Interview question bank

Are Right, a Lot

Are Right, a Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Does not seek others' perspectives or additional data Relies on incorrect knowledge or flawed logic Becomes defensive when shown opposing points of view Refuses to change point of view no matter what data is presented Undervalues own experience and judgment Changes point of view too easily to follow the group			Makes good decisions in the face of ambiguity, uncertainty, and/or time pressure Applies experience to determine the best approach Seeks out additional perspective and data to make the best decision Recognizes they are not always right and supports the best idea Recognizes when they are lacking expertise or information in a particular subject area

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you didn't have enough data to make the right decision. What did you do? What path did you take? Did the decision turn out to be the correct one?
Tell me about a strategic decision you had to make without clear data or benchmarks. How did you make your final decision? What alternatives did you consider? What were the tradeoffs of each? How did you mitigate risk?
Tell me about a time when you made a difficult decision with input from many different sources (customers, stakeholders, partner teams, etc.). What was the situation and how did you arrive at your decision? Did the decision turn out to be the correct one? Why or why not?
We don't always make the right decision all the time. Tell me about a time when you made a bad decision. What was the impact of that decision? What did you learn? How have you applied what you learned?
We don't always make the right judgment all the time. Tell me about a time when you made an error in judgment. What was the impact? What did you learn? How have you applied what you learned?
Tell me about a time when you discovered that your idea was not the best course of action. What was your idea? Why wasn't your idea the best course of action? How did you find out it was not the correct path? What was the best course of action? Who provided it? What did you learn from the experience?
Describe a time when you brought different perspectives together to solve a problem. What types of different perspectives were represented? How did you seek out different points of view? What was the outcome? Were there any key learnings from this experience? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything different? At Amazon, we find that diverse and inclusive teams bring a wide variety of perspectives to solve a problem. Give me an example of a time when you sought diverse perspectives. Did those perspectives challenge any of your assumptions?

Bias for Action

Bias for Action
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Moves slower than necessary when faced with incomplete information Hesitates longer than necessary when making even small decisions Fears making mistakes and doing things that haven't been done before			Moves quickly on a project, even when some information is lacking Understands when to consult with others and when its not necessary Willing to make small progress toward a solution rather than finding the perfect solution right away Deals with problems quickly so others can make progress Carefully considers what is important to get done right away and what can wait

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Give me an example of a calculated risk that you have taken where speed was critical. What was the situation and how did you handle it? What steps did you take to mitigate the risk? What was the outcome? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
Tell me about a time when you worked against tight deadlines and didn't have time to consider all options before making a decision. How much time did you have? What approach did you take? What did you learn from the situation?
Describe a situation where you made an important business decision without consulting your manager. What was the situation and how did it turn out? Would you have done anything differently?
Tell me about a time when you had to gather information and respond immediately to a situation. What was the outcome? Would you have done anything differently?
Give me an example of when you had to make an important decision and had to decide between moving forward or gathering more information. What did you do? What was the outcome? What information is necessary for you to have before acting?
Tell me about a time when you saw an issue that would impact your team and took a proactive approach to solve it. What was the issue? What did you do and what was the outcome? What did you learn from this situation?
Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision quickly but needed to gather diverse perspectives from those on your team?
Tell me about a time when you felt your team was not moving to action quickly enough. What was the situation? What did you do? What was the outcome? Would you have done anything differently? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you were able to remove a serious roadblock/barrier preventing your team from making progress. What was the barrier? How were you able to remove it? What was the outcome? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently? (Manager)

Customer Obsession

Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Makes decisions or takes actions without adequately considering the customer impact Fails to collect or respond to customer input appropriately Fails to meet customer commitments Loses and doesn't regain customers' trust Unable to identify primary customers			Develops a project approach based on industry trends rather than customer needs Takes actions guided by customer input Works backwards from the optimal customer experience Tries to surprise and delight the customer Applies time and energy to make the customer experience more efficient or enjoyable Identifies new ways of gathering feedback from customers Listens to feedback from customers and uses it to make improvements Pushes back when necessary to ensure that decisions consider what is best for customer in the long-term Earns customers trust by delivering promised services and products which meet or exceed expectations Stops activities that no longer enhance the customer experience

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a difficult interaction you had with a customer. How did you deal with it? What was the outcome? How would you handle it differently?
Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a customer. Why did you do it? How did the customer respond? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of when you were able to anticipate a customer need with a solution or product they did not know they needed or wanted yet. How did you know they needed this? How did they respond?
Give me an example of a time when you asked for customer feedback. How did you use that feedback to drive innovation or improvement? How did the customer respond?
Tell me about a time when you evaluated the customer experience of your product or service. What did you do? What was the result?
Tell me about a time when a customer came to you for something that would not actually address their need. How did you approach the situation? What was the result?
Sometimes customers make unreasonable requests. Tell me about a time when you have had to push back or say no to a customer request. What did you say or do in response to that request?
Tell me about a time when you had to balance the needs of the customer with the needs of the business. What did you do? What was the result?
Give me an example of a time when you had to think about the unique backgrounds of a customer base (either internal or external) that you hadn't yet served. How did you know what products or services they needed?
Give me an example of a change you implemented in your current team or organization to meet the needs of your customers. What has been the result? (Manager)

Deliver Results

Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Fails to deliver on required commitments Does not commit adequate time and resources to deliver quality results Settles for work products that do not meet expectations Makes excuses for why things cannot be done before a deadline Delivers projects late or with missing requirements			Meets deadlines and expectations with products that are well-executed and high-quality Focuses on delivering the most important products Able to deliver multiple projects at the same time Overcomes and persists in the face of obstacles Communicates regularly about the status of projects

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Give me an example of a time when you were able to deliver an important project under a tight deadline. What sacrifices did you have to make to meet the deadline? How did they impact the final deliverable? What was the final outcome?
Tell me about a time when you had significant, unanticipated obstacles to overcome in achieving a key goal. What was the obstacle? Were you eventually successful? Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?
Tell me about a time when you not only met a goal but considerably exceeded expectations. How were you able to do it? What challenges did you have to overcome?
Tell me about a time when you or your team were more than half way to meeting a goal when you realized it may not be the right goal or may have unintended consequences. What was the situation? What did you do? What was the outcome? Looking back, would you have done anything differently?
Give me an example of a mission or goal you didn't think was achievable. What was it and how did you help your team try to achieve it? Were you successful in the end? Looking back, would you have done anything differently?
Tell me about a time when you did not effectively manage your projects and something did not get completed on time. What was the impact? What approaches do you use to make sure you are focusing on the right deliverables when you have several competing priorities?
How have you delivered quality service for customers with diverse needs? What obstacles did you encounter and how did you overcome them? How did you audit customer experience? It can be difficult to set goals for a team that are challenging, yet achievable. Tell me about a time when you hit the right balance. How did you approach setting the goals? What was the outcome? (Manager)

Dive Deep

Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdotes differ. No task is beneath them.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Does not understand the details of projects Does not understand how different groups or systems work together Only holds surface-level understanding of metrics and data Does not question assumptions Unable to step in and get work done			Stays connected to the details of projects and programs Understands how different groups or systems work together Critically evaluates metrics and data Asks good questions that provide clarity to situations Steps in and gets work done Investigates and get details in order to solve a problem Gathers information to solve a problem, even if it's difficult or time-consuming

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you were trying to understand a complex problem on your team and you had to dig into the details to figure it out. Who did you talk with or where did you have to look to find the most valuable information? How did you use that information to help solve the problem?
Tell me about a situation that required you to dig deep to get to the root cause. How did you know you were focusing on the right things? What was the outcome? Would you have done anything differently?
Tell me about a problem you had to solve that required in-depth thought and analysis. How did you know you were focusing on the right things? What was the outcome? Would you have done anything differently?
Walk me through a big problem or issue in your organization that you helped to solve. How did you become aware of it? What information did you gather? What information was missing and how did you fill the gaps? Did you do a reflection at the conclusion of the project? If so, what did you learn?
Tell me about a specific metric you have used to identify a need for a change in your department. Did you create the metric or was it already available? How did this and other information influence the change? What was the outcome of this change?
Have you ever created a metric that helped identify a need for a change in your department? What was the metric? Why did you create it? How did this and other information influence change? What was the outcome of the change?
Tell me about a time when you had to validate the assumptions underlying a direct report's project. How did you decide follow up was necessary? What steps, if any, did you take to validate the assumptions? What was the result? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you sought diverse perspectives to evaluate the assumptions underlying a direct report's project
How did you ensure that you were being inclusive in your review? (Manager)

