Amazon Leadership Principles: Interview Questions and Tips

If you're applying for any role at Amazon, you've most likely come across the Amazon Leadership Principles. They're at the heart of every Amazon interview, no matter what role you're applying for.

These 16 Leadership Principles (LPs) are the company's behavioral guidelines. Amazon interviewers use them as their framework during behavioral interviews. This is why these interviews are also referred to as Amazon Leadership Principles interviews.

Other FAANG/MAANG companies also conduct behavioral interviews, but Amazon puts greater emphasis on them in comparison. In fact, many candidates report losing out on an offer after acing their technical interviews but showing up underprepared for the Leadership Principles questions.

But no need to get intimidated - we're here to help you prepare for them.

This interview prep guide covers everything you need to ace the Amazon Leadership Principles Interview: example questions for each leadership principle, a technique to answer them, insight and tips from ex-Amazon interviewers, and a prep plan to make sure you pass this crucial interview.

Here’s a brief overview of what we’ll cover.

• What are the Amazon Leadership Principles?
• What is Amazon looking for in candidates?
• 60+ Amazon Leadership Principles example questions
• How to answer Amazon Leadership Principle questions
• Amazon Leadership Principles interview tips
• How to prepare for your Amazon Leadership Principles interview

Click here to practice 1-on-1 with ex-Amazon interviewers

1. What are the Amazon Leadership Principles?↑

Amazon's Leadership Principles encapsulate the core values and behaviors that guide decision-making and actions across the company. Each principle emphasizes different aspects of Amazon's culture, from prioritizing customer needs to fostering innovation, maintaining high standards, and acting with urgency and integrity.

The idea is that these principles serve as a common language and framework for Amazonians to align their work and behaviors with the company's long-term vision and goals. As you might have guessed, candidates need to be very familiar with them!

Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles:

1. Customer Obsession
2. Ownership
3. Bias for Action
4. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
5. Invent and Simplify
6. Dive Deep
7. Are Right, A Lot
8. Deliver Results
9. Think Big
10. Hire and Develop the Best
11. Frugality
12. Learn and Be Curious
13. Insist on the Highest Standards
14. Earn Trust
15. Strive to be Earth's Best Employer
16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

Below we’ll dig deeper into each principle and the interview questions that will test you on them.

2. What is Amazon looking for in a candidate?↑

Equally as important as your knowledge and expertise, learning and demonstrating your adherence to Amazon's Leadership Principles is key to landing your dream job at the company. These principles are so important to Amazon that you'll encounter questions about them at every stage. All interviewers are assigned at least one or multiple leadership principles to focus on per round. 

So given these, we advise preparing at least one practical example from your past that demonstrates each principle. As you may be asked more than one question on a given principle, we’d also recommend crafting a few ‘flex’ stories that you can apply to different principles.

Sounds daunting? Don't worry. We've provided a few techniques and expert insights you can study to help you prepare.

And if you're looking for more information on the interview process for a specific role, you can consult one of our comprehensive Amazon interview guides below: 

• Amazon product manager
• Amazon program manager
• Amazon technical program manager
• Amazon software development engineer
• Amazon software development manager
• Amazon data scientist
• Amazon (technical) account manager
• Amazon machine learning engineer
• Amazon data engineer

3. 60+ Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions↑

If you've applied to other tech companies before, you're probably wondering what the difference is between behavioral interviews and the Amazon Leadership Principles interviews. 

Just to be clear, the Amazon Leadership Principles interview is the company's version of the standard behavioral interview you'll encounter at other companies. 

As we mentioned above, Amazon interviewers use the company's Leadership Principles as their framework for behavioral interview questions. Just like in other job interviews, Amazon interviewers ask behavioral questions about your past work experience, as a way to predict your future behavior. The only difference is that Amazon's behavioral questions are centered around this set of highly specific principles.

To help you prepare strategically for the Amazon Leadership Principles interview, we have used Glassdoor data to identify real questions asked in different Amazon interviews. The questions we’ve chosen come from our research on five Amazon tech roles: product manager, technical program manager, program manager, software development engineer, and data scientist. 

