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Using Problem-Solving Situations During Amazon Interviews

Former Amazon senior manager shares proven tips for mastering Amazon's problem-solving interview questions aligned with Leadership Principles.

Evgeny Bik

If you join Amazon, you will quickly realize that everyone around you is a serial problem solver. This is by design. Besides being an organization of over-achievers, Amazon has a profoundly ingrained engineering ethos that lives in tech and non-tech organizations.

Therefore, you won’t be surprised that problem-solving is a recurring theme throughout the interview process. Amazon behavioral interview questions that ask you to share a situation where you were solving problems map to 5 out of 16 Leadership Principles. Problem-solving questions can test Dive Deep, Invent & Simplify, Are Right A Lot, Frugality, and Learn & Be Curious.

However, unless you know the nuances of the Leadership Principles, we can’t blame you for being somewhat confused about what LP is being tested in one problem-solving question or another. Another complication for candidates is that when we find ourselves in real-life problem-solving situations, we may demonstrate a range of leadership principles mixed.

We wrote this article to offer you a quick orientation around problem-solving themes in Amazon Leadership Principles and the interview questions that test them. We hope it will make it easier for you to pick the right situation during the interview and focus on the correct details to answer Amazon interview questions.

Problem-solving and Dive Deep

While Amazon's Dive Deep Leadership Principle is not only about problem-solving, some Dive Deep questions will look for evidence of your ability to solve complex problems. Of course, complexity means different things to different people. Yet, in an Amazon interview context, it typically boils down to three things.

  • A problem that requires multiple levels of data analysis (peeling the data onion) to solve.
  • A problem had you using numerous data sources (from either systems or people) to find a solution.
  • A problem was so novel that it took a while to figure out how to approach it.

In contrast to other Leadership Principle questions that ask for problem-solving evidence, the main focus of Dive Deep is on the process of getting to the solution itself. Here, we’d recommend that you focus on establishing the source of complexity and then outline the steps you took to get to the very bottom of the problem.

Problem-solving and Invent & Simplify

At the heart of the Invent and Simplify Leadership principle at Amazon are two distinct themes: invention and simplification, as the name of the LP suggests. Problem-solving typically comes under the Simplification theme.

Under Invent and Simplify, Amazon will expect you to demonstrate how you effectively boiled complexity into simplicity while solving a problem. From our experience at Amazon, we can attest that many problems started as giant hairy monsters with unknown root causes and hidden under a sea of data (most of which was useless to the analysis).

While you should still follow a STAR format of answering Amazon Leadership Principle questions, Invent and Simplify problem-solving responses should focus on the “A-Ha!” moment that led you to invent a simple solution. The invention of a fix at the end of the problem-solving journey is the main currency of an acceptable answer. Therefore, the bulk of your story-telling should detail the innovation process rather than digging for the root cause.

Problem-solving and Are Right A Lot

Are Right; A Lot of Leadership Principle at Amazon is mainly about continuously learning from your successes and failures to always make the right decisions. So, where does problem-solving feature in this LP? Very prominently. Just think about when you need to solve a problem while operating under uncertainty or, perhaps, without having all the knowledge and expertise right away. So, being able to inform your gut on the spot by learning from people and systems around you is how you would need to approach problem-solving under Are Right A Lot.

Therefore, the currency of a good problem-solving answer to the Are Right A Lot Leadership Principle question in an Amazon interview is a series of steps of how you went about building or disconfirming (challenging) your beliefs while operating under uncertainty and needing to solve a problem.

Problem-solving and Frugality

If you’ve taken our training ( Amazon Interview Whizz ), you will remember the main themes of the Frugality Leadership Principle at Amazon. Having read the previous few sections, you won’t be surprised that Frugality situations may also have a problem-solving element.

But this time, you are operating under resource constraints and have to do with what you have. This is Frugality, defined by the official version (achieve more with less), but just in a problem-solving contest.

Hence, the currency of a decent problem-solving answer to Amazon interview questions on the Frugality Leadership Principle would be a story about how you effectively ran with what you had to solve a challenge.

Problem-solving and Learn & Be Curious

Problem-solving themes under Learn & Be Curious are similar to those under Are Right. The slight difference is in the nuances. While Are Right A Lot is about drawing on the expertise of others to inform or challenge your intuition, Learn & Be Curious is about acquiring knowledge. Both Leadership Principles make one a confident problem-solver, and you have probably demonstrated both LPs in real-life situations, possibly both simultaneously. However, in an Amazon interview situation, it would be helpful to focus your response on the details that matter for Learn & Be Curious.

Therefore, the currency of a workable answer under this Leadership Principle in an Amazon interview is a story of the steps you took to acquire expertise that you did not have to solve a problem.

We hope this article helped you understand the nuances of sharing problem-solving situations when answering Leadership Principles questions in behavioral interviews at Amazon. If you fancy taking your interview preparation to the next level, check out Amazon Interview Whizz , our signature training course. It is based on our insights from thousands of interviews, coaching sessions, and hiring decisions.

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11 Amazon interview tips from recruiters and hiring managers

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An image of a woman sitting on a chair, smiling for a photo against a white background while wearing a bright blue blazer.

If you're gearing up for an interview at Amazon, you might think you need to prepare for trick questions, but that's not the case. Though tech companies have a reputation for throwing out brain teasers during the interview process, we do things a bit differently here.

Our candidate-first approach to interviewing means we'll do our best to ask fair questions and provide tools and resources to help you. However, it's still important to do your research and prep work.

Amazon's Leadership Principles

If you're ready to get started, here are 11 tips to prepare for your upcoming interview with Amazon.

Amazon interview questions are behavioral-based. We'll ask about past situations or challenges you've faced and how you handled them. Amazon's Leadership Principles will help us guide the discussion. Cody Nelson, senior manager of recruiting , Worldwide Operations, recommends using the job description to prepare the stories you use to answer these questions. Nelson said, "If you can think of stories and examples related to the requirements in the job description, you will be better prepared to answer the behavioral questions in your interview."

The STAR method is a structured way to respond to behavioral-based interview questions. Following the format, you answer questions by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the experience you're describing. Stacy Milgate, program manager at AWS, suggests laying your stories out in the STAR format ahead of your interview. "Think about all of the details," she said. "Who was involved? What did you do specifically? What were the results based off of what you did? How did you make an impact?"

Once you have your stories ready, practice them in the mirror or with a partner to really nail the answer format in your interview.

An Amazon senior manager talks about interview tips with an Amazon logo behind him.

"A big miss for many candidates is that they don't dive deep enough," said Rasheeda Liberty, Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity leader at Amazon. When answering questions in your interview, remember that specifics are key. Give a detailed account of one situation for each question you answer, and use data or metrics to support your example. "We want to know the numbers," said Liberty. "We want to know who was working on the project and how you delivered tangible results."

Use "I," when describing actions in your interview answers. "Interviewing is not the time to minimize what you have done," said Michelle Jackson, a senior recruiting business manager at Amazon. "Of course, we understand that you've worked with a team in a collaborative environment, but interviewing is an opportunity for you to sell yourself." Be ready to describe the specific steps you took and how you contributed. Let us know what you actually did.

It's okay to talk about failure. Come prepared with examples that showcase your expertise while describing how you've taken risks, succeeded, failed, and grown in the process. Keep in mind, some of Amazon's most successful programs have roots in failed projects.

"You can't innovate without failure," said Nelson. "Failure isn't a bad thing as long as you improve from the lessons you learned. Understand how you've taken risks in a positive way and be able to communicate that to your interviewer."

An image of Amazon employee Francisco Nino in a work vest at Amazon in Greenwood, Indiana.

Asking "why Amazon?" is not just a formality for us. We want to understand why you're exploring an opportunity with the company so we get a better sense of who you are.

