Amazon Leadership Principles Interview Questions

Almost every Amazon interview, from Area Manager to software engineer, comes back to the Leadership Principles. Amazon says all candidates are evaluated through the lens of these principles, and candidates commonly report that each interviewer in the loop focuses on a few of them.

This page covers how Amazon's assessments and interview loop work according to amazon.jobs, all 16 current principles with an example question and answer outline for each, practice items in the style of the online assessments, and eleven full example answers. For role-specific rounds, see our Amazon interview questions guide.

How Amazon hires: the official process

Amazon says its application and interview process differs from role to role. The common stages are:

  1. Online application.
  2. Online assessments. Amazon says the two common types are work style assessments, built around its culture and Leadership Principles and typically taking 10 to 20 minutes, and work sample simulations, which typically take 20 minutes to one hour. Simulations may ask you to interpret data from a chart, answer a customer question or resolve an issue. Amazon notes that deadlines cannot be extended once missed and that many assessments are timed.
  3. Phone screening, for many roles.
  4. The interview loop. Amazon says you will likely meet two to seven people, potentially including managers, teammates, stakeholders and a Bar Raiser, someone from another team focused on hiring quality. You spend around 45 minutes to an hour with each. Remote interviews use Zoom or Amazon Chime.
  5. Decision. Amazon says you can expect to hear back within five business days.

Some roles ask for a writing sample, because Amazon writes narrative memos instead of slide decks. Amazon says it avoids brain teasers, and that comfortable, casual dress is fine.

The process is broadly the same in the UK and Europe, though assessment names and steps for hourly roles can differ by country.

How Amazon wants you to answer

Amazon's interview loop page describes what a strong answer contains: the context and your role, what you were trying to accomplish, what you specifically did, and how it turned out and what you learned. It calls STAR one way to structure that, not the only way. Its tips:

  • Use specific examples, one situation per question.
  • Focus on your own contribution and use "I" rather than "we".
  • Back up results with numbers where you can.
  • Be honest. Amazon says not every story has to be a success.

Expect follow-up questions: a story that falls apart at the second "why" does more damage than a modest one you know well. Our STAR method guide shows how to structure examples.

The 16 Leadership Principles with example questions

Amazon's careers site lists the following principles. The descriptions below are our short summaries; read the full text on amazon.jobs.

1. Customer Obsession. Start with the customer and work backwards. Question: Tell me about a time you went out of your way for a customer. Outline: the customer's real need, what you changed, the measurable effect.

2. Ownership. Think long term and act beyond your own job. Question: Tell me about a time you took on something outside your responsibilities. Outline: the gap nobody owned, why you stepped in, the result.

3. Invent and Simplify. Look for new ideas and simpler ways. Question: Describe a process you simplified. Outline: the complexity, your idea, adoption, time or cost saved.

4. Are Right, A Lot. Good judgment, tested against other views. Question: Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete data. Outline: the options, how you sought disconfirming views, the call and outcome.

5. Learn and Be Curious. Keep learning. Question: What is something you taught yourself recently? Outline: why, how, and how you applied it.

6. Hire and Develop the Best. Raise the bar and coach others. Question: Tell me about someone you helped develop. Outline: their starting point, your coaching, their progress.

7. Insist on the Highest Standards. Do not let defects travel downstream. Question: Tell me about a time you refused to compromise on quality. Outline: the pressure, the standard you held, the trade-off and result.

8. Think Big. Set bold direction. Question: Describe a goal you set that others thought was too ambitious. Outline: the vision, how you got buy-in, what you achieved.

9. Bias for Action. Speed matters, and many decisions are reversible. Question: Tell me about a time you acted quickly without all the information. Outline: why waiting was costly, the calculated risk, the result.

10. Frugality. Accomplish more with less. Question: Tell me about a time you delivered with limited resources. Outline: the constraint, the creative solution, the outcome.

11. Earn Trust. Listen, speak candidly, admit mistakes. Question: Tell me about a time you received critical feedback. Outline: the feedback, your response, what changed.

12. Dive Deep. Stay close to the details and question data. Question: Tell me about a time data and anecdotes disagreed. Outline: the discrepancy, how you investigated, the root cause.

13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit. Challenge respectfully, then commit. Question: Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager. Outline: your argument and evidence, the decision, how you committed.

14. Deliver Results. Deliver the key inputs on time despite setbacks. Question: Tell me about a time you hit a goal despite an obstacle. Outline: the goal, the setback, how you adjusted, the result in numbers.

15. Strive to be Earth's Best Employer. Create a safer, more productive and more supportive workplace. Question: Tell me about a time you made work better for your team. Outline: the problem for people, your action, the effect on the team.

16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility. Consider the wider impact of what you do. Question: Tell me about a time you considered the impact of a decision beyond your own team. Outline: who else was affected, how you factored them in, the result.

Practice questions

These are our own items, written in the style of Amazon's work sample simulations and work style assessments. They are not real Amazon questions.

Practice question 1

You manage a small team in a warehouse. A customer order is due to ship today, but the item fails your quality check. The shift ends in an hour. What is the best action?

A. Ship it, as the delivery promise matters most B. Hold the item, pick a replacement unit if one is available, and flag the defect so the batch can be checked C. Cancel the order D. Leave it for the next shift

Answer: B. It protects the customer and fixes the root cause, reflecting Customer Obsession and Insist on the Highest Standards. A ships a defect, C fails the customer unnecessarily, and D avoids ownership.

Practice question 2

A dashboard shows delivery times are improving, but you have heard several customer complaints about late deliveries in one area this week. What should you do first?

