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Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
What are behavioural interviews?
3.
Top 10 Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions
3.1.
Q1. Why do you want to join Amazon?
3.2.
Q2. Can you think about a time when you took on a task that was not under your job responsibilities?
3.3.
Q3. Tell me about an instance when you were in the wrong.
3.4.
Q4. Where do you see yourself in five years?
3.5.
Q5.Describe to me a time when you had to make a decision disdain all the data or information you required
3.6.
Q6. Can you provide me with an example of a time when you outperformed?
3.7.
Q7. Can you tell me a time when you took the lead on a project?
3.8.
Q8. Tell me about a time you got negative feedback. How did you react with?
3.9.
Q9. Please describe a situation when you had to cope with uncertainty. How did you overcome the uncertainty to get a successful outcome?
3.10.
Q10.Describe an instance in which you had a limited amount of time to finish a task.
3.11.
Q11. Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.
3.12.
Q12. Tell me about a moment when you had to deal with a difficult customer and how you handled it.
3.13.
Q13. Tell me about a moment when you had a disagreement with someone. What did you learn and how did you resolve it?
4.
Frequently Asked Questions
4.1.
What are Amazon behavioral questions about ownership?
4.2.
What is asked in behavioral interviews?
4.3.
How to crack a behavioral interview?
4.4.
How to answer why Amazon?
5.
Conclusion
Last Updated: May 21, 2024
Medium

Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions

Introduction

Amazon's behavioral interviews are a critical component of their hiring process, designed to assess a candidate's alignment with the company's core leadership principles. These principles, including customer obsession, ownership, and invent and simplify, are integral to Amazon's culture and success. 

amazon behavioral interview question

In this blog, we will be looking into various amazon behavioural interview questions.

What are behavioural interviews?

Behavioural interviews test candidates' potential by asking questions based on their experience. Behavioural questions primarily focus on your reaction to a particular situation. 

The following blog containing amazon behavioural interview questions will acquaint you with some of the common amazon behavioural interview questions that might help you in future interviews with Amazon or any other company.

Top 10 Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions

The amazon behavioural interview questions, specifically behavioural questions, focus mainly on Ownership, Customer Obsession, ‘Invent & Simplify’, etc.

Here are most asked amazon behavioural interview questions: 

Q1. Why do you want to join Amazon?

This usually forms the first and foremost question the interviewer asks the interviewee. The answer to this question should be as specific to Amazon as possible. The vision/mission, amazon products, and connections can be referenced here. Amazon has 14 leadership principles- Customer Obsession, Ownership, Invent and Simplifying, Are Right, A Lot, Learn and Be Curious, Hiring and Developing the Best, Insisting on the Highest Standards, Think Big, Bias for Action, Frugality, Earn Trust, Dive Deep, Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit and Deliver Results. 

Sample Answer: I am motivated by Amazon's culture of sincerely taking ownership and Customer obsession. They form a part of some values that I kindly respect and implement. Regarding my field, I would be glad to join this division and work for the Amazon web services branch.

Q2. Can you think about a time when you took on a task that was not under your job responsibilities?

To answer these questions, you must be honest when remembering your experience. Choose the one experience you find inspiring, even for yourself, where you went above your responsibilities, even if it was helping a coworker of some other domain. It's important to highlight the success. Do not use a negative tone. To answer these types of questions, there's a particular format- STAR.

S: Situation – providing a brief background or context to the story.

T: Task – explain the responsibilities under the task.

A: Action – mention how you performed and went above and beyond.

R: Result – conclude by proving how your effort led to a better outcome.

Q3. Tell me about an instance when you were in the wrong.

This question correlates to the 'Are Right A lot' principle of Amazon. In this question, when you tell the interviewer about your failure, you must also mention how you recovered from it. That's what matters the most to the interviewer, an impressive recovery.

Sample Answer: In my last job, I was allowed to interview some field-related candidates. I selected one person I found perfect for the opening; although he lacked a few soft skills, he knew how to work in that field and had experience. But this turned out to be a mistake, a costly one. The lack of soft skills resulted in unprofessional behaviour, finally leading to his firing after just a week of joining. I realised that I should be more cautious while making important decisions. I should have asked my team members because the team plays a vital role in such cases. This hiring experience led to me making healthy and better decisions.

Q4. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Considering how you view your life in the future may assist employers in determining if the position and the company's trajectory correspond with your career goals. To reply, include basic views on the skills you want to acquire, the roles you want to play, and the goals you want to achieve.