"Many candidates say they're excited about the opportunity to work for a large-scale, innovative company," said Liberty. "What I really want to know is why Amazon fits into your specific career path. We want to know that you're a person who's thinking about how to give back to the organization with what you bring, but we're also looking at what you want to learn while working here."

Don't be shy about asking for clarification. If an interviewer asks you a question and does not give enough information for you to provide a solid answer, ask for more context.

"We ask a lot of questions at Amazon," said Jackson. "We want our candidates to feel comfortable with this because that's the environment and culture we actually have."

Your recruiter may ask you to provide a writing sample. This will depend on the role you're interviewing for, but it isn't necessarily limited to traditional writing roles. Why? One of the unique aspects of Amazon's culture is that we don't do PowerPoint or any other slide-oriented presentations in meetings. We write narratively structured memos and silently read them at the beginning of each meeting. These papers include pertinent information like project goals, tactics, outcomes, and next steps. Because these papers impact our decision making, articulating your thoughts in written format is a necessary skill.

You will meet with between two to seven Amazon employees during your interview process. They will likely be a mix of managers, team members, stakeholders from related teams, and a " Bar Raiser " (usually an objective third party from another team).

The recruiters and hiring managers we talked to recommend bringing notes to help you keep track of the stories you share during each interview. A pen will also be helpful to jot down things like the questions you want to ask at the end or key points you want to hit in the next interview.

An image of Sarah Rhoads in her pilot gear kneeling in front of a large plane and smiling for a photo.

Interviewers use Amazon's Leadership Principles to evaluate candidates. Consider how you've applied these principles in your previous professional experience as you practice your stories and responses.

"We're not going to test you to see if you've memorized the Leadership Principles, but we do want candidates to be excited about them," said Milgate. "Questions about the Leadership Principles are meant to help us understand why you want to work here and how our values resonate with you."

Take some time ahead of your interview to tie your stories back to our Leadership Principles, and maybe even identify a few principles that resonate with you most.

Amazon has a peculiar culture centered on customer obsession. As you prepare for your interview, research the company to determine whether Amazon is the right fit for you. Learn more about our culture.

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We hope these tips help you prepare for success in your upcoming interview with Amazon. For more information, find additional interviewing tips and FAQs on Amazon.jobs .

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Top Amazon Questions

Cracking the top Amazon coding interview questions

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Landing a job at Amazon is a dream for many developers around the globe. Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, with a workforce of over half a million strong.

For you to join them, you’ll need to complete their unique interview that combines technical and leadership knowledge.

Today, we’ll walk you through everything you need to crack the Amazon technical interview , including questions and answers for coding problems and a step-by-step tech interview prep guide .

Amazon Leetcode Questions

Amazon is a dream company for many developers. To get yourself a job at Amazon, the most important part is to practice your interview skills and apply for the correct position. Make sure you thoroughly look at the job description to ensure that it matches your skill set. The next step is to practice some Amazon Leetcode Questions. Solving Leetcode problems is an exceptional way to practice your coding skills.

Educative has curated a collection of Amazon-specific LeetCode problems to facilitate focused practice. There’s no need to feel overwhelmed by the vast array of over 2000+ LeetCode problems. With this select set, you can practice and develop the logic necessary to tackle all the coding problems typically encountered in Amazon interviews. We’veve also added 40+ commonly asked Amazon coding interview questions for you to practice and improve your skills. For detailed lists of questions curated to help you ace the Amazon coding interviews, Educative-99 and Educative-77 are the perfect places to start.

Today, we will go over the following:

  • 45 common Amazon coding interview questions
  • Overview of Amazon coding interviews
  • How to prepare for a coding interview

Wrapping up and resources

Answer any Amazon interview question by learning the patterns behind common questions. Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in Python Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in JavaScript Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in Java Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in Go Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in C++

problem solving questions for amazon interview

45 common Amazon technical coding interview questions

1. find the missing number in the array.

You are given an array of positive numbers from 1 to n , such that all numbers from 1 to n are present except one number x . You have to find x . The input array is not sorted. Look at the below array and give it a try before checking the solution.

Click here to view the solution in C++, Java, JavaScript, and Ruby.

Runtime Complexity: Linear, O ( n ) O(n) O ( n )

Memory Complexity: Constant, O ( 1 ) O(1) O ( 1 )

A naive solution is to simply search for every integer between 1 and n in the input array, stopping the search as soon as there is a missing number. But we can do better. Here is a linear, O ( n ) O(n) O ( n ) , solution that uses the arithmetic series sum formula.​​ Here are the steps to find the missing number:

  • Find the sum sum_of_elements of all the numbers in the array. This would require a linear scan, O ( n ) O(n) O ( n ) .
  • Then find the sum expected_sum of first n numbers using the arithmetic series sum formula
  • The difference between these i.e. expected_sum - sum_of_elements , is the missing number in the array.

2. Determine if the sum of two integers is equal to the given value

Given an array of integers and a value, determine if there are any two integers in the array whose sum is equal to the given value. Return true if the sum exists and return false if it does not. Consider this array and the target sums:

Memory Complexity: Linear, O ( n ) O(n) O ( n )

You can use the following algorithm to find a pair that add up to the target (say val ).

  • Scan the whole array once and store visited elements in a hash set.
  • During scan , for every element e in the array, we check if val - e is present in the hash set i.e. val - e is already visited.
  • If val - e is found in the hash set, it means there is a pair ( e , val - e ) in array whose sum is equal to the given val .
  • If we have exhausted all elements in the array and didn’t find any such pair, the function will return false

3. Merge two sorted linked lists

Given two sorted linked lists, merge them so that the resulting linked list is also sorted. Consider two sorted linked lists and the merged list below them as an example.

Runtime Complexity: Linear, O ( m + n ) O(m + n) O ( m + n ) where m and n are lengths of both linked lists

Maintain a head and a tail pointer on the merged linked list. Then choose the head of the merged linked list by comparing the first node of both linked lists. For all subsequent nodes in both lists, you choose the smaller current node and link it to the tail of the merged list, and moving the current pointer of that list one step forward.

Continue this while there are some remaining elements in both the lists. If there are still some elements in only one of the lists, you link this remaining list to the tail of the merged list. Initially, the merged linked list is NULL .

Compare the value of the first two nodes and make the node with the smaller value the head node of the merged linked list. In this example, it is 4 from head1 . Since it’s the first and only node in the merged list, it will also be the tail. Then move head1 one step forward.

4. Copy linked list with arbitrary pointer

You are given a linked list where the node has two pointers. The first is the regular next pointer. The second pointer is called arbitrary and it can point to any node in the linked list. Your job is to write code to make a deep copy of the given linked list. Here, deep copy means that any operations on the original list should not affect the copied list.

This approach uses a map to track arbitrary nodes pointed by the original list. You will create a deep copy of the original linked list (say list_orig ) in two passes.

  • In the first pass, create a copy of the original linked list. While creating this copy, use the same values for data and arbitrary_pointer in the new list. Also, keep updating the map with entries where the key is the address to the old node and the value is the address of the new node.
  • Once the copy has been created, do another pass on the copied linked list and update arbitrary pointers to the new address using the map created in the first pass.

5. Level Order Traversal of Binary Tree

Given the root of a binary tree, display the node values at each level. Node values for all levels should be displayed on separate lines. Let’s take a look at the below binary tree.

Here, you are using two queues: current_queue and next_queue . You push the nodes in both queues alternately based on the current level number.

You’ll dequeue nodes from the current_queue , print the node’s data, and enqueue the node’s children to the next_queue . Once the current_queue becomes empty, you have processed all nodes for the current level_number. To indicate the new level , print a line break ( \n ), swap the two queues, and continue with the above-mentioned logic.

After printing the leaf nodes from the current_queue , swap current_queue and next_queue . Since the current_queue would be empty, you can terminate the loop.

