Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions by Leadership Principle

Amazon interviews are built around its 16 Leadership Principles. In most loops, each interviewer is assigned two or three principles and asks behavioral questions to see how you have acted on them in the past. Strong candidates walk in with a set of real stories, each mapped to the principles it shows, and they can answer the follow-up questions without losing the thread.

Below are common questions for every principle, what interviewers tend to listen for, and a simple way to prepare.

How Amazon behavioral interviews work

Expect questions that start with "Tell me about a time when..." Interviewers want one specific example, not a general description of how you usually work. They will ask follow-ups to get to the details: what exactly you did, what the data showed, what you would do differently. Answers in the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) keep you on track, with most of your time spent on the Action and the Result.

Two habits make a big difference. Say "I," not "we," so the interviewer can see your part. And put numbers on your results wherever you can.

Questions for each Leadership Principle

1. Customer Obsession

• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.
• Describe a time you used customer feedback to change a product or process.
• Tell me about a time you had to balance what a customer wanted with what the business needed.

Listen for: starting from the customer's problem, using real customer data, and making a trade-off in the customer's favor.

2. Ownership

• Tell me about a time you took on something outside your area because it needed to get done.
• Describe a decision you made that had long-term consequences beyond your own team.
• Tell me about a time you saw a problem nobody owned and fixed it.

Listen for: acting without being asked, thinking long term, never saying "that's not my job."

3. Invent and Simplify

• Tell me about a time you found a simpler way to do something complex.
• Describe the most innovative idea you have put into practice.

Listen for: a clear before and after, and evidence the simpler way actually worked.

4. Are Right, A Lot

• Tell me about a time you made a decision with incomplete information.
• Describe a time you were wrong. How did you find out, and what did you do?

Listen for: good judgment, seeking out views that challenge your own, and changing course when the data says so.

5. Learn and Be Curious

• Tell me about something new you taught yourself recently and how you used it.
• Describe a time curiosity led you to an important discovery at work.

6. Hire and Develop the Best

• Tell me about someone you mentored. What changed for them?
• Describe a time you gave difficult feedback to a team member.

7. Insist on the Highest Standards

• Tell me about a time you refused to compromise on quality.
• Describe a time you raised the bar for your team.

Listen for: a specific standard, why it mattered, and the cost you accepted to hold it.

8. Think Big

• Tell me about a time you proposed a bold idea. How did you get people behind it?
• Describe a long-term vision you created for your team or product.

9. Bias for Action

• Tell me about a time you had to act quickly without all the information.
• Describe a calculated risk you took. What happened?

Listen for: speed on decisions that can be reversed, and care on decisions that cannot.

10. Frugality

• Tell me about a time you achieved a goal with fewer resources than you wanted.
• Describe a time you cut costs without hurting the customer.

11. Earn Trust

• Tell me about a time you had to rebuild trust with someone.
• Describe a time you admitted a mistake to your team or a stakeholder.

12. Dive Deep

• Tell me about a time data told a different story than people expected.
• Describe a problem you solved by digging into the details yourself.

Listen for: real metrics, root cause, and knowing the details of your own work.

13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

• Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager. What happened?
• Describe a time you committed to a decision you did not agree with.

Listen for: disagreeing with data and respect, then fully committing once the decision is made.

14. Deliver Results

• Tell me about the most important result you delivered in the last year.
• Describe a time you missed a goal. What did you learn?

15. Strive to be Earth's Best Employer

• Tell me about a time you improved how your team works together.
• Describe how you have supported a teammate who was struggling.

16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

• Tell me about a decision where you had to think about its impact beyond your team or company.
• Describe a time you considered the unintended consequences of a launch.

How to prepare in one week

1. Write 8 to 10 stories from the last few years. Pick ones with a clear problem, your specific actions and a measurable result.
2. Map each story to 2 or 3 principles. A single story about fixing a broken launch can cover Ownership, Dive Deep and Deliver Results.
3. Prepare for the follow-ups. For each story, know your exact role, the numbers, what you would do differently, and what the other people involved said.
4. Practice out loud. Stories that read well on paper often run long or lose the point when spoken. Aim for about two minutes per answer, then let the interviewer dig in.

The follow-up questions catch most people

Many candidates prepare the first answer and stop there. In an Amazon loop, the follow-ups are where interviewers find out whether the story holds up. Common ones include: "What did you do, specifically?", "What did the data show?", "What would you do differently?" and "How did you measure success?"

Interviewing at Google too? See the Google behavioral interview questions for Googleyness and Leadership. Many of the same stories work for both, with a different emphasis.

Frequently asked questions

How many Leadership Principles does Amazon have?

Amazon has 16 Leadership Principles. The two most recent, Strive to be Earth's Best Employer and Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility, were added in 2021.

How many stories do I need for an Amazon interview?

Most candidates do well with 8 to 10 strong stories, each mapped to two or three principles, so you can answer any question without repeating the same example to different interviewers.

Should I use the STAR method?

Yes. STAR keeps your answer structured. Spend most of your time on what you did and the result, and keep the situation short.

How long should each answer be?

About two minutes for the first answer is a good target. Leave room for follow-up questions, which is where most of the evaluation happens.

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