Interview Q&A: Amazon

Usually, this is one of the first questions you’ll face off against during an Amazon interview. Overall, you simply have to highlight details about the company that ignites your passion, allowing the hiring manager to see your enthusiasm for the organization.

My main reason for wanting to work for Amazon is the company’s dedication to innovation. Along with introducing new products and services, the frequent integration of cutting-edge technology is enticing. Plus, as a large company, I believe I’d have opportunities to advance as I grow and develop, allowing me to secure a rewarding, long-term career.

Make sure you focus on your strengths, skills, qualities and experiences you have that will match the role you are applying for. Be positive and confident in your answer and remember that you will always need back up for your claims of how you work later in the interview. Here’s a sample example for your answer:

 “I am highly-motivated and goal-oriented employee who strongly believes that significant progress in an organization can be achieved only if everyone in the team is working in the same direction.” “In my previous experiences I have learnt and understood the skills that not only match the job description but also cover all the leadership principles that you expect from your employees.”

The interviewer here is looking for a candidate who is well informed and aware about Amazon. Let the response should be crisp, genuine and unique. Here’s a sample example for your answer:

“I would aspire to work at Amazon because, in my opinion, it is a great company where I feel I will be able to work to learn and grow among other self-motivated people. The growth of Amazon over the years has inspired me to contribute in the best possible way, as the quality of their products and services it offers, puts the customers at the forefront for everything.”

As some right out of college, I am on the lookout for opportunities to prove my ability. As a part of this organization, I’ll put all my efforts and strengths to make your company reach outstanding achievements, and if you hire me, I will get an opportunity to build my professional experience through your company.

The strengths you mention here should correlate with the kind of work that you would want to venture into and which is the most suitable with your Amazon job description. Make sure you go through the Amazon Leadership principles which would give you a better understanding on what you would want to say. Here’s a sample example for your answer:

“I am good team player and work towards my passion for the work I am doing. “With my previous experience I would work harder to achieve difficult tasks and projects, I feel my strength would benefit there to help the team achieve the same.” “I also have an innovative approach towards things which will give way to new approaches and ideas on course of the work to achieve great heights.”

Do not start your answer by a negative scenario, Amazon Interview question here, would want you to understand the you are a great risk handler. Consider how your strengths worked for your best at a crucial situation that needed an immediate action. Include a colleague or co-worker that you basically overpowered in achieving the same. Here’s a sample example for your answer: 

“While I was working on a project that had a tight deadline, and an issue was to be solved by one of my co-worker, I had to do it in his absence having known very less about that part of the project I put in extra time even over weekends to learn the requirement and understand to meet the project deadline. ““I not only could close the project for the desired deadline but also prevented my co-worker from facing trouble and prevented a huge loss to the company.”

Life happens when we are in the middle of projects, and Amazon leadership will want to know how you handle these types of situations when they occur. You could encounter this question for many different types of roles, including technical and management positions. Your answer should speak to your agility, leadership, and problem-solving skills:  

At my last job, I was leading a project that was near completion. Everything was moving smoothly and on-target for timely completion. Then, one of our partners providing one of the software upgrades that were to occur at the 90 percent mark encountered a breach of their systems and was estimated to delay the project by two to four weeks. 

I had to review our plans and come up with options to keep the project on target as much as possible. Going with another software provider wasn’t a viable option, as the groundwork had been laid to go live with the current provider, and starting over would have delayed the project even more. Instead, we were able to allocate two resources to support the provider in recovering from the breach in less than half of the time that was projected. 

As a result, we were able to complete the project only two days after the originally scheduled completion date. Fortunately, since we had built in a cushion for contingencies, we were able to go live on schedule. 

Many Amazon jobs are customer-facing and may require employees to make various decisions about how to handle a customer’s situation. While talking about a mistake isn’t easy, following up with how you used the experience to grow and develop can showcase you as a strong candidate.

In my last position, I was speaking with a customer about an order that was unexpectedly delayed. Along the way, I mistakenly said that the new delivery date was essentially guaranteed, as it seemed certain based on the available data. However, it was ultimately delayed again, which upset the customer based on what I told them previously. Fortunately, I was able to find a resolution by offering an immediate store credit refund for the original order and helping them explore our inventory to find a replacement that would arrive by the desired date. Additionally, after discussing the issue with my manager and accepting full responsibility, I was able to offer a small discount on the other item for the inconvenience, which ultimately left the customer satisfied.