6. Determine if a binary tree is a binary search tree

Given a Binary Tree, figure out whether it’s a Binary Search Tree . In a binary search tree, each node’s key value is smaller than the key value of all nodes in the right subtree, and is greater than the key values of all nodes in the left subtree. Below is an example of a binary tree that is a valid BST.

Below is an example of a binary tree that is not a BST.

There are several ways of solving this problem. A basic algorithm would be to check on each node where the maximum value of its left sub-tree is less than the node’s data and the minimum value of its right sub-tree is greater than the node’s data. This is highly inefficient as for each node, both of its left and right sub-trees are explored.

Another approach would be to do a regular in-order traversal and in each recursive call, pass maximum and minimum bounds to check whether the current node’s value is within the given bounds.

7. String segmentation

You are given a dictionary of words and a large input string. You have to find out whether the input string can be completely segmented into the words of a given dictionary. The following two examples elaborate on the problem further.

Given a dictionary of words.

Input string of “applepie” can be segmented into dictionary words.

Input string “applepeer” cannot be segmented into dictionary words.

Runtime Complexity: Exponential, O ( 2 n ) O(2^n) O ( 2 n )

Memory Complexity: Polynomial, O ( n 2 ) O(n^2) O ( n 2 )

You can solve this problem by segmenting the large string at each possible position to see if the string can be completely segmented to words in the dictionary. If you write the algorithm in steps it will be as follows:

The algorithm will compute two strings from scratch in each iteration of the loop. Worst case scenario, there would be a recursive call of the second_word each time. This shoots the time complexity up to 2 n 2^n 2 n .

You can see that you may be computing the same substring multiple times, even if it doesn’t exist in the dictionary. This redundancy can be fixed by memoization, where you remember which substrings have already been solved.

To achieve memoization, you can store the second string in a new set each time. This will reduce both time and memory complexities.

8. Reverse Words in a Sentence

Reverse the order of words in a given sentence (an array of characters).

The steps to solve this problem are simpler than they seem:

  • Reverse the string.
  • Traverse the string and reverse each word in place.

9. How many ways can you make change with coins and a total amount

Suppose we have coin denominations of [1, 2, 5] and the total amount is 7. We can make changes in the following 6 ways:

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Runtime Complexity: Quadratic, O ( m ∗ n ) O(m*n) O ( m ∗ n )

To solve this problem, we’ll keep an array of size amount + 1 . One additional space is reserved because we also want to store the solution for the 0 amount.

There is only one way you can make a change of 0 , i.e., select no coin so we’ll initialize solution[0] = 1 . We’ll solve the problem for each amount, denomination to amount, using coins up to a denomination, den .

The results of different denominations should be stored in the array solution. The solution for amount x using a denomination den will then be:

We’ll repeat this process for all the denominations, and at the last element of the solution array, we will have the solution.

10. Find Kth permutation

Given a set of ‘n’ elements, find their Kth permutation. Consider the following set of elements:

All permutations of the above elements are (with ordering):

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Here we need to find the Kth permutation.

Here is the algorithm that we will follow:

11. Find all subsets of a given set of integers

We are given a set of integers and we have to find all the possible subsets of this set of integers. The following example elaborates on this further.

Given set of integers:

All possile subsets for the given set of integers:

Runtime Complexity: Exponential, O ( 2 n ∗ n ) O(2^n*n) O ( 2 n ∗ n )

Memory Complexity: Exponential, O ( 2 n ∗ n ) O(2^n*n) O ( 2 n ∗ n )

There are several ways to solve this problem. We will discuss the one that is neat and easier to understand. We know that for a set of n elements there are 2 n 2^n 2 n subsets. For example, a set with 3 elements will have 8 subsets. Here is the algorithm we will use:

12. Print balanced brace combinations

Print all braces combinations for a given value n so that they are balanced. For this solution, we will be using recursion.

Runtime Complexity: Exponential, 2 n 2^n 2 n

The solution is to maintain counts of left_braces and right_braces . The basic algorithm is as follows:​

13. Clone a Directed Graph

Given the root node of a directed graph, clone this graph by creating its deep copy so that the cloned graph has the same vertices and edges as the original graph.

Let’s look at the below graphs as an example. If the input graph is G = ( V , E ) G = (V, E) G = ( V , E ) where V is set of vertices and E is set of edges, then the output graph (cloned graph) G’ = (V’, E’) such that V = V’ and E = E’. We are assuming that all vertices are reachable from the root vertex, i.e. we have a connected graph.

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Memory Complexity: Logarithmic, O ( l o g n ) O(logn) O ( l o g n )

We use depth-first traversal and create a copy of each node while traversing the graph. To avoid getting stuck in cycles, we’ll use a hashtable to store each completed node and will not revisit nodes that exist in the hashtable. The hashtable key will be a node in the original graph, and its value will be the corresponding node in the cloned graph.

14. Find Low/High Index

Given a sorted array of integers, return the low and high index of the given key. You must return -1 if the indexes are not found. The array length can be in the millions with many duplicates.

In the following example, according to the key , the low and high indices would be:

  • key : 1, low = 0 and high = 0
  • key : 2, low = 1 and high = 1
  • ke y: 5, low = 2 and high = 9
  • key : 20, low = 10 and high = 10

problem solving questions for amazon interview

For the testing of your code, the input array will be:

Runtime Complexity: Logarithmic, O ( l o g n ) O(logn) O ( l o g n )

Linearly scanning the sorted array for low and high indices are highly inefficient since our array size can be in millions. Instead, we will use a slightly modified binary search to find the low and high indices of a given key. We need to do binary search twice: once for finding the low index, once for finding the high index.

Let’s look at the algorithm for finding the low index. At every step, consider the array between low and high indices and calculate the mid index.

  • If the element at mid index is less than the key , low becomes mid + 1 (to move towards the start of range).
  • If the element at mid is greater or equal to the key , the high becomes mid - 1 . Index at low remains the same.
  • When low is greater than high , low would be pointing to the first occurrence of the key .
  • If the element at low does not match the key , return -1 .

Similarly, we can find the high index by slightly modifying the above condition:

  • Switch the low index to mid + 1 when element at mid index is less than or equal to the key .
  • Switch the high index to mid - 1 when the element at mid is greater than the key .

15. Search Rotated Array

Search for a given number in a sorted array, with unique elements, that has been rotated by some arbitrary number. Return -1 if the number does not exist. Assume that the array does not contain duplicates.

problem solving questions for amazon interview

The solution is essentially a binary search but with some modifications. If we look at the array in the example closely, we notice that at least one half of the array is always sorted. We can use this property to our advantage. If the number n lies within the sorted half of the array, then our problem is a basic binary search. Otherwise, discard the sorted half and keep examining the unsorted half. Since we are partitioning the array in half at each step, this gives us O ( l o g n ) O(log n) O ( l o g n ) runtime complexity.

More common Amazon technical coding interview questions

  • K largest elements from an array
  • Convert a Binary tree to DLL
  • Given a binary tree T , find the maximum path sum. The path may start and end at any node in the tree.
  • Rotate a matrix by 90 degrees
  • Assembly line scheduling with dynamic programming
  • Implement a stack with push() , min() , and pop() in O ( 1 ) O(1) O ( 1 ) time
  • How do you rotate an array by K?
  • Design Snake Game using Object Oriented analysis and design technique.
  • Print all permutations of a given string using recursion
  • Implement a queue using a linked list
  • Find the longest increasing subsequence of an array
  • Lowest common ancestor in a Binary Search Tree and Binary Tree
  • Rotate a given list to the right by k places, which is non-negative.
  • Write a function that counts the total of set bits in a 32-bit integer.
  • How do you detect a loop in a singly linked list?
  • Reverse an array in groups
  • Given a binary tree, check if it’s a mirror of itself
  • Josephus problem for recursion
  • Zero Sum Subarrays
  • Huffman Decoding for greedy algorithms
  • Egg Dropping Puzzle for dynamic programming
  • N-Queen Problem
  • Check if strings are rotations of each other
  • 0-1 Knapsack Problem
  • Unbounded knapsack problem
  • Longest palindromic subsequence
  • Print nth number in the Fibonacci series
  • Longest common substring
  • Longest common subsequence

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Overview of the Amazon technical coding interview

To land a software engineering job at Amazon, you need to know what lies ahead. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will be. So, let’s break it down.