Sample Answer - I aspire to be a recognised industry expert in five years, capable of educating and mentoring students and entry-level designers. I'd also like to hone particular user experience abilities to be a well-rounded contributor working with design and marketing teams on big-scale initiatives that benefit the firm and the global community.

Q5.Describe to me a time when you had to make a decision disdain all the data or information you required

This question demonstrates to the interviewer how you examine a scenario and solve problems. It shows your ability to make swift judgements. Your response should emphasise your interpersonal skills. Don't be tempted to dwell on the negative aspects. Instead, use this chance to highlight the positives. It is simple to turn this issue into an opportunity to blame your teammates for not providing you all the facts, but resist doing so.

Sample Answer - I met with a new prospective supplier in my previous career while I was still new to the job. My boss had told me what we were looking for from the provider and that we were on a strict deadline to replace our present supplier. I didn't comprehend that my boss had not told me how much money we had set aside for the new supplier. My manager was on vacation for two weeks at the meeting with the prospective supplier. So I went over the previous year's comprehensive budget to see how much we had been paying the previous supplier and the annual budget that had been set for the present year.

Q6. Can you provide me with an example of a time when you outperformed?

The response to this question can be tailored to something other than the position you are interviewing for. It is intended to help the interviewer determine if you are the type of person who goes above and beyond or if you follow directions and perform what they are given without questioning whether you can do better. Describe a case in which you were issued a specific aim to impress the interviewer. Then, describe the opportunity you saw to go above and beyond what was expected and the consequence. Explain why going above and beyond what was expected of you was the correct thing to do.

Sample answer: In my previous position, we added a new portion of our procedure in which we asked each consumer to rate our service following a transaction. My instructions were to email each client immediately following the transaction with a link to the internet page, including our evaluation. I ignore these types of surprise emails, so I asked consumers after our conversations if they would mind if I forwarded them a link to our review site so that we could get feedback about our service. Most consumers consented to this, and by asking the customer about the review over the phone, my return rate was more than double that of my coworkers, who just sent the email as instructed with no prior warning. Offering the consumer the option of getting or not receiving the email involved them in the process. After finishing the evaluation, they kept their pledge to me and humanised the review. My manager was eager to let me change the method, and I was satisfied with the outcome.

Q7. Can you tell me a time when you took the lead on a project?

This question helps the interviewer to assess your leadership potential. It allows you to talk about people management, project management, or both. The interviewer will be interested in learning how you handled the project and the people and resources under your control to get the most significant potential outcome or return on investment. If you haven't previously led a project, you can utilise instances from other areas of your life where you have played a role in leading a portion of a project.

Sample Answer: My previous team had reached a rough patch, with revenues plummeting month after month. Our manager assigned everyone the responsibility of finding ways to assist in enhancing our sales. I considered our present training and methodology and noticed that many team members had either not had particular sales training or had yet to receive refresher training in quite some time. Holding a training session on various sales strategies would rejuvenate the team and help us enhance our sales. I addressed it with my manager, and we scheduled training and implemented a new sales approach. My boss gave me the authority to define goals and guarantee that training was provided to the entire team.

Q8. Tell me about a time you got negative feedback. How did you react with?

Nobody enjoys receiving bad criticism. Receiving bad feedback might cause us to become defensive. The interviewer is looking for your vulnerabilities in the area where you received unfavourable criticism and how you responded to that critique. Think carefully about the narrative you tell - you don't want to jeopardise your chances of getting the job - but use it to demonstrate that you can listen to negative comments and utilise it to improve future performance.

Sample Answer -My prior boss was critical of my time management abilities. I had transitioned from a team where all my work was funnelled via my boss to a job where I got work from six different team members. My boss thought I needed help managing my time efficiently. This startled me because no team member had expressed any worries to me. On the contrary, all of my team's comments were good. So, rather than reacting immediately, I took time to contemplate the comments my manager had given me. By taking the time to examine my manager's comments and then discussing them with her, I demonstrated to her that I had strong time management skills and found a means to allow her to view all of my work assignments.

Q9. Please describe a situation when you had to cope with uncertainty. How did you overcome the uncertainty to get a successful outcome?

The interviewer is asking this question to see if you can act decisively in the face of uncertainty. Ambiguity can emerge in various working scenarios, such as competing priorities, continually shifting deadlines or a lack of understanding regarding the chain of command. Ambiguity can result in errors and misunderstandings. Workplaces like Amazon need employees to stand up and assist their teams and coworkers in dealing with uncertainty. Ambiguity also provides possibilities to be creative and inventive. Instead of discussing the bad sides of ambiguity, use this question to demonstrate that you grasp its beneficial features.