Earn Trust

Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team's body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Fails to treat others and their ideas with respect Blames others for mistakes Denies or covers up mistakes Publicly criticizes or humiliates others			Builds positive working relationships by treating others and their ideas with respect Seeks out and accepts feedback for self or team Takes responsibility for shortfalls Openly acknowledges mistakes Provides feedback to others in a respectful manner Represents data and information entirely transparently Honors commitments and makes good on promises

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you had to communicate a change in direction that you anticipated people would have concerns with. What did you do to understand the concerns and mitigate them? Were there any changes you made along the way after hearing these concerns? How did you handle questions and/or resistance? Were you able to get people comfortable with the change?
Give me an example of a tough or critical piece of feedback you received. What was it and what did you do about it?
Describe a time when you needed to influence a peer who had a differing opinion about a shared goal. What did you do? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a time when you were not able to meet a commitment. What was the commitment and what were the obstacles that prevented success? What was the impact to your customers/peers and what did you learn from it?
Tell me about a time when your team's goals were out of alignment with another team you relied on in order to meet your goal. How did you work with the other team? Were you able to achieve your goals?
Tell me about a time when you uncovered a significant problem in your team. What was it and how did you communicate it to your manager and other stakeholders? What did you do to address the problem? How did you manage the impact of this problem for the rest of your team?
Describe a time when you improved morale and productivity on your team. What were the underlying problems and their causes? How did you prevent them from negatively impacting the team in the future?
Tell me about a time when a team member was struggling at work and you stepped in to help out. Why did you think they were struggling? Why did you decided to step in and support? What did you do to help out? How did it impact your work? What was the outcome? What did you learn from that situation?
Tell me about a time when you experienced someone being treated unfairly
How did you respond? Would you have done anything differently?

Frugality

Frugality
Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size or fixed expense.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Spends all of the money in a budget just because it's there Doesn't consider budget in decision-making Spends excessive amounts of money on things that don't have lasting impact Doesn't look for ways to eliminate waste			Maximizes available resources Examines what it takes to achieve something and explores less costly alternatives Uses budget as one consideration when making business decisions Looks for ways to standardize processes, automate, and eliminate waste

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Give me an example of how you have helped save costs or eliminate waste within your role or organization. What was the situation? What was the impact?
Describe a time when you had to get a project or initiative completed with limited resources. How did you approach the situation? What was the impact? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
Tell me about a time when you didn't have enough resources to do something you felt was important but found a creative way to get it done anyway. What was the situation? What other options did you consider? How did you decide on a path forward? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you had to make tradeoffs between quality and cost. How did you weigh the options? What was the result? Would you have done anything differently?
Tell me about a time when you generated a creative solution to a problem or project without requiring additional resources. What was the problem? What was the solution and how did you come up with it? What was the outcome? Give an example of a time you requested additional funding/budget to complete a project. Why was it needed? Did you try to figure out another approach? Did you get the additional resources? Why or why not?
Describe a time when you had to decide whether or not to award or ask for additional resources. What criteria do you use for making the call? What was the outcome? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently? Give an example of a time when you challenged your team to come up with a more efficient solution or process. What drove the request? How did you help? What were some of your biggest challenges? What were the end results? (Manager)

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Refuses to change direction even when data shows this is necessary Unwilling to challenge other's decisions when necessary Comes off as consistently argumentative Continues to advocate original point of view even after final decision has been made Focuses on getting their own way rather than what is best for the customer			Disagrees with peers and supervisors using data to thoughtfully explain counter-arguments Stands up for what they believe is in the best interest of the company and the customer Advocates clearly and passionately for beliefs Openly supports and commits to decisions that have been made, even if not originally in agreement

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you strongly disagreed with your manager or peer on something you considered very important to the business. What was it and how did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently?
Describe a time when you took an unpopular stance in a meeting with peers and your leader. What was it? Why did you feel strongly about it? What did you do? What was the outcome?
Often, we must make decisions as a group. Give me an example of a time you committed to a group decision even though you disagreed. What factors led you to commit to the decision? Would you make the same decision now?
Describe a time when you felt really strongly about something on a project but the team decided to go in a different direction. How hard did you press the issue? How did you approach that project afterward?
Tell me about a time when you pushed back against a decision that negatively impacted your team. What was the issue? How did it turn out? Would you have done anything differently?
Give me an example of when you submitted a great idea to your manager and they did not support it. What was the idea? How did you handle the lack of support?
Describe a time when you had to support a business initiative that you didn't agree with. How did you handle it? How did you deliver the message to your team?
Tell me about a time when the business gained something because you persisted for a length of time. Why were you so determined? How did it turn out?
Give me an example of a time when you were inclusive and respectful of the perspectives of others although they had an opinion which was different than yours. How did you support your position?

Hire and Develop the Best

Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invest in mechanisms for development like Career Choice.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Does not coach or mentor others when necessary Does not provide support or feedback to poor performers Avoids addressing performance issues when required Does not understand or consider the career and development goals of directs and peers Discourages others from seeking new opportunities at Amazon when it would be good for his/her development			Invests in growth of others Provides regular, actionable feedback to others that could improve their success Recognizes and acts upon poor performance Learns and values the development goals of employees or teammates Provides appropriately challenging assignments to others Encourages high performers to join other teams to facilitate career growth

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you helped one of your team members develop their career. How did you help that team member? What was the result?
Tell me about a time when you invested in an employee's development. What did you invest in and why? What was the outcome? Can you share an example where investing in an employee's development didn't work out?
Give me an example of a time you provided feedback to develop the strengths of someone on your team. Were you able to positively impact their performance?
Tell me about a time when you provided coaching for a team member. What started the coaching? What was the outcome?
Tell me about someone you hired that you thought complemented your skills. How did you coach an individual in areas where you have a weakness? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you helped a remote team member develop their career. Can you give me an example of a specific team member and how you helped them develop across the geographic distance? (Manager)
Describe a person who struggled to get promoted under your leadership and how you helped facilitate their success. (Manager)
Tell me about your most challenging talent review and promotion process that you conducted for your team. What made it challenging? What factors did you consider in your talent review? What factors did you consider in the promotion process? Did you incorporate a tool to counter unconscious bias? If yes, how? How do you manage perceptions of unfair treatment? What did you learn from this process? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything different? (Manager)
Describe a time when you constructed a team to accomplish a goal. What factors did you consider in constructing the team? Did you factor diversity into your team construction? How did you balance work requirements, team skill composition, and team stretch opportunities? What do you consider when you allocate work? How did you ensure team members were able to work effectively together? Would you have done anything differently? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you had a low performing individual on your team. How did you deliver feedback? Did their performance improve? (Manager)
How have you considered diversity, equity and inclusion as you are building and growing teams? Who did you seek input from and why? (Manager)

Insist on the Highest Standards

Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Conducts minimal reviews of others' work Emphasizes speed over quality for most projects Fails to recognize the long-term impact of lower standards Creates or accepts goals that are too easily achievable Accepts quick solutions to problems with minimal follow-up to ensure they are addressed			Sets and commits to goals that are challenging, yet realistic Reviews work extensively and offers high quality feedback Communicates and gets agreement on expected standards Builds systems that are scalable and serve customer needs Continually tries to improve processes

