Preparation
Build Story Bank
For each LP, brainstorm 2-3 moments from your career that show you lived or demonstrated that principle, as well as 2-3 moments when you didn’t.
Feel free to be vocally self-critical and don’t be afraid to talk about your mistakes.
The are looking for Data Driven Decision. Making the answers to provide numbers/metrics to back up the actions and outcomes in the examples is crucial for a successful answer. Without data to back up the answers it will be very difficult for the interviews to assess the measurable successes in the story. Include as much metrics and data points to show the outcome
The are looking for examples that have scale, scope and complexity.
How did you impact customers and your team? What exactly did you drive and contribute towards? What was the metric before the situation and after your impact? N.B. make sure that every story has a concrete result, e.g. time to market was reduced by 2 weeks, sprint cycle was reduced by 2 hours, £5000 cost saving etc. They are looking for examples where you went above and beyond the norm in order to calibrate the effectiveness for this Leadership Principle. Include data point to show the successes. Visit this video link for more practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpcxVE5JIX4
Prefer stories that are:
- Recent (≤ 3 years), high-impact, and data-rich.
- Varied—don’t reuse the same project for multiple principles unless it is truly exceptional.
- Tension-balanced (e.g., a “Dive Deep” example that also shows you avoided analysis-paralysis, or a “Think Big” story tempered by “Bias for Action”). (About Amazon)
Put each story in STAR-I bullet form. Time yourself telling it in < 2 minutes; trim mercilessly.
Study Plan
| Day | Focus | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read all 16 LP pages + Jassy intro | Flashcards: LP name → key line |
| 2 | Group LPs (Customer, Innovation, Operational Excellence, People) | Mind-map showing inter-play |
| 3 | Draft Story Bank (≥ 32 bullets) | STARI template filled |
| 4 | Rehearse aloud, time & refine | ≤ 2 min per story |
| 5 | Take two situational-judgement practice sets | Score & review gaps |
| 6 | Mock interview with peer/AI; record yourself | Written feedback & metrics |
| 7 | Polish: tighten metrics, add one failure example, print one-page cheat sheet | Ready for assessment |
Evaluation
- Every behavioral interview question is mapped to one or two LPs; Bar Raisers ensure consistency.
- Answers are graded with the STAR (Situation-Task-Action-Result) rubric
- Better to use STARI—add Improvement (what you’d do better next time)
- Interviewers expect “I”, not “we”, quantifiable impact, and at least one failure story.
Pitfalls
- Generic stories – “We fixed a bug” isn’t memorable; quantify impact.
- Over-indexing on one LP – Variety signals breadth.
- Skipping ‘Improvement’ – Amazon prizes learning loops.
- Saying ‘we’ – Own your contribution.
- Ignoring contradictions – Be ready to explain how you balanced, e.g., Frugality vs. Highest Standards.
Tips
- Start with the customer. Amazon is customer-obsessed, and it is essential you include the customer, whether internal or external, in your situation. Be able to put the customer’s viewpoint by starting with the customer working backwards.
- Use multiple examples. We recommend not using the same story or example more than once.
- Be detailed and specific. Don’t generalize about several events; give a detailed account of one event when providing examples. Share details and provide data to support your reasoning.
- I, before we. This interview is an opportunity for Amazon to learn about what you have owned and accomplished. Use words like “I owned” or “I did” and avoid “we did” or “my manager…“.
- Show how you deal with ambiguity. Demonstrate that you can handle intentionally vague requirements; change strategies quickly when the approach doesn’t work; work through open-ended questions; be adaptable & quick learning.
- Leverage notes. You are allowed to have notes during the interview, but don’t become dependent on them. Make sure you call it out to the interviewer as well.
- Providing prompts and hints. Interviewers may ask you to consider something you haven’t mentioned or look at something in a new light. Take that feedback into consideration as you continue with your interview.
- Redirecting and interrupting. Our interviewers are conducting the interview to learn more about your skills and experiences on specific competencies. So, they may redirect and interrupt to help keep the conversation on track or to give you the opportunity to unveil a key criteria they’re looking for.