Interview Timeline: The whole interview process takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete.

Types of Interviews: Amazon coding interviews consist of 5 to 7 interviews. This includes 1 assessment for fit and aptitude, 1-2 online tests, and 4-6 on-site interviews, also known as The Loop.

The Loop: The onsite interviews include 1 to 3 interviews with hiring managers and 1 bar raiser interview to evaluate Amazon’s 14 leadership principles.

Coding Questions: Amazon programming questions focus on algorithms, data structures, puzzles, and more.

Hiring Levels: Amazon usually hires at entry-level 4 (out of 12 total), and the average salary for that level ranges from $106,000 to $114,000 yearly.

Hiring Teams: Amazon hires based on teams. The most common hiring teams are Alexa and AWS.

Programming Languages: Amazon prefers the following programming languages for coding questions: Java, C++, Python, Ruby, and Perl.

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Amazon’s 14 leadership principles

Though coding interviews at Amazon are similar to other big tech companies, there are a few differences in their process, in particular, the Bar Raiser . Amazon brings in an objective third-party interviewer called a Bar Raiser, who evaluates candidates on Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles. The Bar Raiser has complete veto power over whether or not you will be hired.

It is unlikely that you will know which of your interviewers is the Bar Raiser. The key is to take every part of the interview seriously and always assume you’re being evaluated for cultural fit as well as technical competency.

Below are the 14 values that you will be evaluated on.

problem solving questions for amazon interview

How to prepare for an Amazon coding interview

Now that you have a sense of what to expect from an interview and know what kinds of questions to expect, let’s learn some preparation strategies based on Amazon’s unique interview process.

Updating your resume

Make sure you’ve updated your resume and LinkedIn profile. Always use deliverables and metrics when you can as they are concrete examples of what you’ve accomplished. Typically recruiters will browse LinkedIn for candidates.

If an Amazon recruiter believes that you are a good match they will reach out to you (via email or LinkedIn) to set up a time to chat. Even if you don’t land the job this time, chatting with them is a great chance to network

Prepare for coding assessment

It’s up to you to come to a coding interview fully prepared for technical assessment. I recommend at least three months of self-study to be successful. This includes choosing a programming language, reviewing the basics, and studying algorithms, data structures, system design , object-oriented programming, OS, and concurrency concepts.

You’ll also want to prepare for behavioral interviews .

It’s best to find or create an Interview Prep Roadmap to keep yourself on track.

Prescreen with a recruiter

Expect a light 15-30 minute call where the recruiter will gauge your interest level and determine if you’re a good fit. The recruiter may touch on a few technical aspects. They just want to get an idea of your skills. Typical questions might include your past work experiences, your knowledge of the company/position, salary, and other logistical questions.

It’s important to have around 7-10 of your own questions ready to ask the interviewer. Asking questions at an early stage shows investment and interest in the role.

Online Coding Assessment

Once you complete the call with the recruiter, they’ll administer an online coding test, a debugging test, and an aptitude test. The debugging section will have around 6-7 questions, which you have 30 minutes to solve. The aptitude section will have around 14 multiple-choice questions, dealing with concepts like basic permutation combination and probabilities.

The coding test consists of two questions. You’ll have about 1.5 hours to complete it. Expect the test to be conducted through Codility, HackerRank, or another site. Expect some easy to medium questions that are typically algorithm related. Examples include: ​

  • Reverse the second half of a linked list ​
  • Find all anagrams in a string ​
  • Merge overlapping intervals

Tips to crack Amazon online coding assessment:

Here are a few easily implemented tips to make the Amazon coding assessment more manageable for yourself:

Use your own preferred editor

  • It is best to take the assessment in a familiar environment.

Read each prompt multiple times through

  • Sometimes, they may try and trick you with the wording. Make sure that you’re meeting all of the stated requirements before diving in.

Practice with less time than you’re given in the actual assessment

  • Time-sensitive tests can be stressful for many people. Help to relieve some of this stress by learning to work faster and more efficiently than you need to be.

Phone Interviews

Once you’ve made it past the prescreen and online assessment, the recruiter will schedule your video/phone interviews , likely with a hiring manager or a manager from the team you’re looking to join. At this stage in the process, there will be one to three more interviews.

This is where they’ll ask you questions directly related to your resume, as well as data structures, algorithms, and other various coding questions that apply to the position. You can expect to write code, review code, and demonstrate your technical knowledge.

On-Site Interviews: The Loop

If you have successfully made it through the series of phone interviews, you’ll be invited for an on-site visit. This full day of on-site interviews is referred to as the “The Loop”. Throughout the day, you’ll meet with 4-6 people. Expect half of these interviews to be technical and the other half to assess soft skills. Be prepared to work through questions on a whiteboard and discuss your thought process.

Concepts that Amazon loves to test on are data structures and algorithms . It’s important to know the runtimes, theoretical limitations, and basic implementation strategies of different classes of algorithms.

Data structures you should know: Arrays, Stacks, Queues, Linked lists, Trees, Graphs, Hash tables

Algorithms you should know: Breadth First Search, Depth First Search, Binary Search, Quicksort, Mergesort, Dynamic programming, Divide and Conquer

The Offer / No Offer

Generally, you’ll hear back from a recruiter within a week after your interviews. If you didn’t get an offer, Amazon will give you a call. You’ll likely have to wait another six months to re-apply. Judging that your on-site interviews went well, they’ll reach out to you, at which point they’ll make you an offer, send you documents to sign, and discuss any further questions you have.

Amazon Software Engineer Interview

Amazon is one of the top tech companies worldwide, and the company focuses on hiring only the best talent. Securing a software engineer position at Amazon is not a piece of cake, but with the right guidance, content, and practice questions, you can ace the Amazon software engineer interview.

Amazon software engineer interviews consist of four rounds. A major part of these four interview rounds involves technical interview questions. That is why having a solid grasp of computing fundamentals is crucial. Questions related to arrays, linked lists, strings, dynamic programming, and system design are common. We have mentioned some of the commonly asked questions above, so have a look and practice them thoroughly. For more interview prep questions, you can try Educative-99 , created to help software engineers secure a job at top tech companies.

Besides technical questions, Amazon software engineer interviews also include behavioral questions. Amazon ensures that candidates are the right fit for the company culture, which is why you’ll be asked several behavioral questions as well. The cornerstone of Amazon’s culture is its 14 Leadership Principles. These principles, which include notions like “Customer Obsession,” “Ownership,” and “Bias for Action,” guide every decision the company makes, from high-level strategies to everyday interactions.

This dual approach to assessing candidates ensures that Amazon software engineers can solve complex technical challenges, collaborate effectively, handle difficult situations, and adapt to the company’s fast-paced environment. Hence, candidates must prepare themselves for both technical and behavioral challenges.

Cracking the Amazon coding interview comes down to the time you spend preparing, such as practicing coding questions, studying behavioral interview questions, and understanding Amazon’s company culture. There is no golden ticket , but more preparation will surely make you a more confident and desirable candidate.

To help you prepare for interviews, Educative has created several unique language-specific courses :

  • Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in Python
  • Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in JavaScript
  • Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in Java
  • Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in Go
  • Grokking Coding Interview Patterns in C++

Available in multiple languages, these courses teach you the underlying patterns for any coding interview question .

This is coding interview prep reimagined , with your needs in mind.