You are likely to be asked this question regardless of the position you’re interviewing for, especially with cost reduction and shrinkage being top priorities for a company like Amazon. There is really only one way to answer this question that speaks to honesty, integrity, trust, and leadership:

While it would be a difficult situation to find myself in, integrity is essential to me. Plus, stealing is against policy and costs the company’s bottom line, no matter how insignificant the theft might seem. I would go to my department manager and report the theft or use the company’s recommended reporting policy for such behavior.

Amazon is known for their customer service. If the position you’re interviewing for is a customer-facing position, then you can count on a question similar to this. When answering this question, apply the STAR method: 

Once, I encountered a repeat customer who was upset that an item he ordered was delayed. It was scheduled to arrive within five days of him ordering it, but due to backlog issues with the supplier, the delivery time was adjusted to be 30 days out. The item was an anniversary gift for his wife, and the anniversary was less than two weeks away. 

Obviously, the 30 days would not work for him, and he was close to irate about the situation. I needed to figure out a way to help him receive the anniversary gift on time. I first contacted the supplier to see if there was any way to expedite the order, but the best they could do was get the item to him a couple of days earlier than the revised scheduled arrival date. 

So, I then worked with the customer to identify a different supplier that sold an almost identical item. I offered him expedited shipping at no charge, so he would receive the item within three days, and that timing worked for his anniversary date. I also offered him a 20 percent coupon towards his next purchase. He was pleased with the outcome, and he remained a loyal customer.   

The interviewer’s intent behind asking this question is most probably to see how you handle conflicting situations. It is best, to be honest, and clearly state an instance of conflict you have faced.

Normally tech companies are always extremely sorted. There have been times when I had a difference of opinion with my manager, but never an issue of conflict because of effective communication from both sides.

Adaptability and agility are extremely important traits for those who want to thrive in the corporate world today. And the intent of this Amazon interview question is to see if you do too. So frame an answer that showcases this, and assures the interviewer that you are the ideal candidate for the job.

Every project has its challenging bits which require us to work out of our comfort zone. I cannot singularly point to such instances as there are many of them.

As you will see in the article ahead, leadership skills and principles are especially important for Amazon. Answering this Amazon interview question right is your shot of grabbing brownie points.

Yes, during one project where we had to develop banking software for a team, I led my team and received positive feedback mostly from my peers, my team, and my seniors. My leadership role was appreciated and I was made a team lead after that project.

This is not an uncommon occurrence in workplaces, and the way you handle such situations will tell the interviewer a lot about your capabilities and personality. Ignoring this situation and continuing your work will make you look ignorant. Some might think telling on your colleague is the way to go, but it shows untrustworthiness and incapability in solving problems. Your answer to this Amazon interview question must highlight your positives while showing that you have the ability to take tough decisions.

The best way to handle these situations is to first have an intra-team discussion and make it clear that such behavior won’t work. Discussing it within your team shows that you are a team player, and bringing these issues up positively but sternly shows that you can stand up for yourself and the company’s interests. Also discussing the problem shows support towards teammates and willingness to find out, as well as work on the root cause of the problem.

Another tricky Amazon interview question, that might come your way during the interview. The answer to this is completely subjective, a sample answer is given below.

I believe both money and work are important, if you work hard enough, then money will follow. And money acts as one of the motivating factors that pushed one to work hard. So it is not an either-or situation, instead one of these fuels the other, and vice versa.

Amazon places great importance on ‘customer obsession’ and aims to provide the best customer service. And to do so you need to know how to understand customer needs and must show the same to the interviewer.

I believe active/ keen listening skills, observational and analytical skills, and asking questions to get more insights, are key to understanding customer needs. And this is critical to ensuring customer satisfaction.

Jeff Bezos

To answer this Amazon interview question, explain your understanding of this principle while also connecting with your own personality and how you would emulate it in work life.

It is obvious that before interviewing at the company you do your homework and conduct a deep analysis of the organization. Use that knowledge to highlight what you think is a challenge and also how you would solve it.

We all know that the purpose of an elevator pitch is to give a quick intro while putting two-three important points across, in a duration equivalent to taking an elevator ride. A sample answer to this Amazon interview question is given below.

From a modest garage startup to becoming a multinational e-commerce/ technology giant, Amazon is the brainchild of Jeff Bezos. It truly lives up to its namesake, the Amazon river as it spans the e-commerce, online advertising, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence sectors.

There are 16 principles in total, read through all of them and reflect on the ones you relate to the most. Irrespective of whether the interviewer asks you this Amazon interview question or not, you must have a deep understanding of these principles if you want to work at the company.