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a time when you upheld your standards around quality/customer service, despite pressure to do otherwise. Who was your customer? What was the result?
Tell me about a time when you were unsatisfied with the way things were in your team or organization.What did you do to change it, if anything? What was the impact? Would you do anything differently in the future?
Tell me about a time when you worked to improve the quality of a product, service, or solution that was already getting good customer feedback. Why did you think it needed improvement? How did customers react?
Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision between standards and delivery. What tradeoffs did you have to make? What was the outcome? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
Give me an example of a goal you've had where you wish you had done better. What was the goal? How could you have improved on it?
Describe the most significant continuous improvement project that you led. What was the catalyst to this change and how did you go about it? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a time when you saw an accessibility issue for a product or service that wouldn't meet the needs of all customers.
Tell me about a time when you used feedback about your team to drive a change. How did you gather or receive feedback on your team's performance? What was the outcome? (Manager)

Invent and Simplify

Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited to "not invented here." As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Accepts current processes even if there is room for improvement Creates a cumbersome process to solve a short-term problem Allows complex processes to exist within their control Doesn't share discoveries and insights with others Only focuses on ideas and resources that can be gathered internally Discourages others from exploring new ideas Looks for a standard process or series of steps to copy Speaks at length about the difficulty of doing something without naming ideas for a better process			Generates new ideas or methods for solving a problem Identifies areas for improvement and deliver new features that are scalable and avoid unnecessary complexity Actively gathers ideas from a wide range of internal and external sources Focuses on solutions that will impact the customer experience long-term Seeks out opportunities to improve a product or process

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Give me an example of a complex problem you solved with a simple solution. What made the problem complex? How do you know your solution addressed the problem?
Describe the most innovative thing you've done and why you thought it was innovative. Ask for one or two more examples to see if it's a pattern of innovative thinking. What was the problem it was solving? What was innovative about it?
Tell me about a time when you were able to make something simpler for customers. What drove you to implement this change? What was the impact?
Describe a time when you influenced and drove new thinking and innovation out of your team. Give an example of how your approach led to a specific innovation.
Tell me about a time when you had a challenging problem or situation that the usual approach wouldn't address. How did you select an alternative approach? What alternative approach(es) did you consider? What was the end result? What was the impact?
Tell me about a novel idea you had or decision you made that had a big impact on your business. What was novel about it?
Tell me about a time when you identified a simple change on your team to make the culture more inclusive. What problem were you trying to solve, what was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you enabled your team/a team member to implement a significant change or improvement. What problem were you trying to solve? How did you measure success? What was the end result/impact? (Manager)

Learn and Be Curious

Learn and Be Curious
Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Prefers to stay with familiar situations and use existing skillsets Actively avoids new experiences or trying new things Avoids, disregards, or acts defensively toward feedback from others Reacts to negative situations by focusing on what went wrong rather than how to improve for the future Does not take steps to develop oneself			Seeks opportunities to explore new possibilities and learn new skills Shows curiosity about how things work Consistently asks "I wonder what would happen if..." to make continued improvements Accepts new and challenging situations, despite the risk of failure Seeks and embraces feedback from others Discusses lessons learned from past setbacks Currently working on initiatives to improve themselves Willing to pursue knowledge that does not have an immediate gain or deliverable

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you realized you needed a deeper level of subject matter expertise to do your job well. What did you do about it? What was the outcome? Is there anything you would have done differently?
Describe a time when you took on work outside of your comfort area. How did you identify what you needed to learn to be successful? How did you go about building expertise to meet your goal? Did you meet your goal?
Tell me about a time when you didn't know what to do next or how to solve a challenging problem. How do you learn what you don't know? What were the options you considered? How did you decide the best path forward? What was the outcome? We all have things about ourselves we'd like to improve on at work. Give me an example of something that you've worked on to improve your overall work effectiveness. What resources did you identify to help you develop? What was the impact?
Give me an example of a time when you explored a new or unexpected area of an existing space. Why hadn't this been explored already? Why did you move forward? What were the results or what was the impact?
Describe a time when someone on your team challenged you to think differently about a problem. What was the situation? How did you respond? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you used external trends to improve your own company's products or services. How did you keep up to date with external trends? How did you decide to apply them to your own company? What was the result?
Give me an example of a time when you were intentional about learning different cultures or identities. How has this led to a better customer or workplace experience?

Ownership

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don't sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their team. They never say "that's not my job."
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Makes decisions for short-term team success rather than long-term value Describes setbacks or problems without talking about how to address them Relies on others to remove roadblocks Avoids tough decisions Avoids addressing problems that are in others' work areas Blames others for setbacks Assigns work to others because the work is undesirable Walks away if there are too many difficulties Creates solutions that negatively impact other teams			Actively makes improvements outside of one's area of responsibility Makes decisions that consider risks and future outcomes Makes decisions that are scalable and contribute to long-term success Takes the lead in solving problems Takes accountability for dependencies and their work Takes ownership for mistakes Accepts responsibility Inspires others to take ownership Sees things through to completion

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you took on something significant outside your area of responsibility. Why was it important? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you didn't think you were going to meet a commitment you promised. How did you identify the risk and communicate it to stakeholders? Is there anything you would do differently?
Give me an example of an initiative you undertook because you saw that it could benefit the whole company or your customers, but wasn't within any group's individual responsibility so nothing was being done.
Tell me about a time when you made a hard decision to sacrifice short term gain for something that would create long term value for the business. What was the outcome? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
Describe a time when you had to transition a project you owned to a new owner. What steps did you take to make sure the transition went smoothly? Tell me about a time that you chose to get involved in a project that you had already transitioned to somebody else. What was the situation? Why was it important to get involved?
Tell me about a time when you saw a peer struggling and decided to step in and help. What was the situation? Why did you decide to step in? What actions did you take?

Strive to Be Earth’s Best Employer

Strive to Be Earth’s Best Employer
Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what’s next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees’ personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Actions result in only certain individuals feeling valued, informed, connected, safe, supported, respected, and treated fairly Dismisses feedback or input from anyone they see as different or less influential Doesn't acknowledge others' or teams' success; treats success as an expectation not something to appreciate Actions prevent or hinder others from achieving their goals Allows personal or majority views to drown out diverse opinions and viewpoints Doesn't take responsibility for the impact of their words, actions, and/or demeanor on others Doesn't prioritize their own or others' safety Actions foster an environment where productivity or profit is prioritized over all else			Takes actions to ensure everyone feels valued, informed, connected, safe, supported, respected, and treated fairly Treats others with respect, regardless of tenure, title, or level of influence Acknowledges success; takes actions to create an environment of appreciation Finds opportunities to help others be heard, achieve their goals, and to grow and develop Identifies ways to overcome conscious and unconscious bias Takes responsibility for how one's words, actions, or demeanor impact others Creates or maintains a safe work environment Actions foster an environment where well-being is valued and supported

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what's next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees' personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.
Tell me a time when you helped build a more inclusive working environment. What problems were you trying to address? What did you do? What were the employees' reactions? How did the changes help the employees?
Tell me about a time when you advocated for someone who had less influence or seniority than you. How or why did you advocate for them and what was the outcome?
Describe a time when you implemented a change at work aimed at improving the work experience of yourself or coworkers. What was the goal? Why did you feel this change was necessary? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you promoted diversity, equity, or inclusion in the workplace. What forms of diversity did you consider (for example, gender, ethnicity, personal interests)? What approach did you use?
Tell me about a time when you showed compassion toward someone during a stressful or high-pressure situation. How did you recognize that it was important to demonstrate sensitivity? What did you do to demonstrate compassion? What were the outcomes for that person and the situation?
Tell me about a time when you supported or empowered someone else on your team to achieve a professional or personal goal. What was your role in the situation? How did it impact you?
Give me an example of a time when you organized or participated in an initiative to foster an enjoyable work environment. What was the activity or initiative? What did you do? How did other employees react?
Tell me about a time when you noticed someone was being excluded or treated unfairly. Were you able to do anything to help?
Tell me about a time you created an environment where your direct reports felt comfortable speaking up with questions, concerns, ideas, or mistakes. How did you do this and how do you know that it worked? (Manager)
Give me an example of when you worked to improve your team's work environment? Why did you think the improvement was needed? How did you decide what steps to take? What impact did this improvement have on your team? (Manager)
Tell me about a time you influenced a change that fostered diversity, equity, and inclusion on your team or in your org? What indicators did you use to identify the problem? What measures did you employ to course correct the issue? (Manager)

Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility
We started in a garage, but we’re not there anymore. We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day. We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Possesses a narrow view of reach in the world; doesn't recognize even small actions can have broad downstream consequences Doesn't evaluate the impact of their actions at scale Makes decisions to optimize for success regardless of the costs Views oneself and the world as perfect; dismisses identified areas for improvement Doesn't take time to support or help others			Evaluates the broad implications of their actions at scale Makes decisions by weighing the benefits and potential downstream consequences Recognizes what is effective today may not be appropriate for tomorrow; course corrects when unintentional consequences are identified Actively listens and asks the right questions to find ways (big or small) to make a difference or contribution Contributes time, skill, knowledge, or expertise to help or support others

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time you worked on a project that had impact beyond your immediate client, customer, or organization. How did you approach the potential downstream impact of this work? When in the course of the project did you start thinking about this impact, and what efforts did you make to manage this impact? What were the risks?
Tell me about a time when you decided to change a decision because of unintended consequences for your customers. What was the impact to your customers? What tradeoffs did you have to make? How did your new solution better serve your customers?
Tell me about a time when you changed course because of the negative impact you were going to cause to a third-party.
Tell me a time when you thought carefully about social responsibility as a critical aspect of your decision making. Why was social responsibility important? How did it (that is, considering social responsibility) have impact on the decision-making process?
Tell me about a time when you considered everyone who was affected by your work, not just your direct customers or people within your organization.
Describe a time when you had to balance growth or perceived progress with environmental or societal impacts. What were the environmental or societal impacts? What steps did you take to minimize any negative impacts?
Tell me about a time where you realized a project you were working on would have unintended, and perhaps undesired, consequences in the future. Can you tell me about a time when you didn't realize the unintended consequences until the project was complete?
Tell me about a time you left something better than how you found it. What was it and how did you change or impact it? How did your actions influence things for the better?
Tell me about a time you influenced an organizational change to bring new social awareness and responsibility among the teams. What activities or exercises did you employ to promote this awareness? What was the outcome from these efforts? (Manager)

Think Big

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Focuses on day-to day delivery without considering long-term strategy Fails to see opportunities and possibilities Focuses mostly on the problems associated with a project rather than opportunities and possibilities Does not consider the big picture or larger goals Does not propose new projects or ideas			Identifies bold, yet rational and defensible directions, even if the steps to get there are unclear Takes risks when necessary in pursuit of an idea Carefully reviews of existing processes Able to work around limitations or challenges Tries to think about a problem from a new perspective

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about time when you were working on an initiative or goal and saw an opportunity to do something much bigger or better than the initial focus. Did you take that opportunity? Why or why not? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of how you have changed the direction or view of a specific function/department and helped them embrace a new way of thinking. Why was a change needed? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a time you proposed a novel approach to a problem. What was the problem and why did it require a novel approach? Was your approach successful?
Tell me about a time when you drove adoption for your vision/ideas. How did you know your vision/idea was adopted by others? How did you drive adoption for your vision/ideas? How did you track adoption? Would you do anything differently?
Give me an example of an idea or vision you had which was adopted by global stakeholders. How did you drive adoption for your vision/ideas? How did you track adoption? Would you do anything differently?
Tell me about a time when you thought differently to improve a process that was working. What assumptions did you have to question? How did you evaluate if the change improved the process? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently?
How have you communicated a vision to ensure that your product/service/process provided accessibility for all? Who did you seek input from and why?
Tell me about a time when you encouraged a team member or organization to take a big risk. How did you balance the risk against existing business goals? What was the outcome? What did you learn from this situation? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you established a vision for a (team, product, initiative) when there wasn't one. How did you gain buy-in and drive execution? What was the outcome? Would you have done anything differently? (Manager)

Functional competencies

Adaptability

Adaptability
Amazonians adapt their behavior or approaches to changing situational demands. Includes responding to new information and unexpected obstacles.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Continues course of action despite needing to modify the approach Modifies approach without anticipating impacts of the changes Modifies the plan in a way that worsens the problem Selects the same approach regardless of the situation Implements changes without clarifying new information Modifies plan without seeking information from relevant individuals/groups Delays making adjustments based on feedback Fails to recognize when or why changes to a situation are needed Gets stuck at frustration or disappointment regarding the need to change in order to take action Relies excessively on established procedures that do not fit the current situation			Evaluates the efficacy of changes to the plan Anticipates short- and long-term impacts of changes to the plan Modifies the plan in a way that improves the outcome of the situation when an unexpected obstacle arises Selects the appropriate approach for the changing situation Ensures understanding of the situation prior to the implementation of changes Incorporates information from those impacted by the change Adjusts quickly based on feedback Identifies a need for change based on the current situation Recognizes and welcomes the need for change based on the current situation Develops new procedures to account for the changing demands of the situation

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when the goals of a project you worked on shifted during the project. How did you respond to this shift? Were there any barriers to shifting your course of action? Was your project ultimately successful?
Tell me about a time when you had to change your plans to overcome an unexpected obstacle. What factors did you consider when making changes? What was the obstacle and how did you modify your plan?
Tell me about a time when you realized a new approach was needed to successfully complete a project. How did you identify this need to change course? What factors did you consider when choosing a new approach? Did the change impact the project's outcome?
Describe a situation where you encountered a change that required you to quickly adjust your approach or plans. What was the obstacle or change? How did you modify your behavior or mindset to effectively navigate the new circumstances?
Tell me about a time you received new information that significantly impacted your work plans. How did you determine what changes, if any, to make? Did your changes make outcomes better or worse for you and your team?
Tell me about a time you incorporated input or feedback from one or more colleagues to adapt to a changing work situation. What was the input? What factors did you consider when deciding to make suggested changes?
Describe a time when you rolled out a new process, system, or initiative that significantly impacted your colleagues' day-to-day responsibilities. How did you socialize the changes and gather feedback from those affected? What insights did you gain from their perspective?
Tell me about an occasion where you had to reconsider your work approach due to an organizational change. What was the change? What factors did you consider when making changes? What was the outcome of your decision?

Collaboration

Collaboration
Amazonians establish and maintain positive working relationships with others throughout the organization, and work together to solve problems and achieve goals.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Gives confusing descriptions of roles when team members ask about responsibilities Focuses mainly on their own tasks Seeks others' inputs minimally or not at all Keeps important information to themselves Unwilling to speak out or disagree with other team members to accomplish team goals Does not share accomplishments with team members Works alone on tasks that require collaboration			Focuses more on personal goals than the team's goals Regularly clarifies roles and responsibilities with team members Takes advantage of opportunities to work with others Asks for others' input on tasks Shares knowledge and information with team members Challenges team members' ideas to promote the accomplishment of team goals Recognizes the success of team members Maintains focus on shared goals with team members Assists team members on their tasks when needed

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when the goals of a project you worked on shifted during the project. How did you respond to this shift? Were there any barriers to shifting your course of action? Was your project ultimately successful?
Describe a situation where you had to persuade team members or colleagues to support an idea or approach of yours. How did you build consensus and get buy-in? What were some techniques you used to understand their perspectives and concerns? How did the collaboration ultimately impact the success of the project or initiative?
Talk about a time when your team had to coordinate with another team on an important task. What did you do to work together? How did you interact with the other team while working on the task? How did coordination with the other team impact the results of the task? How did you encourage others to share information?
Describe a time when you worked with someone with viewpoints different from yours. How did you address the differing viewpoints? What approach did you use to interact with this person? How did the other person react? How did your actions impact your working relationship?
Describe a time when you managed a complex task that required the involvement of multiple people whose responsibilities were not clearly defined. What was the task or set of tasks? How was the plan created and communicated to those involved? How did your actions encourage others to share information?
Talk about a time when you built a partnership with someone. Why and how did you build the partnership? What did the partnership accomplish? How did your actions impact your working relationship?
Describe a time where you needed to persuade team members to take a different approach on a project. How did you handle any disagreements or conflicting priorities? What was the outcome and what did you learn?
Describe a time when you had to work with someone you had a conflict with. What was the source of the conflict? What did you do to address the conflict? How effective were your actions? How did your actions impact your working relationship?
Describe a situation where you had to work with someone who approached tasks differently than you. How did you adapt your approach to accommodate their style? What was the outcome of adapting your approach, and how did it impact the successful completion of the task? How did your actions impact your working relationship?

