than making vague statements and outline your steps and rationale.
Result is about detailing the outcome of your action. Offer specific facts relating to the result. For instance, quote figures and statistics, or feedback from your manager, that back up your assertion.
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