The questions below can appear at every step of the Amazon and AWS interview process, from the initial recruiter screen all the way to the interview loop. Some may even appear as ice-breakers or transition questions during technical screens. We advise working on LPs as soon as you get a screening schedule with Amazon. The frequency and type of leadership principle questions will vary per role, so better prepare to answer several.

Let’s get into it.

3.1 Top 5 Amazon Leadership Principles questions

First, we want to highlight the most common questions about leadership principles that Amazon asks across every role we’ve studied. You’ll likely be asked at least one of these questions. Regardless of the role you're applying for, you'll see that Amazon wants to know why you specifically want to work for them, how you face setbacks, and whether you’re willing to stand up for your ideas.

Below are the questions. If you're ready to dive deep, just click on each question and you'll find a comprehensive guide on how to answer it.

Now that we've shown you the top five most common leadership principle questions, let's take a closer look at each principle and the types of questions that test you on it.

Each category below tests a different leadership principle, and the frequency of questions testing certain principles will vary depending on the role. For instance, if you're interviewing for senior or managerial roles, you can expect more questions targeting the principles “hire and develop the best” or “strive to be Earth’s best employer.”

3.2 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Customer Obsession↑

“Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.”

When answering this leadership principle question type, you should show how well you understand the consequences that every decision has on customer experience. You'll also need to demonstrate your empathy for your customer, how well you know them, and their underlying needs.

To answer Customer Obsession questions, Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva advises beginning by explaining the importance of this LP to Amazon, to show how well you understand and agree with the principle. 

When telling your Customer Obsession story, Bilwasiva says you should highlight "your commitment to understanding and addressing customer pain points." He suggests discussing "specific initiatives or projects where you've gone above and beyond to deliver exceptional customer experiences, highlighting the outcomes and impact."

3.3 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Ownership↑

“Leaders are owners. They think long-term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say 'That’s not my job.'"

When answering ownership questions, you’ll want to prove that you're the type to take initiative when you see a task that needs to be done. You'll also need to show how you can make tough decisions and accept responsibility for your mistakes.

To prepare answers for the Ownership LP, ex-Amazon interviewer Dessy advises talking about a product or feature that you owned from end-to-end in your previous role.

Additionally, show how you demonstrated this leadership principle by talking about "how you go to extreme distance to follow through on your projects and do whatever it takes to deliver" even when working cross-functionally or with other stakeholders. An example she gives is taking the initiative to escalate issues to the other team's leadership if necessary.

3.4 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Bias for Action↑

“Bias for Action — Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk-taking.”

Amazon likes to learn by doing, with an eye on results over user projections and research.  This is part of what helps them act quickly and ship their products to customers as fast as they do. For this LP question, your interviewer will be assessing you on your ability to take calculated risks in order to move things forward.

When answering Bias for Action questions, according to Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva, you should discuss how you prioritize action and drive momentum in your work, highlighting instances where you've made decisions quickly and decisively. "Provide examples of how you've taken calculated risks to achieve desired outcomes, demonstrating your ability to navigate ambiguity and drive results in a fast-paced environment," he advises.

You should also emphasize the importance of learning from failures and iterating on ideas to continuously improve and move forward. This will also cover another leadership principle: Learn and be curious.

3.5 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit↑

"Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.”

Any group of smart leaders will disagree at some point. Your interviewer will want to see that you know when to challenge ideas and escalate problems to senior leadership if necessary. At the same time, they want to know that you can sense the right time to move forward and deliver wholeheartedly regardless of your disagreement. Show that you’re capable of striking that balance.

For this LP, prepare an example where you were able to deliver successfully on a project even though you had voiced your disagreement earlier in the process.

According to ex-Amazon interviewer Dessy, in answering this LP question you should "show that you understand the pros and cons of a certain decision, that even though you don't 100% agree, you can still see the merit of the decision."

3.6 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Invent and Simplify↑

"Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by 'not invented here.' Because we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.”

As ex-Amazon interviewer Dessy explained to us, teams at Amazon operate relatively independently, almost like their own start-ups. This is because, despite its vast size, Amazon likes to move quickly and launch things fast.

Related to this is the fact that engineering resources are always limited so products are launched at minimum viability. Interviewers want to know that you can respond and even thrive under these limitations.

To answer this LP interview question,  ex-Amazon interviewer Dessy advises preparing two things: describe coming up with a minimum viable product (MVP) or phase one of a long-term project, or share examples of where you've come up with innovative, alternative solutions instead of building a feature that required engineering resources.

