Hi there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,
and in this tutorial, I'm going to teach you how to pass an Amazon Leadership Principles
interview. If you have any kind of manager or leader interview coming up with Amazon,
please do stick around and watch this tutorial, because I promise it will make a huge difference
to your preparation and your performance at the interview. As you and I know, Amazon has
these brilliant 14 leadership principles, and these principles are designed to keep
Amazon at the top of its game. And if you're going to be employed as a manager or a leader,
then you have to be able to demonstrate them both at the interview and also in your work.
So we need to assess WHY they are so important, and I will also give you a number of Amazon
Leadership Principles Interview Questions and Answers throughout this presentation.
Before I do that, a very warm welcome to this interview training tutorial. My name is Richard
McMunn. That's me there in the center of the screen. I am a former Fire Officer and founder
of the interview training website PassMyInterview.com, and I've been helping people for 20 years
now to successfully pass their interviews. I always do that by giving you TOP SCORING
ANSWERS to the interview, questions that you can't find anywhere else. Please do make sure
you SUBSCRIBE to the channel by clicking the red button below the video, and then you won't
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I would also very, very much appreciate your support if you gave the video a LIKE… thank
you very much! That tells me you enjoy the content and I will then create more for you.
What are these Amazon Leadership Principles? The 14 Amazon Leadership Principles, and why
are they so important? For the next couple of minutes, I want to spend a bit of time
going through these, tell you what they are and also, how you are likely to be assessed
to get them against them at the interview. We will then move on to the interview questions
and answers. The first Amazon leadership principle I want to look at is CUSTOMER OBSESSION. One
of the reasons why Amazon is such a brilliant company, one of the best organizations in
the world, and it has been for many years, is because it obsesses about the customer.
So the #1 most important person in Amazon is the customer. And everyone who works in
Amazon always focuses on the customer at all times. My advice, and this is an important
tip, is in preparation for your Amazon interview, is to make sure that you have a couple of
examples of when you have been able to show how you've gone above and beyond for a customer
or a client in a previous role. So the question might be posed in this way. They might say…
“Can you give two examples of when you have gone above and beyond what was required in
regard to customer service or client service?” OK, so think of two examples in preparation
for your interview. The next one is about EARN TRUST. You have to be able to treat everyone
you work with respect. And that's people you work with in Amazon, and also external stakeholders.
Because if you do treat people with respect, you'll be able to do better business. The
next one is HIRING & DEVELOPING THE BEST people. Leaders in Amazon move forward and they improve
with every person they hire. The next one is about THINK BIG. The next Amazon leadership
principle. So you should have big ambitions and always go out of the way for the customer.
What I mean by that is, Amazon is always delivering great customer service, but it is always doing
different things. So, for example, it was responsible for introducing the Kindle, which
transformed the way that customers read. They have been responsible for improving delivery
service, so that customers get their orders quicker. They are always thinking big and
focusing on the customer. The next Amazon leadership principle is BIAS FOR ACTION, which
is actually just getting things done! You have to be someone who gets things done and
is someone who takes action. Another Amazon leadership principle is that you ARE RIGHT,
A LOT of the time. So if you're going to be a leader, you have to have strong judgment
skills. You might get asked a question that goes along the lines… “Can you tell me
about a time when you had to make a difficult decision with limited information?” The
next Amazon leadership principle is INSISTING ON THE HIGHEST STANDARDS at all times. You
should be able to demonstrate that you can work to high standards, always. You need to
show that you are somebody who is professional and wants to achieve the highest standards
with everything you do in your work. Another Amazon leadership principle is DIVE DEEP.
So, you have to be able to look into things deeply and analyze information that you have
available. This is one of my favorite Amazon leadership principles, and that's of TAKE
OWNERSHIP. You have to be able to take ownership of situations and be responsible and accountable.
And another really important tip I want to share with you is, never, any stage during
your responses to the Amazon interview questions, say it was somebody else's fault. Don't say
that. You could say… “I was working as part of a team and somebody made a mistake,
but we took ownership of that collectively together we learned from it and we put things
right.” Don't ever blame somebody and single them out for making a mistake. It's the team's
mistake. The organization’s mistake. And you have to put things right. That's the important
thing. And on top of that, you have to be able to learn and develop. LEARN AND BE CURIOUS
is another Amazon leadership principle. You have to be able to improve, develop and also
ask questions. You could get asked an interview question during your Amazon interview that
goes along the lines of: “Can you tell me about a time when you learned something new
that was outside of your comfort zone?” So that's a question I would prepare for.