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness
Amazonians take initiative, follow through on commitments, and pay attention to the right details to accomplish goals.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Gets discouraged by obstacles or challenges Neglects (or fails to notice) important details when developing project plans Gathers information without knowing whether it is relevant to the goal Addresses obstacles after they have become significant problems Does not provide timely updates to relevant individuals/groups on work plans and timelines			Puts consistent effort into progressing projects to deliver results despite obstacles or challenges Clarifies details of projects before finalizing project plans or decisions Gathers information relevant to the goal while sorting through irrelevant information efficiently Takes proactive action to address obstacles Provides proactive updates to relevant individual/groups on work plans and timelines

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a time where you had to balance multiple competing priorities or projects. How did you determine which tasks deserved your immediate focus? What processes did you implement to follow through on all commitments? What was the outcome of your efforts?
Tell me about a time when you had to take initiative to resolve an important issue or meet a critical deadline. What specific steps did you take to see it through to completion? What were the key details you paid close attention to? What was the end result?
Describe a time when you were assigned a demanding work task that posed a significant challenge. What made this task particularly challenging? Outline the steps you took to guarantee its timely and accurate completion. How did your approach contribute to mitigating the inherent challenge?
Tell me about a time you needed to complete a task before your colleagues could proceed with their work. How did you decide what to share with your colleagues and when to share it? How did you communicate with them about your progress? What did you do to ensure the quality of the larger project? What was the outcome of your work?
Describe a time when you had to document the steps you took to complete a process. What resources did you access? How did you organize the steps? How could your documentation be of help in the future? What did you do to ensure the details of your work met the expectations?
Tell me about a time when you had difficulty maintaining your work commitments. What made maintaining your commitments difficult? What actions did you take to resolve the difficulty? What was the outcome of your actions? What would you have done differently?
Tell me about a time you looked for mistakes in your work. Why did you look for mistakes in your work? What kind of mistakes did you look for? How would these mistakes have affected your work? How did you ensure the quality of your work?
Describe a time when you encountered a setback that caused you to lose progress on your work.
Tell me about a time when your project experienced a delay. What did you do to ensure the project progressed? How did you decide what to do next? What did you do to maintain your focus? What was the final outcome?

Customer orientation

Customer orientation
Amazonians anticipate and surpass customer expectations. Includes reprioritizing work in response to changing customer demands and displaying empathy and remaining
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Maintains current behaviors despite needing to adapt to changes in customer needs Applies general solutions to specific customer problems Expresses frustration, even if subtle, when interacting with challenging customers Collects either too much or not enough information before identifying solutions for customers' needs Keeps customers uninformed while they are waiting for their concerns to be addressed Interacts with customers using a routing approach, without considering context or customers' feelings Notices few opportunities where customer satisfaction can be improved			Adapts behaviors to meet changing customer needs Makes an effort to understand the customer's problem and create a customized solution Maintains a problem solving approach when interacting with customers, especially when customers are challenging to work with Uses past experiences and best practices to predict what actions/services will accurate address customers' needs Prioritizes work to address customer's needs in a timely manger Considers customers' emotions when delivering information and interacting with customers Identifies new opportunities to increase customer satisfaction

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a time when a customer was not appreciative of your work. What caused this reaction? What steps did you take to increase customer satisfaction? What did you learn?
Give me an example of when a customer's behavior was unexpected or confusing. What was unexpected or confusing about the customer's behavior? How did this affect your interactions with the customer? What strategy(ies) did you use to understand the customer? What did you do to satisfy the customer's needs?
Tell me about a time when you used your expertise to identify a solution to a customer's problem. What was the customer's problem? What strategy(ies) did you use to understand the customer's perspective? How did you identify a solution? How did the customer react to your solution?
Tell me about a time when you delivered an exceptional product or service that delighted a customer. What made this offering stand out from the typical experience? What extra effort or ingenuity did you apply to achieve such positive results?
Describe a situation where you had to re-prioritize your work to respond to changing customer demands. What was the original task or project? How did the customer's needs change? What steps did you take to address the new priorities?

Deal with Ambiguity

Deal with Ambiguity
Amazonians take initiative despite uncertainty, make decisions with limited information, and accomplish goals and objectives in novel or unstructured situations.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Delays planning until most information is available Asks more experienced staff to make decisions about an unfamiliar task or situation In ambiguous circumstances, takes actions that do not contribute toward goals or objectives Gathers limited amount of information when trying to understand a situation Focuses only on parts of the situation that are well-known or most familiar Takes action without asking clarifying questions about an uncertain situation Asks questions that do not help inform choices for next steps Focuses on uncertain or unimportant parts of a situation instead of making progress			Creates a plan to accomplish goals and objectives in unclear situations Takes initiative to make decisions during a new task or situation Succeeds while working on ambiguous circumstances Considers multiple alternatives when trying to understand a situation Experiments with different approaches to successfully address all aspects of a situation Asks clarifying questions to better understand an uncertain situation Takes progressive steps forward and asks questions to inform choices for the next steps Acts on known parts of a situation while trying to better understand unclear parts of a situation

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a situation where you had to take ownership of a project with unclear goals or expectations. How did you determine the right approach when the objectives were ambiguous? What were the results of your efforts? Looking back, is there anything you would have handled differently?
Tell me about a time when you needed to diagnose and address a problem on a project urgently with limited information. How did you use the limited information you had? How did having limited information impact the actions you took? What was the outcome of the project? Would you do anything differently?
Describe a time when you were given a poorly-defined work task with a tight deadline. How did you decide how to proceed? How did the tight deadline impact your approach? How did your approach impact attaining your goal?
Describe a time you led an ambiguous project from its start. What did you do to learn more about the project? How did you produce a project plan? What processes did you create to manage the project? Lastly, please describe any key drawbacks or limitations of the project you observed.
Tell me how you handled ambiguity in a continually changing situation. How did you decide what actions to take? What strategies did you use to manage the ambiguity? How did you change your approach as you gained clarity during the process? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you were given an ambiguous assignment and were initially unsure of what to do. How did you proceed? How did your actions to understand the assignment help you to complete it?
Describe a time when you made decisions about a work task without having clear requirements. Why were the instructions or requirements unclear? What steps did you take to decide how to proceed? How did you change your approach as you gained clarity? How did you decisions impact what you delivered?
Describe a time when your role on a project was not clearly defined. How did you proceed? How did you determine the expectations for the project? How was your performance impacted during the project? In what ways have you adapted your strategy in response to ambiguous circumstances?
Describe a time when you were assigned a new task in which you and several others had limited knowledge or experience. How much did you understand about the new task? What resources did you use to decide how to proceed? What challenges did you face in implementing your strategy? How did have you overcome those challenges?
Tell me about a time your team worked with another and there was uncertainty on how to share responsibilities. How did you work with the other team to resolve the uncertainty? How did you approach any uncertainties that could not be immediately resolved? What challenges did you face in implementing your strategy and how have you overcome them?