An example she cites for the second one is using a Google form instead of building your own registration form, or changing the standard operating procedure instead of building a separate feature. This could also cover another leadership principle, Frugality.

3.7 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Dive Deep↑

"Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdotes differ. No task is beneath them.”

While Amazon is looking for candidates who have a bias for action, they also want people who are excited to dive deep into complex problems. 'Bias for action' and 'dive deep' might strike you as two opposing ends of the spectrum, but what Amazon is really on the lookout for is if you can strike the perfect balance between the two.

Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva says your answer to this LP interview question should highlight your ability to analyze complex problems with examples of how you've conducted thorough research, gathered data, and delved into root causes to understand underlying issues.

Some of the skills and behaviors you want to focus on with this leadership principle include your attention to detail and your willingness to dig deeper, ask probing questions, and challenge assumptions. Always end your stories with how your deep dive allowed you to gain valuable insights and drive informed decision-making and actions.

3.8 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Are Right, A Lot↑

"Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.”

Amazon expects its employees to produce solutions as quickly as possible and this can often involve making decisions with little information. Show that you know how to take calculated risks and that you're comfortable having your opinions challenged before moving ahead. When describing past failures, discuss what you’ve learned and how you've grown from them.

3.9 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Deliver Results↑

"Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.”

Amazon values action over perfection. When answering behavioral questions about delivering results, you’ll want to indicate that you strive to avoid slipped deadlines and failed goals. If you've missed deadlines and goals in the past, explain the methods you’ve put in place to avoid them.

Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva advises preparing specific examples of projects or initiatives where you set clear goals, developed action plans, and executed effectively to drive impactful outcomes. Your goal is to "showcase your track record of delivering measurable results and achieving key objectives in your previous roles," he says.

Another crucial tip from our coach: "Quantify your achievements wherever possible, using metrics and data to demonstrate the impact of your contributions."

3.10 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Think Big↑

“Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.”

Amazon is an enormous company so it expects its employees to build products and structures of a significant scale to make a difference in the business. To show that you have what it takes, you'll want to demonstrate that you can develop and articulate a bold vision.

According to Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva, your answer to this LP interview question type should show your ability to envision and pursue ambitious goals that have a transformative impact on your team, organization, or industry.

"Share examples of how you've challenged the status quo, pursued innovative ideas, and inspired others to think beyond conventional boundaries," he advises, adding that you should emphasize your long-term vision and strategic thinking and your ability to break down big ideas into actionable plans.

3.11 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Hire and Develop the Best↑

"Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.”

This leadership principle is typically discussed in interviews for very senior engineering positions that involve people management or building a team.

Amazon wants every new hire to “raise the bar” so your interviewers will want to see that you're the type of senior personnel who seeks to hire people smarter than you. They'll also want to know if you enjoy coaching younger colleagues and know how to get the most out of top performers.

According to Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva, an excellent way to answer this LP interview question is to describe your approach to talent acquisition and development, emphasizing your commitment to building high-performing teams and cultivating a culture of learning and growth.

You could show this by sharing examples of how you've recruited top talent, assessed candidates effectively, and onboarded new hires to set them up for success. You should also talk about your efforts to mentor, coach, and provide opportunities for skill development and career advancement to members of your team.

3.12 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Frugality↑

"Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.”

Amazon strives to provide customers with as much value for as little cost as possible. Interviewers will be looking for how you can support this idea while maintaining a constant drive for innovation. 

3.13 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Learn and Be Curious↑

“Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.”

Amazon demands constant improvement in every part of its business. This requires people who are passionate about improving themselves.

For this LP, interviewers will want to see your genuine passion for learning new things and exploring new ideas that can be applied to the job. The examples listed here are general behavioral interview questions, but they provide a perfect opportunity for you to address this principle.

Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva says, "Highlight your passion for continuous learning and professional growth, emphasizing your curiosity and eagerness to explore new ideas, technologies, and methodologies." 

Some examples you could share are how you've pursued learning opportunities in various ways: formal study, self-study, or hands-on experimentation. Elaborate further by talking about how your curiosity has led you to valuable insights, innovations, or improvements in your work.

3.14 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Insist on the Highest Standards↑

"Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.”