Happy learning

Continue reading about coding interview prep and interview tips

  • The Definitive Guide to Amazon Coding Interviews
  • 3 Month Coding Interview Preparation Bootcamp
  • "Why Amazon?” How to Answer Amazon’s Trickiest Interview Question

Haven’t found what you were looking for? Contact Us

How do I clear my Amazon Coding interview test?

Understand the fundamentals of data structures and algorithms, as Amazon interviews often involve complex problem-solving. Practice coding regularly. Check out the previous Amazon coding interview questions and practice well with them.

Is Amazon coding interview hard?

Amazon coding interviews are very interesting yet difficult to ace. In order to do well, it is crucial to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of data structures and algorithms.

What are the different rounds of the Amazon interview?

Amazon’s hiring process includes six key stages:

Resume review Initial phone interviews A meeting with the hiring manager A writing assessment A series of loop interviews Evaluations by the hiring committee

The most challenging phases are the phone screenings, which can take one or two rounds, and the on-site interviews, which involve four to five rounds.

problem solving questions for amazon interview

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Amazon Interview Questions (With Example Answers)

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Find a Job You Really Want In

Amazon helps millions of people find everything they need, from kitchen appliances to accessories. As the largest e-commerce retailer , there are opportunities at all levels to help millions of customers find what they need and add it to their homes.

To keep all of their customers satisfied, Amazon employs a vast team of people to help with everything from managing their colossal database to delivering packages on time. No matter what your skill set is, there’s a job for you at Amazon.

We’re going to take a look at how Amazon finds and hires new employees, plus give you some tips on how to navigate the hiring process at the e-commerce giant.

Key Takeaways:

The five step interview process for Amazon includes:

Applying for a position or getting contacted by a recruiter

Phone interview

Video interview

Onsight interview

Research and familiarize yourself with the Amazon leadership principles to help you with interview questions .

Be prepared for a long process before you get the job at amazon.

Amazon Interview Questions (With Example Answers)

Interview Process at Amazon

Common amazon interview questions with example answers, tips for interviewing with amazon, amazon leadership principles.

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Amazon usually takes a five-step approach to hiring new employees. We’re going to break down the process, so you know what to expect when you get approached by a recruiter. Keep in mind that the process may be different depending on which job you’re applying for.

Technical positions like engineers or software developers might need to take technical tests to prove their skills at some point in the process, but other candidates might not need to take any assessments.

First, a quick note on how to apply for a job at Amazon: while the company does list open positions on their website, Amazon recruiters tend to prefer reaching out to you through networks like LinkedIn .

You might want to do some digging and connect with recruiters on networking sites when applying for a job with Amazon. Often, people who get hired by Amazon are actually approached by the company first, so make sure you’re active on professional sites.

Apply or get contacted. The first step in Amazon’s process is to get in touch with the company. Whether that means you apply for a job posting on their site, or a recruiter reaches out to you, you need to establish contact with the company.

Phone interview. The next step is usually a phone screen or a quick phone interview . These are meant to make sure your skills fit the position, and it gives you a chance to make sure the position is what you’re really looking for.

Be prepared to highlight your skills that are relevant to the job description and give the recruiter your salary expectations if they ask.

Video interview. If you make it past the phone screen, you’ll be invited to do a video interview and meet more people at the company to talk in-depth about your skills and experience.

Onsite interviews. If you make it past the first two rounds of interviews, you may be invited to an onsite interview at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. These interviews are typically for corporate jobs, so if you’re looking at a delivery position or something similar, you probably won’t have to travel to Seattle.

Job offer. After you’ve made it through all of Amazon’s steps in the hiring process, your recruiter or the hiring manager will let you know if you got the job. A hiring committee makes the decision and creates the job offer , but you can negotiate terms if you want.

To ace your interview, you should do some research before talking to a recruiter at any stage. Some of the research you’ll want to do is about the questions recruiters commonly ask and the company’s core values .

Knowing both of these things can help you better prepare your answers and relate your responses to Amazon’s values. Here are some of the most common interview questions asked by Amazon interviewers that can come up at any point in the hiring process:

Why do you want to work for Amazon?

Can you tell me who the CEO of Amazon is?

Explain a time when you were given criticism and how you responded.

Can you tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager and how you resolved it?

What metrics do you consider important for growth?

What has been your most difficult experience with a tough customer?

Can you give me a quick pitch for [product or service you’ll be working with in the position]?

Have you had to take on a project that was outside of your expertise or job description? How did you handle it?

Can you tell me about a time you had to make a decision without all of the data or options in front of you?

How would you handle a situation where you saw another employee stealing?

If one of your colleagues wasn’t contributing their share to your work, how would you handle the situation?

Can you tell me about a time you had to abandon a project or change directions midway through your work?

Which Amazon leadership principle speaks to you the most?

How did you handle the most difficult professional situation in your life?

How do you go about persuading people?

Tell me about a time you created a poor customer experience and how you fixed it.

Can you explain a time when you made a decision you felt ambiguous about?

How do you prioritize customer experience?

Imagine you’re given conflicting directions from two different managers. How would you approach the situation?

Have you dealt with a hostile customer? How did you handle it?

What would you do if you saw one of your coworkers being unsafe at work?

Explain how you would solve a problem if you were from Mars.

What is the worst mistake you ever made, and how did you fix it?

Example Answers to Amazon Interview Questions

Now that we know the basics of what questions Amazon interviewers like to ask and what sort of principles they value, we can start to answer their questions.

Customer Obsession: Tell me about a time you had a difficult customer.

In my last job as a customer success manager at ABC Inc., we had a client who was very disappointed with the deluxe package he had purchased from us. We were building a website for his company of roughly 50 employees, and he felt that the features offered weren’t necessary for his project. I asked to speak to relevant department heads to learn more about issues they were having and learned that they just weren’t really aware of all the bells and whistles in the subscription they had. I then created presentations for each team, walked them through how we could implement their dream user interface along with all the features they wanted, and got them excited about working on a project they were beginning to fear wouldn’t work. In the end, we got the website built 2 weeks early and 10% under budget, and the company still refers other companies to ABC to this day.

Ownership: Describe a time you’ve seen a project through from inception to completion.

At my marketing internship with Green Co., I was really excited to be a part of brainstorming sessions with more senior members of the department. At one meeting, I pitched the idea of student-driven user-generated content to naturally boost our traffic on social media platforms. People really loved the idea and my supervisor set me to lead the project. After contacting relevant student unions of the few colleges in the area and finding several writers through social media and other local forums, I had assembled a team of 20 some-odd writers. Once they were producing content and sharing it every which way, we saw a tremendous boost in social media traffic. What I didn’t expect was that organic traffic also saw a huge boost, because student unions and other high authority sites were also linking to their students’ articles.

Invent and simplify: Tell me about a time when you’ve created or changed a process to make life simpler for you and your team.

Managing sales teams in the past, I’ve found an incredible diversity in styles and approaches of sales representatives. While it’s encouraging and instructional to see this creativity in the sales process, it can be a headache when it comes to standardizing sales reports and creating schedules. When I started at my last job, I found that each sales rep (and this was a team of around 30) created their own Google Sheet detailing their calls, conversions, etc., and reported it to the sales manager . This was an administrative nightmare, so I simplified things for everyone and made one master spreadsheet, editable by all, that tracked all those same things in one place. This saved me personally about 3 hours of work a week just sorting through files and the sales reps also reported a lot less time spent filling out their individual reports.

Before getting on the phone or meeting with an interviewer, you should do some prep work and go over these tips.

Know the company’s values. Make sure you know what Amazon values and how that will reflect in your job and your work. Get familiar with their leadership principles and find a way to tie those into your interview responses. It will help you stand out as a potential employee who aligns with the company and show you did your research.

Update your resume. Having a resume tailored for the job you’re applying for will make you look like the perfect match. It’s also an excellent way to get familiar with the job description and make sure you know what you’re applying for.