FRUGALITY is achieving more with less. Keep your eye on the finances! HAVE BACKBONE AND
DISAGREE. Can you give an example of a time when you had a disagreement with a work colleague
or a manager? It's good to have disagreements and to challenge people, but you do it in
a professional manner and then you have to move on with an agreed course of action. The
next Amazon leadership principle is INVENT AND SIMPLIFY. You have to be able to lead
teams that innovate and come up with different ideas. And then finally, DELIVER RESULTS.
That's the final Amazon leadership principle. Are you someone who can deliver results, get
things done in a timely manner? When have you achieved a task, a difficult task, within
strict time constraints? That's the 14 Amazon Leadership Principles. My advice, in preparation
for your Amazon interview, is to learn them. You don't have to learn the words in the brackets,
but be prepared for a question that goes along the lines of: “What are the Amazon leadership
principles, and tell me all 14 of them?” Let's now take a look at some sample interview
questions and answers for your Amazon Leadership Principles interview. I'm going to go through
these in detail. I'll give you a sample question based on what I think will come up during
your interview, and I will then give you a sample answer to that interview question.
You can either pause the video as I go along, or if you want to wait, I will tell you where
you can download my full set of 22 Amazon Leadership Principles Interview Questions
& High Scoring Answers! The first question that we want to look at is: tell me about
a time when you had to make a quick decision that was going to have a significant impact
on the organization? Here is my suggested answer. “I was managing a project for a
very important client with a small group of people from different departments across the
organization. We literally only had 10 days left before the project had to be completed,
when the client contacted me with an urgent project specification change request. The
changes they were asking for would have a significant impact on the team’s ability
to complete the project on time, and it would also eat into our project budget. I had very
little time to make a decision, and so I decided to agree to the changes, primarily because
two of our core values were flexibility and customer focus. The client had been with us
for a long time, and I saw their business as valuable for the future health of the organization.
Although we ended up making very little money from that project due to the unexpected specification
change request, the client was very happy with the results and they went on to spend
significant amounts of money with us in the future due to the strong relationship we had
built up with them.” That is a very strong answer! What I like about it is, it is in
depth… and my advice is to give plenty of detail about how you demonstrate those Amazon
leadership principles. You are showing them that you can make a decision. We have little
time available and it is to the benefit of the organization. The next Amazon leadership
principle interview question we want to prepare for is: Describe a situation when you had
to work with incomplete data or information? This is a challenging interview question,
and here's my suggested answer. “I was working on an internal project for my previous employer
that required me to work closely with another member of staff from a different department.
We had been working very well together for the duration of the project, and we both had
different skillsets and qualities that helped the project move forward nicely. However,
towards the end of the project, I received a call from my work colleagues manager saying
that she had been taken ill, and that I would need to finish the project on my own. The
only way for me to complete the project would be to use the limited information I had available,
which my colleague had previously passed on to me before she went off sick. In the evenings,
after work, I carried out lots of research to find out how to complete the elements of
the project my work colleague had been responsible for. I ended up taking an online course, and
I also went online to a couple of technical chat forums to ask for advice and information
for the elements of the project I was struggling with. I am pleased to say that, after many
nights additional work, and also by using the limited information my colleague had given
to me, I was able to put the remaining pieces of the jigsaw puzzle in place and complete
the project on time and to the correct standards.” That is showing that you can use incomplete
information and data. You can then take ownership of the situation. You are resourceful, because
you're finding different ways to sort things out. And then you complete that project on
your own. That is being a completer finish, and somebody who DELIVERS RESULTS. Now, I
still have some questions to go through, so please don't go anywhere. But, when you're
ready, if you want to CLICK THAT LINK in the top right hand corner of the video, it takes
you through to my website, PassMyInterview.com, where you can download my full set of 22 Amazon
Leadership Principles interview questions and top scoring answers! OK. But do stick
around. I have still got some more to run through. But like you say, when you're ready,
if you click that link, you can download a copy of those. The cost is only $7.99, which
is nothing. It's a very small investment if you want to prepare fully for your Amazon
Leadership Interview. The next interview question is number three: Tell me about a time when
you had to take a calculated risk at work? Here is my suggested answer. “In a previous
job, I had not been there that long when I was offered a promotion. This came entirely
out of the blue, and whilst I am very ambitious and enthusiastic, I decided to turn it down.