At Amazon, rarely is anything deemed “good enough.” Your interviewers want to see how you have pushed yourself to reach standards that were difficult to meet, and how you're committed to upholding such high standards in all your endeavors.

"Explain your uncompromising commitment to excellence and quality in everything you do, highlighting your attention to detail and pursuit of perfection," Bilwasiva, Amazon interviewer says.

To illustrate this, you can share examples of how you've set and maintained high standards in your team to meet and exceed expectations. You can also talk about the specific processes, guidelines, and quality assurance measures you've put in place in your previous roles.

3.15 Amazon Leadership Principle 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 team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.”

The key part of this leadership principle that candidates often miss is the “vocally self-critical” detail. Show that you're able to own up to a mistake when something goes wrong (instead of figuring out who else to blame) and that your focus is always on coming up with solutions to fix mistakes.

According to Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva, you'll want to highlight your commitment to building trust and credibility with stakeholders, both internal and external, and your approach to strong relationship-building based on mutual respect, open communication, and delivering on promises.

You can do this by sharing examples of how you've demonstrated integrity, transparency (including taking accountability for any mistakes), and reliability in your interactions and decision-making processes. 

3.16 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: 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.”

Like the principle “hire and develop the best,” you'll most likely encounter this in interviews for senior and/or managerial positions. Essentially, if “hire and develop the best” means picking and training a top team, being “Earth’s best employer” means keeping that team safe, enriched, and engaged once you’ve got them. This means striving to provide them with a safe, diverse, and just work environment.

3.17 Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility↑

"We started in a garage, but we're not there anymore. We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day. We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.”

Amazon wants its employees to understand and fully take on the responsibility of working for a vast, impactful company. For this LP, show how you measure the impact of your decisions, both in your workspace and in the world around you (e.g. sustainability, justice, etc.). 

4. How to answer Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions↑

Now that you’ve seen some of Amazon’s top LP questions, let’s work on a technique for answering them.

4.1 Technique

When answering Amazon's Leadership Principles interview, you should focus on your most relevant achievements and communicate them clearly. An easy way to achieve this is to use a step-by-step method to tell your stories. 

The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is a popular approach for answering behavioral questions because it’s easy to remember. However, we’ve found that candidates often find it difficult to distinguish the difference between steps two and three, or task and action. Some also forget to include lessons learned in the results step, which is especially crucial when discussing past failures.

So we’ve developed our own IGotAnOffer method to correct some of the pitfalls we’ve observed with the STAR method. We call it the SPSIL method (not catchy, but it works!).

You’ll notice that this method covers very similar themes to the STAR method. We like it because a lot of the candidates we work with find this framework easier to use, as there’s no overlap between any of the steps in your story.

You should practice using whatever method you’re most comfortable with. If you’d like to start practicing right away, jump back to the full list of questions here. 

Otherwise, to get a better idea of how our method works, work through the examples below.

4.2 Example answer: Tell me about a time you failed at work. What did you learn from it?

Now that you know how to approach answering the Amazon Leadership Principles interview, let's look at a full example. We’ll use one of Amazon’s most frequently asked questions. You’ll see that it can be tailored to match a few different LPs, such as Ownership, Learn and Be Curious, and Deliver Results.

Try answering the question below by following your preferred method. Play both the role of the interviewer and the candidate. Write down your answer, then practice saying it out loud before going through our example response. Once you’ve finished, compare your response to our example to fill in any gaps in your story.

Question:

Tell me about a time you failed at work. What did you learn from it?

Answer:

We’ll use the SPSIL method described above and answer as if interviewing for a product manager job at Amazon. You will find our proposed answer to the question below. 

Note that this question isn’t necessarily about a specific role and allows you to describe a variety of situations. We’ll use a generic example, but you should use an example from your own work experience.

1. Situation

You could start by saying something like, “In my last position, I was the product manager for a key feature of a new product we were about to launch. My team had been able to roll through research and development ahead of schedule, so I was excited to beat our deadline. In an update with our chief product officer, I told her that we were working quickly and would likely finish a week before the deadline. She was pleased to hear this and rearranged launch dates accordingly.”

Without giving too much detail, this gives a quick sense of the setting you were in. Now we’ll get into the problem.