Know the company culture. Amazon hires based on skills, but company culture fit is just as important in the final decision. Learn more about the company culture and how you could be a great fit and contribute to the work environment.

Show your creativity. One thing that sets Amazon recruitment apart is that they’re constantly looking for creative people and pioneers who will bring innovation to the company. No matter what position you’re applying for, highlight your creative and problem-solving skills and how you can be an asset to the company.

Get comfortable with the “bar raiser.” Amazon uses a “bar raiser ” in their interview process, which is someone who acts as the final say on your candidacy after interviewing you. You should know what their role is and get familiar with them to really wow them. Knowing who to impress will give you an advantage when it comes time to meet them.

Practice behavioral questions. Many of Amazon’s most used interview questions are behavioral questions . This means that they’ll ask you questions looking for examples of times you overcame obstacles.

Be prepared for a long process. Amazon prides itself on only hiring the best candidates, so get ready to undergo a long process. While the hiring process can be long, it’s a good opportunity to get to know the company, the role, and your potential coworkers.

Knowing a company’s values can make your job as an interviewee so much simpler. You’ll know how to frame your answers, which stories to tell, and which soft skills to focus on.

Luckily, Amazon’s leadership principles aren’t hidden away in some archive — they’re publically stated right on their website. We’ll summarize here:

Customer obsession. This is the one most people connect with Amazon right away. The company’s approach is to start with satisfying the customer’s needs and gaining their trust, and then working backward from there. In their words — “Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.”

Ownership. Amazon doesn’t like its leaders to feel like they have their domain and that’s all they’re accountable for. They want their leaders to act for the good of the company as well as their team. Short-term gains aren’t worth it if they aren’t also creating or maintaining long-term value.

Invent and simplify. An especially good principle to keep in mind for story-telling at your interview, Amazon values those who can either invent whole new processes or make old ones simpler and more streamlined.

Be right, a lot. This is both a qualitative and quantitative test of applicants — Amazon wants to hire people with good instincts who make correct decisions the first time around. But, they also want people who work to challenge their preconceived notions. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, but consider stories from your professional life where you’ve used one or both qualities to great success.

Learn and be curious. Amazon likes intrinsically-motivated people. Think about ways you’ve pursued further learning independently to impress your interviewer.

Bias for action. This is a company-specific value — speed matters more than careful study of a problem. Acting fast and taking calculated risks are two preferred behaviors in Amazon candidates.

Frugality. Hey, you don’t get to be the biggest retailer in the world without focusing on cost. Amazon loves leaders who understand that spending more doesn’t necessarily mean doing more.

Amazon’s other, more straightforward leadership principles include:

Hire and develop the best

Insist on the highest standards

Have backbone; disagree and commit

Deliver results

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Amanda is a writer with experience in various industries, including travel, real estate, and career advice. After taking on internships and entry-level jobs, she is familiar with the job search process and landing that crucial first job. Included in her experience is work at an employer/intern matching startup where she marketed an intern database to employers and supported college interns looking for work experience.

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About Amazon

Earth's most 'Customer Centric' company, Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos from his garage in Bellevue, Washington on July 5, 1994. Amazon is an American multinational technology company whose focus is on a large number of fields, for instance, E-Commerce, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Streaming, etcetera. It is considered to be one of the Big Five companies in the United States Information Technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.

Amazon is renowned for its huge disruption of industries through technological innovation and mass scale. Being the world's largest online marketplace, AI assistant provider, and cloud computing platform, Amazon has a workforce of over six lakh employees, out of which over fifty thousand are Indians. It is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world right now and the second-largest private employer in the United States. Because of this, Amazon has the highest global brand valuation.

Given the plethora of services that Amazon offers, it is pretty obvious that a lot of people want to join Amazon and be part of its evergreen culture. But what really is the secret sauce to Amazon’s humongous success? Well, if you ask this question to any of the employees at Amazon, we are pretty sure that everyone would unanimously say: 'The Leadership Principles of Amazon'

Amazon Interview Preparation

1. interview preparation tips.

Now that we know about the rich heritage of Amazon, its work culture, and its Leadership Principles, I am sure that you will be tempted to interview at Amazon and take a job! Here are a few tips which you can use to crack Amazon's interview and get a job

  • Understand the Leadership Principles Well - As mentioned before, Amazonians take great pride as far as their Leadership Principles are concerned. Therefore, knowing about these principles and citing an instance or two where the candidate has applied them in real life will have a positive impact on the interviewers. This leaves an impression that the candidate is genuinely interested in working with the company.
  • Be Thorough with Data Structures and Algorithms - At Amazon, there is always an appreciation for great problem solvers. If you want to have a good impression of the interviewers, the best way is to prove that you have worked a lot on developing your logic structures and solving algorithmic problems. A good understanding of Data Structures and Algorithms and having one or two good projects always earn you brownie points with Amazon.
  • Use the STAR method to format your Response - STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. The STAR method is a structured way to respond to behavioral-based interview questions. To answer a provided question using the STAR method, you start by describing the situation that was at hand, the Task which needed to be done, the action taken by you as a response to the Task, and finally the Result of the experience. It is important to think about all the details and recall everyone and everything that was involved in the situation. Let the interviewer know how much of an impact that experience had on your life and in the lives of all others who were involved. It is always good practice to be prepared with a real-life story that you can describe using the STAR method.
  • Know and Describe your Strengths - Many people who interview at various companies, stay shy during the interviews and feel uncomfortable when they are asked to describe their strengths. Remember that if you do not show how good you are at the skills you know, no one will ever be able to know about the same and this might just cost you a lot. So it is okay to think about yourself and highlight your strengths properly and honestly as and when required.
  • Discuss with your interviewer and keep the conversation going - Remember that an interview is not a written exam and therefore even if you come up with the best of solutions for the given problems, it is not worth anything until and unless the interviewer understands what you are trying to say. Therefore, it is important to make the interviewer that he or she is also a part of the interview. Also, asking questions might always prove to be helpful during the interview.

Amazon Recruitment Process

1. interview process.

  • Recruiter Connect: Best way to get noticed by Amazon recruiters is to maintain a good Linkedin profile and message recruiters. The candidate can also apply on the Amazon job portal but it is suggested that they also get a referral from an Amazon employee.
  • Interview Rounds : Amazon conducts four interview rounds alongside an initial coding test. The coding test consists of DS/Algo problems. The first round is an HR round where they ask behavioral questions along with Computer Science theory questions to the candidate. The next three rounds focus solely on DS/Algo.
  • After Interviews: The recruiter contacts the candidate after these rounds and tells the verdict. They also look at the candidate’s leadership principles along with technical skills.
  • Hired: Once the team and you both are comfortable and ready to start, the offer letter is prepared and shared with you by the recruiters and you are HIRED!

2. Interview Rounds

  • HR Round(1 Round): This is when they ask computer science theory and behavioural questions to the candidate. The questions may enquire about the candidate’s experience at previous companies and conflicts the candidate might have faced with colleagues/managers.
  • Data Structures and Algorithms Rounds(3 Rounds): The candidate is asked DS/Algo problems where production ready code might be expected from the candidate. It is not out of the realm of possibility to face minor behavioural questions here as well. The problems range from easy to hard but they are not the sole deciding factor for the final offer. Leadership principles also come into play here. The interviews are conducted on Amazon Chime.

Download PDF

Frequently asked questions, 1. what are the amazon interview rounds.

There are 5 rounds (4- Data Structures and Algorithms, 1- System Design, and 1- HR) at Amazon.

2. Are Amazon interviews hard?

The toughness of an interview depends upon the amount of hard work you have put in to prepare for them. Usually, the questions asked in a standard Amazon interview are of Easy to Medium Level but it varies from person to person.

Learn via our Video Courses

3. how do i apply for a job at amazon.

