Amazon Leadership Principles Interview Questions

Question 1

Who was your most difficult customer?

Answer 1

This is a question applied to the “Customer Obsession” Leadership Priciple.

In my last role as a vendor security assesor at Apple, I had a client that would point out other compensating controls when discussing a found vulnerability very aggressively. It would be rather dramatic. It was a vulnerability that was patched and easily fixed, so I was rather confused. We had a lot to go over so I made a note of it to address after the assesment.

When he calmed down, and we were in the remediation phase, I sent him an email and asked him if there was anything I could do to help, as I was very familiar with this perticular vulnerability. I sent a list of patch notes I had gathered previously from Github pertaining to his system, and let him know that I had delt with this vulnerability several times and had some bandwidth available if he wanted to set up a webex with me and I could walk him through the patch if he wanted. He did and I found out that he was unable to discern what business processes relied on it, and he couldn’t find any internal documentaion, as his manager had submitted everything for the assessment. I felt like his frustration came from not wanting to lose face with his manager, as he felt like he was lost in the assessment process.

I was able to share the documentation and walk through the patch process with him.

Question 2

Tell me about a time when you didn’t meet customer expectations. What happened, and how did you deal with the situation?

Answer 2

This is a question applied to the “Customer Obsession” Leadership Priciple.

There was a time at apple. I had reciently been added to the remediation team, while remaining on the assessment team, so my work load had effectivly doubled. I was supposed to update my assessment tracker for a provided remediation, and had not done so by the normal time frame I had set with the vendor.

I reached out to the vendor letting him know that I understand he was expecting to recieve credit for his remediation, and took responsibility for not being able to stay in line with our remediation candence, as I had also been assigned several other tasks. I let him know that the remediation would be added to the tracker and back dated to when it was recieved, and I would make sure it had no bearing on his efforts. I thanked him for his hard work and dedication, and then updated my tracker that day.

Question 3

How do you go about prioritizing customer needs when you are dealing with a large number of customers?

Answer 3

This is a question applied to the “Customer Obsession” Leadership Priciple.

At Apple I was on several Cybersecurity teams. I worked into a formulated system of active rapid communication based on first come first served. I would prioritze vendor needs based on their self assesed level of urgency, addressing their tasks based on it.

Question 4

Tell me about a time when you took on a task that was beyond your job responsibilities.

Answer 4

This is a question applied to the “Ownership” Leadership Priciple.

At Apple, right after I was added to the remediation team, our remediation lead annonced that she was going on a month long vacation. I reached out to her and asked if I could help out with anything while she was away. I ended up helping everybody on our 12 person team at one time or another. I learned an exponentially greater number details about a ton of tasks I had never performed before by filling in gaps left by others workloads.

Question 5

Tell me about a time when you had to work on a task with unclear responsibilities.

Answer 5

This is a question applied to the “Ownership” Leadership Priciple.

When I joined the remediation team in my position at Apple, I soon realized that it was made up of varied tasks and responibilities, everything from pen-testing to vendor management, with no real or clear roles defined. Everyone was super nice so I took the oppertunity that friendly communication offered and asked the team members if there was anything I could help them with. I took on several tasks, sat in many meetings and tried to offer value as often as possible. After defining the needs of the tasks I would also slack with the intern on many occasions offering bullet points for documenting several tasks were needed to be added to our opperational guide so our team could continue to streamline and grow.

Question 6

Tell me about a time when you showed an initiative to work on a challenging project.

Answer 6

This is a question applied to the “Ownership” Leadership Priciple.

Question 7

Describe a time when you found a simple solution to a complex problem.

Answer 7

This is a question applied to the “Invent and Simplify” Leadership Priciple.

Question 8

Tell me about a time when you invented something.

Answer 8

This is a question applied to the “Invent and Simplify” Leadership Priciple.

Question 9

Tell me about a time when you tried to simplify a process but failed. What would you have done differently?

Answer 9

This is a question applied to the “Invent and Simplify” Leadership Priciple.

Question 10

Tell me about a time when you effectively used your judgment to solve a problem.

Answer 10

This is a question applied to the “Are Right, a Lot” Leadership Priciple.

Question 11

Tell me about a time when you had to work with insufficient information or incomplete data.

Answer 11

This is a question applied to the “Are Right, a Lot” Leadership Priciple.

Question 12

Tell me about a time when you were wrong.

Answer 12

This is a question applied to the “Are Right, a Lot” Leadership Priciple.

Question 13

Tell me about an important lesson you learned over the past year.

Answer 13

This is a question applied to the “Learn and Be Curious” Leadership Priciple.

Question 13

Tell me about a situation or experience you went through that changed your way of thinking.

Answer 13

This is a question applied to the “Learn and Be Curious” Leadership Priciple.

Question 14

Tell me about a time when you made a smarter decision with the help of your curiosity.

Answer 14

This is a question applied to the “Learn and Be Curious” Leadership Priciple.