2. Problem

Once you outline the situation, you can explain the problem by saying something like, “However, I had allowed myself to get swept up in our previous progress and moved up our deadline without fully considering all the factors at play. As we continued work on the launch, it quickly became clear that the final details would take longer than anticipated, and we would not be meeting the earlier deadline.”

Here, you don’t spend too much time describing the situation and problem, but your answer so far has given the interviewer a clear sense of the setting and issue that arose.

3. Solution

When describing the solution you came up with, it’s important to step through your thinking. And it’s especially important to focus on YOUR contribution. 

Of course, this will look a little different for a question asking about a failure, as it would mean you may not have solved the initial problem. However, you can underline the steps you took to address the failure once you realized it.

You could say something such as, “As it was my mistake to move up the deadline, and not my team’s, I took it upon myself to speed up the process. First, we discussed our progress, and I added some of their workload to my plate to accomplish everything faster. I worked overtime to take care of the loose ends, then booked a new meeting with the chief product officer. 

I explained to her that I had spoken too hastily and that we would not meet the new deadline that I had imposed. We reworked the launch plan and returned to the original timeline.

Ultimately, we were able to complete our preparations a couple of days before the original launch date, though not a full week ahead like I'd anticipated.”

Let’s take a step back and look at what you’ve shown with this answer.

While you are putting on display a big mistake, your work to resolve it shows personal accountability. Instead of blaming the mistake on others, you accepted the blame and acted to fix it. This is a key aspect of Amazon’s Ownership leadership principle.

Also, you went out of your way to speed up the process, working overtime to arrive closer to the due date. This shows that you can Deliver Results, another leadership principle. 

4. Impact

After explaining the actions you took, it’s a good idea to quantify both the impact of the failure itself and how you mitigated it. 

You could say something like, “Clearly, the deadline mixup had some negative repercussions, as the launch date was pushed forward and then moved back again. Thankfully, since it was only the earlier deadline I failed to meet, the product was still  launched on the original launch date one week later.”

5. Lessons

Finally, wrap up your answer by describing any lessons that you might have learned. This is the most important step for a question about a past mistake or failure, as Amazon wants to be sure you know how to avoid that mistake again. Also, constantly learning aligns with the principle Learn and Be Curious.

You could say, “The failure to meet that deadline reminded me to make decisions based on data and observation, not excitement. Also, the final details of a project are extremely important and shouldn’t be rushed. These were both things I had been aware of before, but I had forgotten them in the excitement over how quickly we were progressing in other areas. Thankfully, since this mistake, I’ve always been meticulous about deadlines, only setting or changing them after I’ve discussed them with the team and considered the repercussions. Thanks to that, I haven’t missed a deadline since. ”

4.3 Example answer: How have you previously measured customer satisfaction?

Let's see how you could answer a typical question on the Customer Obsession principle.

4.4 Example answer: Tell me about a time you struggled to meet a deadline.

Let's see how you could answer a typical question on the Bias for Action principle.

4.5 Example answer: Tell me about a time you had to improve a difficult process

Let's see a typical question on the Ownership principle and what a good answer looks like.

4.6 Example answer: Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your manager

Let's see what an answer to a common Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit question might look like.

4.7 Example answers to various LP questions

Answering Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions can seem fairly straightforward on paper, but when you get into the actual interview, it can feel a bit more difficult.

We recommend watching and doing plenty of mock interviews. Check out the video below - Jason (ex-Product Manager at Amazon) answers some very common leadership principle questions.

5. Amazon Leadership Principles interview tips↑

Finally, before we move on to some interview prep resources, we'd like to give you five helpful tips to keep in mind.

#1 Get used to setting up the situation in 30 seconds or less

Use a timer while you practice to ensure you provide only the necessary information. Spending too much time on the Situation step is one of the most common mistakes candidates make.

#2 Stay focused on essential details

Interviewers hear a lot of behavioral stories a day. If you go into unnecessary details you are likely to lose their attention. Share your stories with a few different people before your interview and ask them what details they would suggest cutting.

#3 Strike a balance between your ambitious and collaborative nature

The ideal Amazon candidate is ambitious and driven, but your interviewer will also want to see evidence of how well you collaborate with others. 

