Answering Behavioral Questions in Amazon Interviews
Advice for Candidates at All Levels
by Jennifer Scupi
Copyright 2020 by Jennifer Scupi. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
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Introduction
Are you nervous about answering Amazon behavioral interview questions?
If youre worried about the behavioral questions at your Amazon job interview, youre not alone.
No one likes behavioral interview questions. Technical people arent used to talking about their skills in story format and salespeople dont like sticking to a specific format. New interviewers cant remember all the rules to follow in the answers and experienced interviewers dont like using such a strict format.
Also, if youre like most people, youve probably forgotten what you did at your old jobs so the idea of writing stories for the answers seems impossible.
Not to mention its intimidating to interview with Amazon, the company everyone wants to work for these days, right?
Use This Book As a Guide for Your Amazon Behavioral Interview Prep
If youre worried about your behavioral interview questions, you need a guide on your interview journey who can take you step by step through the knowledge and techniques you need to answer these types of questions. This book can be your guide.
Theres a lot of information out there about Amazon behavioral questions. But you dont have to read it all yourself Ive put all the necessary information together in one place to make it easy for you to learn what you need .
If youve seen my website before, you might have read some of the information Im going to mention in the book. My interview coaching clients asked me for a guide that was in a book format, so they didnt have to read all the blog posts. The book and blog are not quite the same the book has more examples and more background and explanation, and the information is collected in one place.
Why Should You Trust Me?
When I started interview coaching, I didnt know much about Amazon, except from shopping there. But then I worked with hundreds of Amazon job seekers and realized I had begun to be an expert on Amazon interviews.
From working with all of these clients, I gained knowledge about how Amazon hires and what it values. I realized the Amazon interview is seen as difficult because of the behavioral questions and leadership principles. The interviewers use these questions because they want to learn about candidates and also because they think this type of question will prevent bias in hiring, but these questions cause the interviewees stress.
My goal is to share my knowledge with you, the interviewee, so youll have as little stress as possible during your preparation.
After being an interview coach for six years, there is no one on this planet who has coached more Amazon candidates than I have (except the Amazon recruiters). Ive coached thousands. That is not an exaggeration. I used to say Id coached hundreds, but I finally had to admit it had gotten into the thousands. I do this full time, and many of my clients these days are Amazon candidates. I also work with candidates going for jobs at the other tech companies as well as non-tech companies, but the largest volume of my clients are applying to Amazon.
If you want to know more about me you can read my About page or look at my LinkedIn profile.
My Information Is Real
The information in this book is based on feedback from successful (and unsuccessful) candidates. The questions I give you to study were all asked during my clients interviews. The answers are the ones that got them into Amazon.
Who Is This Information For?
The information in this book applies to all positions at Amazon, from entry level to C-level, and all divisions, including AWS. Ive had clients interviewing for many roles in different locations like Luxembourg, Germany, the UK, India, and the US, and they all found my information to be useful.
What About the Technical Content of Answers?
Im not a technical person so Im not going to be able to advise you on the technical content of your answers. Behavioral interviewing is a combination of soft skills and hard skills the ability to communicate and the knowledge of your field. Im not going to have the knowledge of your field that you have and in the case of technical job candidates I wont know much about the technical details. My advice is on the communication or soft skill side of interviewing, although Ive seen so many stories, I can tell you if yours is on par with your competitors .
Can I Guarantee Results?
Id like to tell you that every single one of my clients got hired. Unfortunately, most of my clients dont write to me afterward and tell me. Quite a few of them do and thats where I get my information, but not all of them. I understand. Were all busy who wants to write to their interview coach when theyre done with interviewing? Thats why I cant give you percentages on how often my services work for my clients.
I can tell you that if you work with me your interview skills will be much improved. Youll understand the Amazon interview process and youll be prepared to answer their questions.
What will get you the best results is knowledge and practice. I can give you enough knowledge and some practice, but youll probably have to practice on your own as well if your interview skills arent great when you come to me and youre on a deadline.
If someone tells you they can guarantee you results, theyre just trying to get your money. I can help you and I will do my best to make you the best interviewee you can be, but you need you to work hard on your own as well.
The Secrets to Successful Behavioral Question Answers
I get a lot of emails from people asking me to send them sample answers they can use for their interviews.
If you read all the chapters in this book you should know enough to write your own answers using your own successes and failures. I will give you sample answers in each section, which should help you create your own stories. If you go through all the sections of the book and try to create your own answers based on the questions, I talk about you will end up with a portfolio of answers you can use to practice for a successful interview.
Im not going to write your answers for you because I cant. If you want to send me the answers youve written I can tell you if theyre good and tell you what you need to do to improve them, but I cant write them for you because I dont know your job history.
Is This Book Right for You?
This book can be your guide if youre thinking:
- I dont know what behavioral questions are.
- I dont know what behavioral questions I might get asked in my Amazon interview.
- I dont know what the Amazon leadership principles are, and I dont know how theyre used in interviews.
- I dont know how to give answers to interview questions that work well as answers for the Amazon leadership principles.
How to Use the Book
Work your way through the chapters in order or read only the ones you need, and youll be well equipped to stand out from other applicants and get the offer you want.