A. Trust the dashboard, as it is based on more data B. Check the data for that area, comparing it with the complaints to see if the average hides a local problem C. Reply to the customers with an apology and move on D. Escalate to senior leadership immediately

Answer: B. Dive Deep: when anecdotes and metrics disagree, investigate. An overall average can hide a local problem.

Practice question 3

Which statement best fits Amazon's description of Bias for Action?

A. Never make a decision until all data is available B. Many decisions are reversible, so calculated risk-taking is valued C. Always ask your manager before acting D. Speed matters more than quality in all cases

Answer: B. Amazon frames speed around reversible decisions and calculated risk.

Practice question 4

A team ships 3,600 packages in an 8-hour shift with 15 associates. Volume rises to 4,320 for the same shift length. Assuming the same rate per associate, how many associates are needed?

A. 16 B. 17 C. 18 D. 20

Answer: C. Each associate handles 3,600 / 15 = 240 packages per shift. 4,320 / 240 = 18.

Practice prompt 5: Tell me about a time you failed.

What a strong answer contains: A real failure with consequences, your part in it, what you did to recover, and what you changed afterwards. Amazon says failure stories are welcome; blaming others is not.

Practice prompt 6: How have you used data to make a decision?

What a strong answer contains: This is one of Amazon's own sample questions. Name the data, what it showed, the decision, and the measurable result.

Eleven Amazon interview questions with example answers

1. Tell me about a time you went out of your way for a customer. (Customer Obsession)

Example answer: "At a phone retailer, a customer's replacement phone was delayed a week. She ran a small business from it. I found a demo unit we were allowed to lend, transferred her data and called her when the replacement arrived. She stayed with us and referred two colleagues."

2. Tell me about a time you took ownership beyond your role. (Ownership)

Example answer: "As an intern, I noticed weekly reports went out late because nobody owned a data refresh. I asked to take it on, documented the steps and automated part of it. Reports went out on time for the rest of my internship."

3. Describe something you simplified. (Invent and Simplify)

Example answer: "Our student society approved expenses by email chains. I set up a single form that routed to the treasurer. Approval time dropped from about a week to two days, and lost receipts became rare."

4. Tell me about a time you acted quickly on a calculated risk. (Bias for Action)

Example answer: "Two days before an event, our venue cancelled. I had two options and no time for full comparisons. Waiting risked losing both, so I booked the one we could cancel for free within the hour, which kept the risk small, then kept checking the other. The event went ahead with full attendance."

5. Tell me about a time you dug into the details to find a problem. (Dive Deep)

Example answer: "Stock costs rose while sales were flat. I compared deliveries with invoices for a month and found we were being billed for a product we no longer ordered. We got a credit and set up a monthly invoice check."

6. Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager. (Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit)

Example answer: "My manager wanted to launch a promotion before testing it. I showed him that a similar promotion had caused stock shortages. He still chose to launch, but agreed to cap quantities. I committed fully and monitored stock daily. We avoided shortages, and he asked me to review the next promotion."

7. Tell me about a goal you delivered despite a setback. (Deliver Results)

Example answer: "Our group app project lost a member three weeks before the deadline. I re-planned the remaining features with the team, cut one low-value feature and took over testing myself. We delivered on time and scored the second-highest mark in the course."

8. Tell me about a time you raised the standard of work. (Insist on the Highest Standards)

Example answer: "Our team's reports often had small formatting errors. I made a short checklist and asked for peer review before sending. Errors dropped to almost none, and our manager started using the checklist for other teams."

9. Describe a time you learned something new for a task. (Learn and Be Curious)

Example answer: "I needed SQL for a summer project and had never used it. I spent a weekend on tutorials, then rewrote a spreadsheet analysis as queries. The analysis ran in minutes instead of an afternoon."

10. Tell me about a time you admitted a mistake. (Earn Trust)

Example answer: "I gave a client the wrong delivery date because I misread a schedule. I called him as soon as I noticed, apologized and offered the earliest real date. He thanked me for being upfront and placed another order."

11. Tell me about a time you considered the impact of your work beyond your team. (Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility)

Example answer: "We planned to move our store's deliveries to early morning to save time, but it would have meant trucks outside homes at 5 a.m. I raised it, and we chose a slightly later slot. Our gain was smaller, but we avoided complaints from neighbors."

Practical tips

  • Build a story bank. Two stories per principle is ideal; at least one for each. Many stories cover two principles.
  • Quantify. Amazon asks for numbers or specific outcomes where possible.
  • Prepare your "Why Amazon?" Amazon calls it a common question.
  • Prepare for assessments too. See our guides to behavioral interview questions and competency-based interviews.

Our interview and assessment training package includes situational judgement practice, numerical reasoning and structured interview preparation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Amazon Leadership Principles are there?

Amazon's careers site currently lists 16 Leadership Principles, from Customer Obsession to Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility. Older guides list 14, because Strive to be Earth's Best Employer and Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility were added later.

Are all Amazon interviews based on the Leadership Principles?

Amazon says all candidates are evaluated through the lens of its Leadership Principles and that its interviews focus on behavioral-based questions. Technical roles add role-specific questions or exercises on top.

Does Amazon require the STAR method?

No. Amazon calls STAR one way to structure your answers, not the only way. It does ask for complete stories with context, your own actions and the outcome, and suggests using I rather than we.

How many interviews are in an Amazon interview loop?

Amazon says you will likely meet two to seven people, which may include managers, teammates, stakeholders and a Bar Raiser, and spend around 45 minutes to an hour with each interviewer.

What are Amazon's online assessments?

Amazon says the two common types are work style assessments, which typically take 10 to 20 minutes, and work sample simulations, which typically take 20 minutes to one hour. The type and number depend on the role.

About the author

Ingmar van Maurik is a specialist in test and interview preparation who helps candidates perform better in recruitment processes.

References