Question 15

Tell me about a time when you mentored someone.

Answer 15

This is a question applied to the “Hire and Develop the Best” Leadership Priciple.

Question 16

Tell me about a time when you made a bad hire. When did you figure it out, and what did you do?

Answer 16

This is a question applied to the “Hire and Develop the Best” Leadership Priciple.

Question 17

What qualities do you look for in potential candidates when making hiring decisions?

Answer 17

This is a question applied to the “Hire and Develop the Best” Leadership Priciple.

Question 18

Tell me about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality of a project at work. What did you do to improve it?

Answer 18

This is a question applied to the “Insist on the Highest Standards” Leadership Priciple.

Question 19

Tell me about a time when you motivated others to go above and beyond.

Answer 19

This is a question applied to the “Insist on the Highest Standards” Leadership Priciple.

Question 20

Describe a situation when you couldn’t meet your standards and expectations on a task.

Answer 20

This is a question applied to the “Insist on the Highest Standards” Leadership Priciple.

Question 21

Tell me about your most significant professional achievement.

Answer 21

This is a question applied to the “Think Big” Leadership Priciple.

Question 22

Tell me about a time when your vision led to a great impact.

Answer 22

This is a question applied to the “Think Big” Leadership Priciple.

Question 23

Tell me about a time when you had to make a bold and challenging decision.

Answer 23

This is a question applied to the “Think Big” Leadership Priciple.

Question 24

Provide an example of when you took a calculated risk.

Answer 24

This is a question applied to the “Bias for Action” Leadership Priciple.

Question 25

Describe a situation when you took the initiative to correct a problem or a mistake rather than waiting for someone else to do it.

Answer 25

This is a question applied to the “Bias for Action” Leadership Priciple.

Question 26

Tell me about a time when you required some information from somebody else, but they weren’t responsive. What did you do?

Answer 26

This is a question applied to the “Bias for Action” Leadership Priciple.

Question 27

Describe a time when you had to rely on yourself to complete a task.

Answer 27

This is a question applied to the “Frugality” Leadership Priciple.

Question 28

Tell me about a time when you had to be frugal.

Answer 28

This is a question applied to the “Frugality” Leadership Priciple.

Question 29

Tell me about a time when you had to rely on yourself to complete a project.

Answer 29

This is a question applied to the “Frugality” Leadership Priciple.

Question 30

Describe a time when you had to speak up in a difficult or uncomfortable environment.

Answer 30

This is a question applied to the “Earn Trust” Leadership Priciple.

Question 31

What would you do to gain the trust of your team?

Answer 31

This is a question applied to the “Earn Trust” Leadership Priciple.

Question 32

Tell me about a time when you had to tell a harsh truth to someone.

Answer 32

This is a question applied to the “Earn Trust” Leadership Priciple.

Question 33

Tell me about the most complicated problem you’ve had to deal with.

Answer 33

This is a question applied to the “Dive Deep” Leadership Priciple.

Question 34

Give me an example of when you utilized in-depth data to develop a solution.

Answer 34

This is a question applied to the “Dive Deep” Leadership Priciple.

Question 35

Tell me about something that you have learned in your role.

Answer 35

This is a question applied to the “Dive Deep” Leadership Priciple.

Question 36

Describe a time when you disagreed with the approach of a team member. What did you do?

Answer 36

This is a question applied to the “Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit” Leadership Priciple.

Question 37

Give me an example of something you believe in that nobody else does.

Answer 37

This is a question applied to the “Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit” Leadership Priciple.

Question 38

Tell me about an unpopular decision of yours.

Answer 38

This is a question applied to the “Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit” Leadership Priciple.

Question 39

Describe the most challenging situation in your life and how you handled it.

Answer 39

This is a question applied to the “Deliver Results” Leadership Priciple.

Question 40

Give an example of a time when you had to handle a variety of assignments. What was the outcome?

Answer 40

This is a question applied to the “Deliver Results” Leadership Priciple.

Question 41

Tell me about a time when your team gave up on something, but you pushed them to deliver results.

Answer 41

This is a question applied to the “Deliver Results” Leadership Priciple.

Question 42

When was the last time you built a team? What did you consider when assembling it together?

Answer 42

This is a question applied to the “Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer” Leadership Priciple.

Question 43

Give an example of a time when you developed the careers of people on your team.

Answer 43

This is a question applied to the “Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer” Leadership Priciple.

Question 44

How have you managed varying strengths and weaknesses of members in your team?

Answer 44

This is a question applied to the “Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer” Leadership Priciple.

Question 45

Describe a moral or ethical dilemma you’ve faced in the workplace. How did you handle it?

Answer 45

This is a question applied to the “Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility” Leadership Priciple.

Question 46

Give an example of a time when you’ve left a project in a better position than you’ve found it.

Answer 46

This is a question applied to the “Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility” Leadership Priciple.

Question 47

What’s the largest impact you’ve had on your environment?

Answer 47

This is a question applied to the “Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility” Leadership Priciple.