Amazon Interview Prep: Leadership Principles, Behavioral & Technical
Amazon is unusual in one important way
The company publishes substantial official interview guidance. That gives candidates a much better starting point than relying entirely on anonymous interview reports. Amazon describes its interview process as an “interview loop,” with candidates meeting individual employees who assess different aspects of skills and experience. Amazon also says a significant portion of the interview can focus on its Leadership Principles and behavioral questions, and its official preparation guidance recommends the STAR method. The Leadership Principles currently listed by Amazon include Customer Obsession, Ownership, Invent and Simplify, Learn and Be Curious, Hire and Develop the Best, Dive Deep, Disagree and Commit, Deliver Results, and others. Don't memorize the Leadership Principles Knowing the names isn't enough. You need examples that demonstrate them.
For example
Ownership Prepare a story where you took responsibility beyond your formal task. Customer Obsession Prepare a story involving a customer problem and how you responded. Dive Deep Prepare an example where you investigated data or a problem beyond the surface explanation. Disagree and Commit Prepare a situation where you respectfully disagreed and then supported the final decision. Build an Amazon story bank Create 8–10 stories.
For each
Situation Task Action Result Leadership Principle Follow-up questions Amazon specifically recommends preparing detailed examples from previous jobs and including metrics or data where applicable. Example
Question
Tell me about a time you took ownership.
Don't answer
“I'm a person who takes ownership.” Give evidence. “A production issue was initially assigned to another team, but it was affecting one of our customers. I owned coordinating the investigation across the two teams, identified where the communication gap was, and helped establish a monitoring check so the issue wouldn't recur.”
Then expect
“Why didn't the other team own it?” “What exactly did you do?” “How did you measure success?” “What would you do differently?” That's why follow-up practice matters. Amazon technical practice
For technical roles, practice
- coding
- data structures
- algorithms
- debugging
- system design where relevant
- scalability
- reliability
- testing
Amazon's current SDE II preparation material specifically emphasizes scalable, robust and well-tested code, along with efficiency, reliability, optimization and scalability. Don't prepare only behavioral stories
A strong Amazon preparation plan should combine
technical practice
- Leadership Principle stories
- role-specific preparation
- follow-up practice
The Amazon mock interview format Round A Two behavioral questions. Round B Technical question. Round C Deep dive into one resume project. Round D Behavioral + technical follow-ups. Final Candidate questions. The precise process varies by role, so treat this as a practice framework rather than a claim about every Amazon position. The “Why?” drill Take every story.
Ask
Why did you choose that?
Then
What alternatives did you consider?
Then
What was the measurable result?
Then
What did you learn? If you can answer those naturally, your story is much more robust. Amazon preparation mistake #1 Memorizing Leadership Principles.
Knowing
“Customer Obsession” is not preparation. Being able to demonstrate a customer-focused decision with evidence is. Mistake #2 Using the same story for everything. You need a diverse set.
Prepare examples involving
success failure risk conflict customer ownership ambiguity technical challenge learning Mistake #3 Giving vague results Amazon's own preparation guidance emphasizes metrics or data where applicable.
Instead of
“The project was successful.”
say
“The rollout reduced processing time by approximately 30%.” Use real numbers only. Don't invent metrics. The final Amazon practice test
Ask
“Can I tell ten different stories without sounding scripted?”
Then
“Can I handle a difficult follow-up on each story?”
Then
“Can I explain my technical decisions under pressure?” If yes, your practice is doing its job. [Run an Amazon interview mission with Mockly] Related: STAR Method Interview → Leadership Interview Questions → Technical Interview Answers → Mock Interview Questions