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Fluency

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Fluency
Amazonians determine when and how to integrate generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, evaluate and refine GenAI outputs, and apply responsible AI practices to augment productivity and quality.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Uses GenAI tools without considering whether they are appropriate for the specific task or context Accepts GenAI outputs without validating accuracy, relevance, or quality before applying to work Applies GenAI to sensitive or confidential information without considering security and privacy implications Experiments with GenAI tools randomly without clear objectives or learning goals Relies on GenAI for tasks requiring human judgment, creativity, or domain expertise without oversight Conceals the origins of GenAI-generated content or fails to maintain accountability for outputs Focuses only on familiar GenAI applications without exploring new capabilities or use cases Makes decisions about GenAI usage without considering potential risks, limitations, or ethical implications Fails to measure or track the impact of GenAI usage and continues practices without evidence of improvement Implements GenAI solutions without considering scalability, sustainability, or long-term organizational implications			Evaluates tasks to determine when GenAI tools can add value compared to traditional approaches Systematically validates GenAI outputs through fact-checking and cross-referencing before implementation Applies appropriate security measures and follows organizational policies when using GenAI with business data Experiments with GenAI capabilities in structured ways to expand skills and identify new ways to improve work Combines GenAI assistance with human expertise and judgment to enhance rather than replace critical thinking Maintains transparency about GenAI usage and takes responsibility for reviewing and refining AI-generated work Proactively explores emerging GenAI tools and agent-based systems to stay current with new developments Considers ethical implications, potential biases, and organizational impact when implementing GenAI solutions Develops, implements and sustains systematic, data-driven approaches for measuring GenAI effectiveness Designs GenAI implementations with consideration for scalability, change management, and long-term adoption

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you identified a new use case for GenAI that could improve efficiency in your work. What patterns or inefficiencies did you notice that suggested a GenAI solution might help? How did you validate whether your idea would actually work before implementing it? What was the outcome and what did you learn about identifying good GenAI applications?
Tell me about a time when you received GenAI output that initially looked good but had problems when you looked more closely. What specific red flags or inconsistencies alerted you to the problems with the output? What process do you now use to systematically evaluate AI-generated content? How did this experience change your approach to reviewing and revising GenAI outputs?
Describe a situation where you had to balance the benefits of GenAI automation with the need to maintain human oversight and accountability. What factors did you consider when determining the appropriate level of human oversight? How did you design processes to maintain human accountability while still gaining efficiency benefits? What safeguards did you put in place to monitor responsible use of the automated system?
Tell me about a time when you had to develop metrics for measuring the quality and effectiveness of GenAI outputs in your work. What aspects of output quality were most important to measure for your specific use case? How did you establish baseline standards and benchmarks for comparison? How have your quality metrics changed as you've iterated on them across use cases and over time?
Tell me about a time when you had to handle sensitive or confidential information while using GenAI tools. How did you ensure appropriate data protection and processing? What specific precautions did you take to protect the sensitive information while using the GenAI approach? How did you evaluate which GenAI tools were appropriate for use with this type of data?
Describe a situation where you realized that GenAI was actually not the right solution for a problem you were trying to solve. What initially made you think GenAI might be helpful for this problem? What specific limitations or issues led you to conclude that GenAI wasn't appropriate? How did you pivot to a different approach and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you had to communicate the risks of a GenAI solution to stakeholders who were enthusiastic about its potential. What specific risks were you concerned about that stakeholders weren't considering? How did you balance being realistic about risks while not discouraging experimentation and innovation? What evidence or examples did you use to help stakeholders recognize these limitations?
Tell me about a time when you had to learn about new GenAI capabilities to solve a specific problem. What problem were you trying to solve that required learning new GenAI capabilities? How did you go about understanding and experimenting with these new tools or features? How did you validate that the new capabilities actually solved your problem effectively?
Describe a situation where you had to significantly refine GenAI output to meet your organization's quality standards. What specific aspects of the original output needed improvement to meet your standards? How did you balance maintaining the strengths of the AI's contributions while fixing the problems? What techniques did you develop for getting better initial results from the GenAI tool the next time you used it?
Tell me about a time when you used GenAI to help with personal tasks. What productivity challenges were you facing that led you to try a GenAI approach? How did you experiment with different approaches or tools to find what was most effective? What did you learn about which types of personal tasks benefit most from GenAI assistance?
Tell me about a time when you had to instruct others on how to effectively evaluate and refine GenAI outputs. What misperceptions or assumptions did people need to overcome to become effective at this? How did you structure your guidance so they could be self-sufficient in assessing quality and making necessary revisions? How did you adapt your approach the next time you advised others on GenAI evaluation?
Tell me about a time when you had to decide against using GenAI for a task due to ethical, legal, or compliance concerns. What specific concerns or requirements led you to avoid using GenAI for this task? How did you evaluate the trade-offs between potential benefits and compliance risks? What alternative, non-AI, approaches did you ultimately use to achieve your objectives?
Describe a time when you had to fact-check information provided by a GenAI tool before using it for an important personal or academic project. What made you suspicious that the AI-generated information might be inaccurate? What sources and methods did you use to verify the information? How do you now build fact-checking into your regular process when using GenAI tools?
Tell me about a time when you had to develop a GenAI strategy or roadmap for a team or organization. How did you assess GenAI readiness and needs across different teams or functions? What criteria did you use to prioritize which GenAI initiatives would deliver the most value for this group? How did you balance GenAI innovation opportunities with resource constraints when creating this roadmap? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you had to establish quality review processes for GenAI output within your team. What quality issues or inconsistencies prompted the need for standardized processes? How did you develop criteria that others could apply consistently? What training or guidance did you provide to help others implement these standards? (Manager)

Influencing

Influencing
Amazonians change others' behaviors by logic and reasoning, inspirational appeals, collaboration, or consultation.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Uses authority or status to compel others to act a certain way Uses guilt, scolding, or other negative approaches to get others to perform a desired behavior Persuades stakeholders using opinions or dubious facts Takes a non-collaborative approach that makes it difficult to influence others Acts in a way that does not impact others' behavior Discourages others to change their behaviors by assigning them unrealistic goals Contributes ideas that are dismissed or that do not impact the project			Influences others by establishing trust and working collaboratively with them Uses positive reinforcement to shape others' behavior and show appreciation for their effort to change Persuades stakeholders by appealing to facts Motivates others to change their behavior by working alongside them Acts as a role model to guide others' behavior Inspires others to change their behavior by helping them set and then strive to achieve reachable goals Contributes ideas that shape project outcomes

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a time where you had to convince people with diverse perspectives to align on a common goal or plan of action. How did you present your case in a compelling way? What strategies did you use to bring people together? What were the results?
Give me an example of a time when you convinced stakeholders to support a new initiative. Did you highlight any benefits or use another strategy to convince them? What concerns kept the stakeholder(s) from supporting the new initiative? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you had to handle a situation where two or more parties were involved in a negotiation and could not come to a resolution. What was your relationship to the other parties involved? What strategies did you consider when approaching this situation? How did you handle the negotiation between the two parties? How did use of your knowledge and skills influence the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you proposed an idea for a project or task that resulted in a significant positive impact. What was your idea? Did you receive any resistance from others when presenting your idea, and if so, how did you handle it? How did use of your knowledge and skills influence the project or task? What was the outcome of the project or task?
Describe a time when you had to use your influence to encourage a colleague to change their behavior to achieve a common goal. Provide a detailed description of the situation, how you managed to influence their behavior, and what the ultimate outcomes were as a result.
Describe a time when you had to convince a colleague you had no direct authority over to change their part of a project? How did you handle the situation with your colleague? How crucial was teamwork in this situation to address the current issue? What strategies did you use to persuade your colleague? What was the result?
Tell me about a time you had to get your team to stop engaging in a certain behavior or process. What needed to change and why? What was your approach to get your team to do this? What do you think was the best alternative to this approach and why? (Manager)
Describe a situation where you needed to inspire a team that was demoralized or skeptical about a major organizational change. How did you go about rebuilding their confidence and commitment? What were the keys to getting them realigned with the vision? (Manager)

Interpretation and Analysis

Interpretation and Analysis
Amazonians recognize and interpret patterns and relationships in data to explain or solve work-related problems.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Interprets data without recognizing deeper patterns or connections Depends on others to interpret findings, hindering own ability to draw meaningful conclusions Demonstrates impatience or frustration with data collection and analysis activities Performs a hasty review of data and then relies on intuition for a quick answer Overlooks crucial patterns/details in data sets Reviews complex data but is unable to use it to explain or solve work- related problems Demonstrates difficulty in applying data to explain or solve work-related problems			Identifies complex patterns and connections in data Independently interprets findings to produce insightful conclusions Displays eagerness and interest in data collection and analysis activities Uses a disciplined process to systematically understand data Identifies key patterns/details in data sets Separates complex data into component parts to solve work-related problems Successfully applies data to explain or solve work-related problems

