Amazon Interview Questions

First thing to do with recruiter
Ask recruiter which principles are most active in this role?

Amazon has 14 principles that they'll prob ask about. Some of them even contradict others.
'dive deep' vs 'bias for action'

Not all are essential for this particular role

STAR method
situation - task - action - result

Why x Company?
Correct answer? Not 'because it's a top tech co'  Yes, explanations on why: - Into the mission - Into values / principles - Value their offer over others

If you ramble on behavioral at Amazon, you'll get a ___ score?
No data = 0

Difference of Amazon vs other behavioral
STAR method -> they will go deeper, to see if you're thinking in line with the principles

They're looking for exact principles. We will ask them questions, they can say whatever they want. Then we'll go deeper. If they ALWAYS think about the principles -> strong hire. If they NEVER think about the principles -> strong concern.

Why work here? You guys have a lot of smart people and work on cool stuff. Sufficient?
No

Why do you want to work here?

Acceptable answer: 
1. You really believe in their mission 2. You want to work for their CEO, CTO, etc. 3. You value their offer over others - OTHERWISE you will not be a cultural fit

Diagram STAR and which is longest. Total time.
S - 1 sentence T - 1 sentence. why you're going to do the activity A - Longest portion, 3-5 sentences R - 1 sentence  Total - max is 60 seconds.  After you stop they'll ask follow-up questions. This gives them the necessary details so they can follow-up. THEN they will detect if you align with their principles.

How to answer a high level question. Philosophy on. How do you approach X? Ex. How do you approach a potential fire?
High level view. Would you like an example? If yes, STAR

Tell me about a time when... (strategy to answer)
STAR -  - Customer Obsession -  - Ownership -  - Invent and simplify

Leaders are right, a lot
1. Not about showing that you're right 2. It's about being disciplined to prove correctness based on research / questions. Enabling you to make decisions based on data. Which accumulates to good judgment. 3. Question your own and others opinions 4. It's not about being a 'smart' person. It's about taking actions to learn what the right answer for the specific question is. - Learn and be curious

Hire and develop the best
Spend 80% of time with the top performers. Make sure they're getting the growth they want. Let the bottom prove themselves first, then give them more of your resources.

Insist on the highest standards
- Red flag - person that does the quick / easy solution. that's how you get tech debt -  - Bias for action -  - Frugality -  - Dive deep

Have a backbone, disagree, and commit
It's not about ultimately being right - It's about being open to present counter arguments. Raising your opinion - Disagree SO THAT you can get to RIGHT GROUP decision -  - Deliver results -  - Think Big -  - Earn Trust

How to build trust
Vulnerability - Show things you're uncertain about - Sincere - Genuinely listen - Examine convictions with humility

If you're asked to pull and example from a specific company but you don't have one, you should:
Say that you don't have a great example from that company but you do have one from Y company.

1. When you're working with a large number of customers, it's tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. How do you go about prioritizing your customers' needs?
2. Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client's expectation. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?
3. Who was your most difficult customer?
4. Tell the story of the last time you had to apologize to someone.
5. Can you tell me about a time you obsessed over giving very high quality service to a customer?

Customer Obsession

1. Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult short term decision to make long term gains.
2. Tell me about a time when you had to work on a project with unclear responsibilities.
3. Tell me about a time when you had to leave a task unfinished.
4. Tell me about a time when you took on a task that went beyond your normal responsibilities.
5. Tell me about a time when you took it upon yourself to work on a challenging initiative.

Ownership

Tell me about a time when you failed to simplify a process and what you would have done differently.
Tell me about a time when you innovated on something and it went wrong.
Tell me about a time when you changed a process at work through either an innovative new way or simplification.
Tell me about a time when you invented something.
Tell me about a time when you gave a simple solution to a complex problem.

Invent and Simplify

Tell me about a time when you had to work with incomplete data or information.
Tell me about a time when you were wrong.
Tell me about a time when you had to use your judgment to solve a problem.
Tell me about a time when you incorporated a diverse set of perspectives into solving a problem.
Tell me about a time when you had your beliefs challenged and how you responded.

Leaders Are Right, A Lot

Tell me about a time when you solved a problem through just superior knowledge or observation.
Tell me about a time when you influenced a change by only asking questions.
Tell me about an experience you went through that changed your way of thinking.
Tell me about a time when your curiosity helped you make a smarter decision.
Tell me about the most important lesson you learned in the past year.

Learn and Be Curious

Tell me about a time when you made a wrong hire. When did you figure it out and what did you do?
Tell me about a time when you mentored someone.
Tell me about the best hire your ever made.
What qualities do you look for most when hiring others?
Who is the most important person in your life and why?

Hire and Develop the Best

Tell me about a time when a team member didn't meet your expectations on a project.
Tell me about a time when you couldn't meet your own expectations on a project.
Tell me about a time when you raised the bar.
Tell me about a time when you motivated a team to go above and beyond.
Tell me about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality of something at work and went out of your way to improve it.

Insist on the Highest Standards

Tell me about a time when you went way beyond the scope of the project and delivered.
Tell me about your proudest professional achievement.
Tell me about a time when you were disappointed because you didn't think big enough.
Tell me about a time when your vision resulted in a big impact.
Tell me about a time when you had to make a bold and difficult decision.

Think Big

Tell me about a time when you took a calculated risk.
Tell me about a time you needed to get information from someone who wasn't very responsive. What did you do?
Describe a time when you saw some problem and took the initiative to correct it rather than waiting for someone else to do it.
Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision with little data or information.
Tell me about a time when you made a decision too quickly and what you would have done differently.

Bias for Action

Tell me about a time when you had to work with limited time or resources.
Tell me about a time you had to rely on yourself to finish a task.
Tell me about a time where you turned down more resources to complete an assignment.
Tell me about a time when you beat out the competition with less resources.

Frugality

Tell me about a time when you had to tell someone a harsh truth.
What would you do if you found out that your closest friend at work was stealing?
What is the quality you value least about yourself?
What do you do to gain the belief of your teammates?
Tell me about a time you had to speak up in a difficult environment.

Earn trust

Tell me about something that you learnt recently in your role.
Give me two examples of when you did more than what was required in any job experience.
Tell me about the most complex problem you've ever worked on.
Tell me about a time when understanding the details of a situation helped you arrive to a solution.
Tell me about a time you utilized in data to come across a solution.

Dive deep

Tell me about a time when you had to step up and disagree with a team members approach.
If your direct manager was instructing you to do something you disagreed with, how would you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you did not accept the status quo.
Tell me about an unpopular decision of yours.
What do you believe that no one else does?

Have a backbone; disagree and commit

Give me an example of a time when you were 75% of the way through a project, and you had to pivot strategy-how were you able to make that into a success story?
By providing an example, tell me when you have had to handle a variety of assignments. Describe.
What is the most difficult situation you have ever faced in your life? How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time you had too much on your plate to deal with and how you handled getting everything done.
Tell me about a time when everyone else on your team gave up on something but you pushed the team towards delivering.