The reason for me turning down the opportunity was based on the fact I genuinely wanted to
learn my new role to a high standard, so I could then help the organization and my team
develop. Although I feel I could have performed well within the promotion, I did not want
to risk my reputation and the performance of the company, especially as I had only been
there for a relatively short period of time. This was obviously a risk on my part, as I
may not have been offered the opportunity for promotion again. However, it proved to
be the right decision as my manager respected my choice, and I actually went on to be one
of the companies highest achievers.” That shows that you are putting the organization
first. You are not thinking about yourself, but you are able to take a calculated risk,
and it's proved to be the right one! The next Amazon leadership principle interview question
is: Tell me about a time when you found a simple solution to a complex problem? This
is a tough one. A real tough one. Here is my suggested answer. “I was in a meeting
in my previous job where the company’s sales figures were being discussed by the managers.
Although the sales figures were healthy, there was concern amongst the group that the profitability
was not as good as it should be, due to the marketing spend that was ongoing. At the end
of the meeting, I decided to try and find a solution to this problem. I met up with
the marketing team, and they explained to me the bulk of the marketing spend was going
on Facebook and social media adverts. After some investigative work, it became apparent
that the team were not using Facebooks tracking pixels that are designed to measure the performance
of the advertising spend. I quickly informed them of what I had found, and moving forward
from that day on, the organization was able to measure accurately the marketing return
on investment. This allowed us to cease adverts that were not giving us any return, which
in turn increased profitability.” That shows that you are again taking responsibility and
thinking on your feet. You are being smart, intelligent, and you are taking ownership
of a situation to sort it out, which is great! Let's have a look at some more Amazon Leadership
Principles interview questions. Don't forget, at any point, if you do want to skip over
to my website and download the full set, you can do. OK, here's some more questions. Tell
me how you would complete a project or task if you had limited time or resources? Tell
me about a time when you experienced conflict within a team? Give me two examples of when
you have gone above and beyond what was expected? Don't forget, that is the customer obsession
principle! Have you ever failed at work? If so, tell me what happened and how you reacted?
When have you have to overcome a challenging situation at work? When have you had a disagreement
at work, either with a work colleague or a manager? Give me a situation where you've
previously shown one of Amazon's leadership principles at work? Tell me about an unpopular
decision you had to make at work? Give me one thing you will like the most about being
a leader with Amazon, and one thing you will dislike? That's a tough one! Tell me a time
when you had to give bad news to a member of your team? Give me an example when you
led a team of people to achieve an organization's goal or objective? Tell me about a time when
you had to persuade someone to follow your course of action? When did you have to overcome
a difficult challenge at work? Give me an example at work where you improved how you
did something to achieve a better outcome? That's a common one that comes up! Tell me
about a time when you learned something new that was outside of your comfort zone? Tell
me about a time when you received criticism from a manager or a work colleague? How did
you react to the feedback? Tell me about a time when you analyzed information carefully
to overcome a challenging task or project? Tell me about a time when you had to make
an effective decision under pressure? If you would like the answers to all of those 22
questions that I've gone through, including the four that I run through previously, please
CLICK THE LINK in the top right hand corner of the video, and it goes through to this
website. You can have a look at those questions. I'll give you the answers, as I say. So I
talk about the leadership principles there, and I also give you 4 great tips! I recommend
you read those as well, because they will certainly help you. Don't forget, it's a small
investment, $7.99 to get all of the answers, my suggested answers to those Amazon Leadership
Principles Interview Questions. Thank you very much. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and hit
the LIKE button. Like I say, that tells me you enjoy the content. And if you want to
connect to me on LinkedIn.com, please check out my link in the description below the video.
Thank you very much for supporting my channel. I do appreciate it. Have a brilliant day and
I wish you all the best for passing your Amazon Leadership Principles interview. Thank you
very much!