So be sure to get the right balance between ‘we’ and ‘I’. At first, concentrate on saying 'I' to clearly demonstrate your own actions and elaborate on the impact YOU had, then acknowledge team effort by talking about what 'we' did as a team.

#4 Adapt to follow-up questions

Don’t panic if your interviewer asks follow-up questions; this is perfectly normal. Listen carefully to the way your interviewer is asking these questions, as there will often be a subtle clue about the specific skills they’re looking to assess in the next part of your answer.

#5 Explain how failure made you better

When talking about failure, don’t try to hide your mistakes or frame a weakness as a strength. Instead, show what you learned and how you grew from the failure.

6. How to prepare for the Amazon Leadership Principles interview↑

Now that we’ve been through all the Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions and the method you can use to answer them, we've come up with a step-by-step prep plan you can follow, plus some resources to help you prepare:

6.1 Learn about Amazon's culture

Most candidates fail to do this. But, even before investing hours preparing for an interview at Amazon, you should take some time to make sure it's actually the right company for you.

Amazon is prestigious so it's tempting to assume that you should apply without careful consideration. But it's important to remember that the prestige of a job alone won't make you happy in your day-to-day work. It's the type of work and the people you work with that will.

If you know people who work at Amazon or used to work there, talk to them to understand what the culture is like. The Leadership Principles we discussed above can give you a sense of what to expect, but there's no replacement for a conversation with an insider.

Finally, we would also recommend checking out the following resources:

• Amazon's technology culture video mix (by Amazon)
• Amazon vision and mission analysis (by Panmore Institute)
• Amazon strategy teardown (by CB Insights)
• The Leadership Principles Explained by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy 
• An Amazon interviewer dives deep into how she uses the Leadership Principles (by Amazon)
• Amazon SDE mock interview for Leadership Principles (by Amazon)

6.2 Practice by yourself

Acing the Amazon Leadership Principles interview is much harder than it looks. You’ll stand out if you put in the required work to craft concise and direct answers. Here's how you can do that:

6.2.1 Write down your stories

First, make a list of key moments in your career (e.g. accomplishments, failures, team situations, leadership situations, etc.) that you can use to answer one or multiple questions.

We recommend you come prepared with at least one story per Leadership Principle, as well as a few ‘flex’ stories that you could apply to multiple LPs. 

After you’ve finished your list, write out a story for each key moment in your career using the structure we've laid out in section four. Be sure to emphasize your impact in each of these examples, quantify the results of your actions, and explain the lessons you learned from the experience. 

Once you have a bank of stories, go through the questions in section three and make sure you can answer all of them, either by using one of the stories you’ve written directly or by adapting it on the fly. If you identify any gaps, add stories to your bank until you’re comfortable you can cover all the questions listed in this article.

Click here to download a PDF to help you prepare stories on each Amazon Leadership Principle.

Click here to practice with more common behavioral questions and see example answers.

6.2.2 Practice your stories out loud

After you've written everything down, a great way to practice your answers is to interview yourself out loud. This may sound strange, but it will significantly improve the way you communicate during an interview. 

You should be able to tell each story naturally, without missing key details or memorizing them word-for-word.

However, by yourself, you can’t simulate thinking on your feet or the pressure of performing in front of a stranger. Plus, there are no unexpected follow-up questions and no feedback.

That’s why many candidates try to practice with friends or peers.

6.3 Practice with peers

If you have friends or peers who can do mock interviews with you, that's an option worth trying. It’s free, but be warned, you may come up against the following problems:

• It’s hard to know if the feedback you get is accurate
• They’re unlikely to have insider knowledge of interviews at your target company
• On peer platforms, people often waste your time by not showing up

For those reasons, many candidates skip peer mock interviews and go straight to mock interviews with an expert. 

6.4 Practice with experienced interviewers

In our experience, practicing real interviews with experts who can give you company-specific feedback makes a huge difference.

Find an Amazon interview coach so you can:

• Test yourself under real interview conditions
• Get accurate feedback from a real expert
• Build your confidence
• Get company-specific insights
• Learn how to tell the right stories, better.
• Save time by focusing your preparation

Landing a job at a big tech company often results in a $50,000 per year or more increase in total compensation. In our experience, three or four coaching sessions worth ~$500 make a significant difference in your ability to land the job. That’s an ROI of 100x!