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you had to analyze complex data to make a decision. What challenges did you encounter during the data analysis process? How did you organize the data elements to focus on the most critical aspects? What was the result of the data analysis? How did working with that data shape how you worked with similar data in the future?
Describe a situation where you had to dig deep into the details to get to the root cause of an issue or problem. What analytical approach did you take? What were the key pieces of information that helped explain what was going on? What assumptions did you have to challenge during your analysis?
Describe a time when you had to analyze complex data or information to identify key insights or trends. What approach did you take to break down and interpret the data? What were the main conclusions you drew from your analysis? How did you validate or test your interpretations?
Describe a time when you utilized findings from your data analysis to support your solution to a problem. What analytical skills did you employ to solve the problem? What was your process for recognizing and interpreting patterns in the data? What solutions emerged from your analysis? What were the challenges you encountered in your analysis?
Describe a time when you discovered a solution that led to increased efficiency through analyzing and comparing data. What specific aspects of the data analysis contributed to efficiency improvements? How did you discover the solution? How did your solution contribute to the overall project? How did you apply this learning to future projects?
Provide an example of when you needed to dive deep into data to identify the core issue behind a work challenge. What steps did you take to diagnose the underlying problem? How did your analysis shape the solution? What were the ultimate results of your efforts?
Tell me about a time when you utilized data analysis and interpretation to identify opportunities for process or workflow improvements within your team or organization. How did you analyze and interpret the data to identify areas for improvement? What specific analytical methods or techniques did you use? How did your data interpretation contribute to identifying and implementing process improvements? How did working with that data shape how you worked with similar data in the future?
Describe a project where you integrated and analyzed data from multiple internal and external sources. What were the challenges of working with data from various sources? How did you determine the importance of information? What were the findings from your data analysis? Would you have done anything differently on the project?
Tell me about a project where you utilized both quantitative and qualitative data to solve a work-related problem. How did you analyze both data types? What was the information learned from each data type? How did the combination of data types improve your interpretation and address the problem?

Judgement and Decision Making

Judgement and Decision Making
Amazonians interpret available information to draw accurate conclusions, evaluate alternatives, and make recommendations and decisions.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Misinterprets available information, leading to inaccurate conclusions Makes decisions in the moment without using available information Relies on their own intuition and point of view to sometimes make inaccurate judgments Implements a solution without evaluating alternatives Spends too much time analyzing information before making a decision Blames others when decisions are questioned Conducts an incomplete evaluation of alternative decisions Waits for others to make decisions			Critically analyzes all relevant information to make accurate conclusions Makes decisions based on logic and available information Accurately interprets input from reliable sources to get a holistic understanding to inform their decision Identifies the impacts of alternative solutions before making a final decision Discusses concerns with others so timely recommendations or decisions can be implemented Takes responsibility for decisions by proactively explaining disadvantages and advantages Conducts a balanced evaluation of alternative decisions Takes initiative to make decisions

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you had to analyze a complex issue and recommend a course of action. How did you break the situation down and evaluate the different options? What factors did you consider in making your final recommendation? How was your recommendation received and what were the results?
Give me an example of a time you had to make a risky decision. How did you distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable risks? What alternatives did you consider? What tradeoffs did you consider when making the risky decision? What was the outcome of your decision?
Tell me about a time when you had to analyze complex information and identify the key factors to make an important decision. What process did you use to break down and evaluate the information? How did you determine which factors were most critical? What was the outcome of your analysis and decision?
Give me an example of a time when you had to make a decision that went against popular opinion. What did you consider when making the decision? How did you approach communication about your decision? How was your decision received?
Tell me about a time you made a decision that had a significant impact on others. What was the situation? What options did you consider? What were the consequences of your decision? Would you do anything differently?
Give me an example of a time when you were not ready to make a decision but needed to decide quickly. Why did you need to make the decision quickly? How did you approach the decision? What was the result? What would you have done differently if you had more time to decide?
Tell me about a time when you took the initiative to make a decision. Why did you choose to take the initiative instead of letting someone else decide? What steps did you take to make the decision? What was the outcome? Would you do anything differently?
Describe a time when you utilized findings from a data analysis to support a solution to a problem. What analytical skills did you employ to solve the problem? What solutions emerged from the data analysis? What was your process for recognizing and interpreting patterns in the data? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time your team had trouble making a decision. Why was the team having trouble making the decision? What did you do to help the team make a final decision? What tradeoffs did you consider when evaluating alternative decisions? What was the outcome? (Manager)

Learning Orientation

Learning Orientation
Amazonians pursue learning opportunities that will advance knowledge, skill, or ability to improve job performance.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Engages in learning activities without a clear focus or objective Does not request feedback to guide which learning opportunities to pursue Demonstrates little motivation to acquire new knowledge and skills Waits for explicit instructions to pursue learning opportunities Makes little effort to share knowledge or mentor others Expresses satisfaction with maintaining current knowledge and skills rather than improving			Engages in learning activities to expand own capabilities and improve job performance Requests regular feedback to identify learning opportunities to pursue Proactively stays current on knowledge and skills essential to the job Reflects on personal strengths and growth opportunities to guide own professional-improvement strategies Shares new knowledge and skills frequently with colleagues to contribute to a culture of mutual learning Asks for ideas from more experienced colleagues on how to improve knowledge and skills

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time you volunteered for an opportunity at work that required you to develop a new skill set. Why did you volunteer for this opportunity? What steps did you take to develop the new skill set? How did this opportunity help your professional development? How did this learning opportunity impact your job performance?
Describe a time when you experienced a change in industry trends that directly impacted your role. What was the change, and how did you identify its impact? How did you stay informed about these changes? What steps did you take to adapt your knowledge and skills accordingly? Did this affect your job performance?
Describe a time when you pursued a new learning and developmental opportunity. How did you determine the opportunity aligned with your goals? What other opportunities did you consider? How did this opportunity impact your subsequent performance on your job?
Describe a time when you learned a new knowledge or skill and shared it with others at your workplace. What was your motivation to collaborate and share this knowledge? What steps did you take to share and teach others? How was it received by your peers? How did this impact the overall success of others?
Tell me about a time when you mentored a peer to help them gain new knowledge or skills. Why did you mentor your peer? What knowledge or skills were involved? What approach did you take to ensure effective knowledge sharing? How did this impact the overall success of your peer?
Describe a time when you had to quickly acquire new knowledge or skills for your role due to changes or advancements in your area of work. How did you approach the situation? How did you ensure that the professional development activity that you chose effectively met the needs in the field? What was the outcome?
Share a specific strategy you used to identify learning and development opportunities to expand your current skills or knowledge. What was your strategy? If any, what alternative strategies did you consider? How did this learning opportunity impact your work performance?
Tell me about a time when you had to learn a new skill or subject matter to solve a complex problem at work. What steps did you take to acquire that knowledge or skill? How did this new learning help you solve the problem? What was the outcome of applying this new knowledge?
Tell me about a time when you proactively sought out learning opportunities to improve your knowledge or skills in a particular area. What motivated you to pursue this learning experience? How did you apply what you learned? What was the outcome?