Sample answer: In my prior position, we were introducing a new product and needed more information. The data we were given did not specify which sort of consumer to target to maximise sales. This was brought to my manager's attention. I proposed that we look at our prior launch for a comparable product, study the data utilised for that launch and the outcome of that launch, and then use that knowledge to determine our target client. There were better substitutes for accurate knowledge, but postponing the launch would have resulted in lost money and increased costs for the additional launch preparation.

Q10.Describe an instance in which you had a limited amount of time to finish a task.

This question allows the interviewer to analyse how you manage priorities and operate under pressure. In a customer service industry like Amazon, you may face considerable time constraints and fluctuating deadlines. Demonstrate to the interviewer that you can handle such scenarios and find a method to prioritise duties effectively.

Sample answer: At my previous employment, we provided several degrees of delivery service. This required me to prioritise picking orders regularly to ensure that orders with assured delivery dates were dispatched on time. I also had to ensure that items that had yet to be chosen and despatched were still dispatched on time to minimise consumer complaints.

Q11. Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.

This question allows you to discuss your technical and soft talents. To react, express your qualities and qualities before tying them to your interviewing function. It might be difficult to discuss your weaknesses in a context where you are supposed to focus on your strengths. Always start with the weakness and work your way up to the actions you've made to improve. You may conclude your remark in a positive tone this way.

Sample answer: In terms of my strengths, I get along well with others and learn new abilities quickly. I am dependable and trustworthy, and I prefer to do excellent work over quantity. I'm a natural problem solver. I appreciate digging deep and figuring out answers to challenges.

Speaking of flaws, I sometimes have difficulties saying "no" and feel overwhelmed by my duties. I'd take on so many projects that I'd wind myself working nights, weekends, and evenings. It was terrifying. When I realised this wasn't working, I started utilising workload management tools and establishing greater targets.

Q12. Tell me about a moment when you had to deal with a difficult customer and how you handled it.

All of these are questions about empathy. Interviewers want to see that you understand how each decision affects the client experience. You must comprehend both the consumer and their underlying requirements.

Sample answer: Primarily, I always keep in mind that I work for this organisation, and the customer service I provide must always be great. I'd keep a calm, smile, listen to their difficulties, and be hopeful. I always followed the instructions when dealing with them and never felt upset or frustrated. If I felt out of my way or needed help with what to do while talking with a customer, I would ask my supervisor or team leader for assistance.

Q13. Tell me about a moment when you had a disagreement with someone. What did you learn and how did you resolve it?

These questions are regularly asked in Amazon internship questions to assess a candidate's conformity with Amazon's Company Values. This helps the interviewer assess the candidate's leadership values and spontaneous resolution.

Sample answer: While working on a project, one of my team members regularly disputed every response I offered. He was also prone to interrupting and talking over others rather than listening to what they had to say. It was tough to maintain my patience when he interrupted others without listening.

I had to recognise that I couldn't change or control his behaviour to settle this conflict. I also confessed that both of our behaviours were most likely the consequence of stress brought on by the project's massive workload. Consequently, I altered my communication style to foster empathy, remove triggers, and cultivate patience with interruptions. We could complete the job and maintain friendly conversation anytime we wanted to collaborate.

Check out the Amazon Interview Experience to learn about Amazon’s hiring process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Amazon behavioral questions about ownership?

Amazon behavioral questions about ownership assess a candidate's ability to take responsibility for their work, think long-term, and act on behalf of the company. Examples include describing a time you took the lead on a project or resolved a critical issue independently.

What is asked in behavioral interviews?

Behavioral interviews typically focus on past experiences to gauge how candidates handle various work situations. Questions often revolve around teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and dealing with challenges, using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method for responses.

How to crack a behavioral interview?

To crack a behavioral interview, prepare by practicing the STAR method, focusing on clear and concise answers that highlight your skills and experiences. Understand the company’s core values, review common questions, and use specific examples from your past work.

How to answer why Amazon?

To answer "Why Amazon?", highlight your admiration for Amazon’s innovation, customer obsession, and leadership principles. Discuss how your skills and values align with the company’s mission and how you can contribute to its goals, using specific examples from your experience.

Conclusion

In this blog, we learned about Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions. Preparing for Amazon behavioral interview questions requires a thorough understanding of the company's leadership principles and how they are reflected in everyday work scenarios. By using the STAR method to craft detailed and relevant responses, candidates can effectively demonstrate their alignment with Amazon's values and their readiness to contribute to the company's success. 

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