You can go to the Amazon Jobs portal and apply for any open role matching your skill set over there.

4. Can I apply for multiple roles at Amazon?

Yes, we can apply to any role that aligns with both our interests and skills. We are evaluated against the requirements for each role and we can give interviews for different roles at the same time.

5. What are some of the questions which one should ask the interviewer at Amazon?

It is always nice to ask questions about the company's culture and what is the current technology using which the company makes its products. Asking about the future innovations at Amazon also might be a good idea as it might make the interviewer believe that you are looking forward to joining Amazon for a long time. You can also ask about the interviewer's personal experience at Amazon and what skills you must develop before you join the job.

6. How to prepare for the coding interviews at Amazon?

The secret lies in the amount of practice you do. Put in a lot of effort in solving challenging problems on Data Structures and Algorithms. Having a good knowledge of fundamental Computer Science Concepts like Object-Oriented Programming, Computer Networks, Operating Systems, etc. might also be helpful.

7. Does Amazon have a dress code?

No, Amazon does not have a dress code. However, all employees are supposed to wear decent clothes at their respective places of work.

8. Is having a project on Web or Android Development or Machine Learning a must for being hired at Amazon?

No, only good problem-solving skills are required to get hired at Amazon for an SDE position. Having said that, you will always get brownie points if you have a good project or two in your Resume as it shows that you are referenced and interested in the domain on which you have made your project.

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How to pass the Amazon Technical / Functional Interview - Questions and Assessments

The approach to interview questions, how to interact with the interviewers, and how to deal with potential failure..

problem solving questions for amazon interview

This post is a part of a series. This post summarizes the Amazon technical / functional interviews. I also have a post on the Amazon Leadership Principles / Behavioral interview , and a post on the overall Amazon interview and hiring process .

My Leadership Principles article became very popular over the years. It walks people through how to think about the Principles, and the related questions they would be asked in the interview process. This article has helped dozens of people get jobs at Amazon. I even had a few of them join my teams.

That article had originated from my notes to friends and family to help them with pending interviews at Amazon. I also had notes on pending technical interviews, but I hadn't gotten around to writing that up in article format until now.

While this article is written from the point of view of passing the Amazon technical interview, most major technology companies have similar interview processes. The discussion below should benefit anyone interviewing anywhere for a technical position.

As an upfront warning, I don't plan to list specific questions asked in these interview processes, because they are all over the internet. You can use LeetCode for interview practice, and find plenty of sample questions on websites such as Glassdoor for any type of job. This article is about the approach to the technical interview, not the specific questions themselves.

Interview Loop Structure

Companies want to avoid hiring someone without the necessary leadership or skills to be successful. When organizing an interview loop, the interviewers are generally split between asking questions to evaluate the candidates leadership and their skills. Leadership evaluation at Amazon is oriented around the leadership principles. The technical skills evaluated will depend on the job position.

When I refer to specific technical skills, these are the functional abilities you’ve built up over the years through a combination of work experience and education. For a software engineer this would be things like coding, algorithms, or information architecture. Product managers, machine learning scientists, and marketing managers would all have their own questions to get at the core skills of the job.

Leadership related questions are usually related to your previous experience. Something like ‘ Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a peer, and how you resolved it. ’

Skills are usually evaluated differently, by directly asking questions about how to solve a question. Rather than reflecting on how you have used your skills in the past, they probe for specific knowledge you need to be successful in this job. Questions such as ‘ Draw a diagram of how you would build a video streaming service from scratch. ’

Why assess technical skills in this way?

There are constraints and limitations on the interview process.

The best way to interview would be to hire someone who claimed to have the skills you need, and then observe them over the next few months. This is occasionally done for internships, and some startups have experimented with try-out employment. In general though, this is expensive for the team to ramp up the new hire, and is a drain on resources.

We could ask candidates how they have solved real life complex problems in the problems. However, we can't gauge the actual technical complexity of the problem, we would need to spend too much time understanding the context of the solution, and we have no way of telling if the candidate could solve similar problems in the future.

You could try to assess someone with real life problems. Perhaps something your team is actually struggling with. However, almost all real life have a massive amount of context associated with them. Getting the candidate ramped up on the situation and the tools involved would be a significant time investment for the team and the candidate. Additionally, this problem would not be easily repeatable, and it would be hard to compare the performances of other candidates.

The Technical Interview

Winston Churchill once said ” …it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time… ”

For those of us who have interviewed hundreds or thousands of candidates, the technical interview is the worst form of interview, except for all those other forms which have been tried from time to time.

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Amazon Interview Questions & Answers

Amazon Interview Questions

  • Updated January 24, 2024
  • Published September 7, 2023

Do you have an Amazon interview coming up, and do you want to learn how to answer Amazon interview questions? Prepare for these commonly asked Amazon interview questions to ace your job interview!

What Does Amazon Do?

Amazon is a multinational technology and e-commerce giant with a diverse range of services and products. Primarily known for its online retail platform, Amazon offers a vast selection of goods, from consumer electronics to clothing and groceries, accessible to customers worldwide.

Beyond e-commerce, Amazon provides cloud computing services through Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest cloud infrastructure providers globally. It also produces consumer electronics like Kindle e-readers and Echo smart speakers. Additionally, Amazon has ventured into entertainment and content production with Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Furthermore, the company has a strong focus on innovation, including investments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and sustainable initiatives, making it a prominent player in various industries.

Amazon Interview Questions

Below, we discuss the most commonly asked Amazon interview questions and explain how to answer them.

1. Tell me about yourself.

Interviewers ask this question to give you an opportunity to provide a concise overview of your background, skills, and experiences relevant to the position. Your response allows them to understand your qualifications and how they align with the job requirements, helping them assess your suitability for the role at Amazon.

Amazon Interview Questions – Example answer:

“I’m a tech enthusiast with a strong background in e-commerce and logistics. I’ve spent the last five years working at XYZ Corp, where I played a key role in optimizing supply chain operations. My ability to analyze data and implement process improvements helped the company increase efficiency by 20%.

Prior to that, I completed my degree in Computer Science from ABC University. During my time there, I had the opportunity to intern at a startup where I developed a deep passion for innovation. I was part of a team that launched a new mobile app, which garnered over 100,000 downloads within the first month.

My journey also includes a stint at DEF Inc., where I managed a cross-functional team of developers and designers. Together, we delivered a project ahead of schedule and received recognition for our teamwork and commitment to quality.

In addition to my technical skills, I believe in Amazon’s customer-centric philosophy, and I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to a company that’s at the forefront of innovation in e-commerce and logistics. I’m confident that my experience and dedication align perfectly with the values and goals of Amazon.”

2. Why are you interested in this position?

Interviewers at Amazon ask this question to understand your specific motivations and reasons for wanting to join their company in the particular role you’re interviewing for. They want to assess how well your interests and career goals align with the position and the company’s mission, ensuring that you are genuinely enthusiastic about contributing to Amazon’s success.

“I’m excited about this position at Amazon because it combines my passion for technology with my strong background in logistics. The company’s relentless customer focus and commitment to innovation align perfectly with my career goals.

During my previous role at XYZ Corp, I was responsible for optimizing supply chain operations. This experience taught me the importance of efficiency and innovation in today’s competitive e-commerce landscape.

Amazon, as a global leader in e-commerce, presents a unique opportunity for me to leverage my skills and make a meaningful impact. I’m particularly drawn to the challenges of streamlining delivery processes, reducing lead times, and enhancing the overall customer experience.

Furthermore, Amazon’s emphasis on continuous learning and development resonates with my growth-oriented mindset. The chance to work alongside talented professionals and be part of a dynamic team is something I find truly motivating.

In addition, Amazon’s commitment to sustainability aligns with my personal values. I’m enthusiastic about contributing to the company’s initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint and create a more sustainable future.