Plan and Prioritize

Plan and Prioritize
Amazonians organize work by setting priorities, determining resource requirements, monitoring progress, and evaluating outcomes.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Prioritizes work in a random or unorganized fashion (e.g., easiest tasks first) Monitors progress by requesting others to notify them if issues arise Plans projects without gathering complete information about resource requirements Checks progress toward goals too late to address potential issues (e.g., quality concerns) Assumes desired outcomes will be achieved if the plan is followed properly			Makes plans that don't include enough time to address unexpected challenges Prioritizes work based on thoughtful consideration of multiple factors (e.g., criticality, deadline flexibility, resource availability) Monitors progress by regularly communicating with appropriate staff and essential individuals or groups Plans for potential challenges that can impact the deliverable deadline Seeks information about critical resources to support project planning Monitors progress toward goals continuously and efficiently Follows up with essential individuals or groups to determine whether desired outcomes have been produced

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a time when you were assigned a complex task with a short completion time. How did you prioritize what needed to be done? What steps did you take to know if your prioritization approach was effective? How did you assess the progress of the task?
Tell me about a time when a project or task fell behind schedule. What steps did you take to get back on schedule? How did you manage existing task resources or personnel to mitigate any potential loss? What additional actions did you take to improve project planning?
Describe a time when your planned project faced an unexpected obstacle. What was the obstacle? What adjustments did you make? What were the implications for tasks that had not started yet? How did this impact the plan for the remainder of the project?
Describe a time you had to communicate a plan to multiple stakeholders for them to execute against. What was your process for planning and organizing the work? How did you determine what information to share? How did you ensure everyone understood their expected contributions? How did you evaluate success of the plan, overall and for each stakeholder?
Tell me about a time when you were assigned a complex project with multiple tasks for you to coordinate. What was your process for planning and organizing the work? What assumptions did you make in your plan? What actions did you take to ensure you would meet expectations? How did you prioritize what needed to be done?
Describe a time when you took over a task initially started by someone else. How did you determine the progress made and stopping point for the previous person? How did you organize the next stage of the work? How did you identify any required resources for the task? What adjustments did you make to the task milestones?
Describe a time when you needed to create a plan for an unfamiliar task. How did you break the task down into manageable components? What actions did you take to help you create the plan for the task? How did you track your progress? How did you anticipate challenges?
Tell me about a time when you worked on a complex project that required you to track progress on multiple work tasks. What work tasks did you have to track and what was your method for tracking them? What actions or decisions were influenced as a result of tracking your progress? What changes, if any, did you make during the project as you monitored progress? How did you anticipate challenges?

Team and People Management

Team and People Management
Amazon managers connect employee motivations and interests to opportunities and resources; provide actionable feedback and advice; empower employees to deliver results as individuals and as a cohesive team; and motivate and guide team members to achieve objectives and further their development.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Underserves top performers and doesn't grow their skills or create a path for career growth. Gives repeated examples of team members leaving due to lack of training or interesting tasks. Fails to identify or take action on skills gaps and performance gaps on the team. Gives vague feedback and lacks follow-up. Assumes that behaviors are attributes of a person and cannot change. Fails to set direction or drives teams in the wrong direction Allows team to get disrupted or derailed by less critical work. Assumes they understand employee's career goals without discussing it with them. Treats career planning and development as ad-hoc or an afterthought. Relies heavily on others to source and recruit talent. Doesn't actively hire for open positions; focuses on filling open positions instead of finding quality candidates. Impedes transparent information flows and creates knowledge transfer inefficiencies. Hires new employees without onboarding plan or support. Fails to take action around diversity and inclusion. Focuses solely on managing individuals without considering team vision, knowledge-sharing, and cohesion. Gives little thought toward back-up plans for covering priority work, in the event that key team members leave.			Identifies top performers and continues to grow their strengths and skills. Guides individuals toward the next step in their career. Identifies gaps with employees' performance against expectations, and coaches them to meet the bar; takes additional follow-up action if coaching fails. Provides specific and actionable feedback in a timely manner. Sets direction and drives meaningful work by aligning teams to customer impact Focuses others on the highest priorities and proactively filters out less critical work Identifies, documents and communicates employee's strengths and growth areas. Facilitates career development through goals and team's opportunities. Takes an active role in recruiting and attracting candidates from a diverse pool of individuals to their team. Ensures success in onboarding new team members with adequate support. Facilitate transparent and efficient information flows. Creates and utilizes team-wide or organization-wide programs for knowledge transfer and learning/onboarding. Creates a team environment where tenured members demonstrate inclusion and newer team members can contributed immediately. Evaluates bench strength on current team to be prepared for succession planning in the event that key team members leave.

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Tell me about a time when you discovered a misalignment between your team's plans or success metrics and your customer's needs. How was the misalignment discovered and what did you do about it? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you took actions to support an employee's professional development goals. What was the action? How did you know that action aligned with their developmental goals? (Manager)
Describe a time when you needed to help an underperforming team member. What were the specific gaps in their behavior, and how did you identify them? What actions did you take to help them bring their performance back up to expectations? What was the outcome? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you were not close to the details of one of your team's projects and it caused an issue. How did you discover that you needed more information and what did you do about it? Can you share a time when you were too involved in the details of one of your team's projects? What, if anything, did you do to adapt? (Manager)
Describe a time when you identified an obstacle that was slowing your team down from delivering on a goal or commitment. How did you approach your team to address it? What did you do, if anything, and what alternatives did you consider? (Manager)
Tell me about a time you successfully gave decision making authority to your team to drive delivery of a goal or project. How did you communicate the decision making authority? What obstacles came up along the way? What factors did you consider in how close to stay to the details of the work? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when you needed to decide whether to protect your team from a disruption like scope creep or reprioritization. Where or from whom did the disruption originate? How did you determine how to proceed? Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently? (Manager)
Tell me about a time when a goal or deadline was at risk because the team wasn't working well together. What was the situation? What steps did you take to address the issue? What was the result? (Manager)
Tell me about a time you had to shift the priorities of your team's work based on new input. How did you decide that a reprioritization was necessary? How did you communicate the reprioritization? (Manager)
Tell me about a change you implemented to make your team feel more connected to each other. How did you know a change was necessary? What impact did it have? (Manager)
Tell me about a time that your team was struggling to effectively share knowledge/information with each other. What was the root cause and how did you identify it? How did you address it? How did you measure success of your efforts? (Manager)
Tell me about a time your team slowed down because of miscommunications with another team. What was the root cause? How did you address it? How did you measure success of your efforts? (Manager)

Vision and Strategy

Vision and Strategy
Amazonians communicate a compelling vision and bold direction that generates excitement and commitment from others.
Concern	Mild concern	Mixed	Mild strength	Strength
Communicates a vision that others are reluctant to support Shares a vision in a way that discourages others Communicates an extreme direction without consulting stakeholders in the organization Enables others to understand a vision's concept but not how it relates to their work Communications a vision while giving others the impression that they personally do not support it Sets goals that advance the organization's current state rather than a new vision Follows the lead of others who push the progress of the organization toward its desired state Fails to inspire others to imagine the possibilities for the future of the organization			Communicates a strong vision that others are excited to support Shares a vision in a way that gets others excited about the organization's future Communicates a strategic direction that people in the organization are excited about and committed to Enables others to see how the organization's vision is applicable to everyday work processes Works passionately toward spreading the organization's strategic vision Creates long-term goals to mobilize people toward achieving the vision Pushes teams and employees to reach the organization's desired state Inspires others to imagine the possibilities for the future of the organization

Choose 2-3 questions below for your interview:

Describe a time where you identified a need for significant change and developed a strategic plan to address it. What was your process for formulating the strategy? How did you build buy-in and alignment among stakeholders? What were the results of executing your strategic plan?
Tell me about a time you developed a culture of innovation within your team or organization. How did you encourage your team? What did you do to get your team to think beyond the current state? How did you encourage the team to take action toward achieving the vision? How did the changes impact your team's performance?
Describe a time when you communicated a new vision to your stakeholders or employees. How did you increase your audience's enthusiasm for this vision? How did you ensure understanding and commitment from your audience? What challenges did you encountered when communicating this vision? How did you overcome the challenges?
Tell me about a time you set a challenging but achievable long-term goal for your team. What specific strategies did you employ to generate commitment from others? What was your role in achieving the goal? What was the result?
Tell me about a time you communicated the organization's desired future state to your team. What specific strategies did you employ to generate commitment from others? How did your technique aid in the team's understanding? How aligned was your team, and how did you assess alignment?
Tell me about a time when you proposed a new vision or strategy and it didn't generate the level of excitement or support you expected. How did you realize that your team members lacked excitement or commitment? What challenges did you encounter when communicating this vision? How did you react to these challenges? What was the result of your approach?
Tell me about a time when you shared a vision that generated excitement in your team. How did you realize that energy was low or lacking? How did you inspire your colleagues to feel excited about their jobs and the organization's future? What was the result?
Give me an example of when you applied the organization's vision to a work process within your team. Specifically, what led you to make that connection? What did you change? How did your choice impact the team? What specific strategies did you employ to generate commitment from others?