Overall, I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity to contribute my expertise to a company like Amazon that’s not only a leader in the industry but also shares my values and offers a platform for continuous professional growth.”

3. Walk me through your resume.

Interviewers ask this question to gain a comprehensive understanding of your professional journey and experiences, allowing them to assess how well your qualifications align with the specific requirements of the position. It also provides you with an opportunity to highlight key achievements and skills that are most relevant to the role, helping the interviewer evaluate your fit for the company and its culture.

“My career journey has been quite dynamic and filled with valuable experiences. I began my professional path at ABC Company, where I worked as a software engineer for three years. During my time there, I contributed to several projects, including one that involved enhancing the efficiency of order processing systems, resulting in a 15% reduction in errors.

Following that, I transitioned to XYZ Inc., where I took on a role as a project manager. In this position, I led cross-functional teams in the development and successful launch of two customer-facing mobile apps, which collectively received over 500,000 downloads within the first quarter.

My desire to broaden my skill set led me to pursue an MBA at DEF University. This experience allowed me to sharpen my leadership and strategic thinking abilities, which I believe are crucial for driving innovation and growth at Amazon.

After completing my MBA, I joined EFG Corporation as a product manager. Here, I collaborated closely with stakeholders to define product roadmaps and successfully brought several products to market, increasing revenue by 25% in just one year.

I’m enthusiastic about the opportunity to bring my diverse experiences, problem-solving skills, and my passion for innovation to the Amazon team. I believe my journey has prepared me well to contribute to Amazon’s mission of being the world’s most customer-centric company.”

4. What do you know about our company?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your level of preparation and your genuine interest in their organization. They want to gauge if you’ve done your homework, understand Amazon’s values and mission, and if you can articulate how your skills and aspirations align with the company’s goals.

“Amazon is a globally renowned tech giant founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. It started as an online bookstore and has since evolved into the world’s largest e-commerce platform, offering a vast range of products and services. Amazon is known for its customer-centric approach, with a relentless focus on providing exceptional customer experiences through innovations like Prime delivery and Alexa.

The company’s mission is to ‘be Earth’s most customer-centric company’ and this is reflected in its commitment to sustainability, aiming to be carbon-neutral by 2040 and investing heavily in renewable energy. Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing division, is a key player in the tech industry, providing services to numerous companies globally.

Amazon also values diversity and inclusion, with initiatives like Women in Tech and programs to upskill employees. The leadership principles, such as ‘Customer Obsession,’ ‘Invent and Simplify,’ and ‘Ownership,’ guide the company’s culture and decision-making.

I’m particularly drawn to Amazon because of its continuous innovation, global impact, and the opportunity to be part of a team that is shaping the future of e-commerce and technology. I’m excited about the prospect of contributing my skills and enthusiasm to Amazon’s mission and being part of a company that’s not only successful but also committed to making a positive difference.”

5. What is your greatest strength?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your self-awareness and to determine if your strengths align with the qualities and skills needed for the specific role you’re applying for. They want to understand how your unique strengths can contribute to the success of the team and the company as a whole.

“One of my greatest strengths is my ability to adapt to change and thrive in fast-paced, dynamic environments. During my previous role at XYZ Inc., our industry underwent significant transformations, and I consistently demonstrated resilience and agility. This allowed me to lead my team in successfully implementing new strategies and technologies, resulting in a 30% increase in efficiency within a year.

Another key strength of mine is my strong problem-solving skills. At ABC Company, I encountered a complex supply chain issue that had been a long-standing challenge. I spearheaded a cross-functional team and used data-driven insights to identify the root causes and develop innovative solutions. This not only resolved the issue but also reduced operational costs by 15%.

I believe these strengths align perfectly with Amazon’s culture of innovation and its customer-centric focus. Amazon is known for its dynamic and rapidly evolving environment, and my adaptability ensures I can contribute effectively. Furthermore, my problem-solving abilities align well with the company’s commitment to addressing complex challenges.

I’m excited about the opportunity to leverage these strengths at Amazon, where I can continue to grow and make a meaningful impact on the company’s mission to provide exceptional customer experiences and drive innovation.”

6. What is your greatest weakness? What are you doing to improve it?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your self-awareness and your ability to recognize areas for growth and development. They want to understand if you have a proactive approach to addressing weaknesses and if you’re a good fit for Amazon’s culture of continuous improvement and learning.

“One area I’ve been actively working on is my tendency to be overly critical of my own work. I’ve always held myself to high standards, which can sometimes lead to spending too much time perfecting a project, which might not always be necessary.

To address this, I’ve started adopting a more structured approach to time management. I’ve learned to set clear goals for each task and allocate specific time limits to ensure I don’t dwell on minor details. This has helped me become more efficient in my work and has allowed me to meet deadlines more consistently.

Additionally, I’ve also sought feedback from colleagues and supervisors to gain different perspectives on my work. This has been a valuable learning experience, as it has shown me that sometimes my self-criticism is unfounded, and I can trust the quality of my work.

In summary, I’m actively improving my tendency to overanalyze by implementing time management strategies and seeking external feedback. It’s an ongoing process, but I believe it’s making me a more effective and adaptable team member.”

This response addresses the question confidently and showcases your commitment to personal growth and productivity improvement, which are highly valued at Amazon.”

7. What is your greatest accomplishment?

Interviewers at Amazon ask this question to gain insight into your past achievements and assess your ability to deliver results. By sharing your greatest accomplishment, you demonstrate your capability to contribute effectively to Amazon’s goals and success, which helps the interviewer evaluate your potential fit within the organization.

“One of my most significant accomplishments was during my time at my previous role as a project manager with XYZ Company. In this role, our team was tasked with launching a critical project that had been delayed multiple times. The challenge was immense, and it required a comprehensive overhaul of our project management approach.

To address this, I initiated a series of cross-functional workshops to streamline communication among team members. I also introduced agile methodologies to enhance project flexibility and adaptability. The result was remarkable; we not only met the project deadline but also improved overall project efficiency by 20%.

Moreover, during my tenure, I identified a cost-saving opportunity by renegotiating vendor contracts, resulting in a 15% reduction in project expenses. This accomplishment not only showcased my leadership and negotiation skills but also contributed significantly to our company’s profitability.

My ability to lead and innovate in challenging situations, as demonstrated in this accomplishment, aligns perfectly with Amazon’s commitment to excellence and its relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction. I look forward to bringing this same level of dedication and achievement to the team here.”

8. Can you tell us about your experience relevant to this role at Amazon?

Interviewers ask this question to gauge your suitability for the specific role at Amazon and understand how your previous experiences align with their job requirements. Your response helps them assess whether your background and skills make you a strong fit for the position, ensuring they hire candidates who can excel in the Amazon work environment.

“My professional journey has equipped me with valuable experience that directly aligns with the requirements of this role at Amazon. In my previous position at ABC Company, I had the opportunity to lead cross-functional teams, similar to the collaborative environment here at Amazon. I successfully managed complex projects, ensuring they were delivered on time and within budget.

Furthermore, my experience in optimizing supply chain operations at XYZ Company is directly applicable to the challenges Amazon faces in its vast logistics network. I played a pivotal role in implementing data-driven strategies to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, which directly contributed to improved customer satisfaction.

During my time at DEF Company, I honed my skills in data analysis and utilized cutting-edge technologies, such as machine learning and AI, to develop predictive models for inventory management. This experience aligns perfectly with Amazon’s commitment to innovation and its focus on leveraging data to drive business decisions.

In summary, my background in team leadership, supply chain optimization, and data-driven decision-making positions me well to excel in this role at Amazon. I am excited about the opportunity to apply these skills and contribute to Amazon’s continued success in delivering exceptional customer experiences.”

9. What specific skills and qualifications do you bring to this position?

Interviewers ask this question to assess how well your skills and qualifications match the requirements of the position at Amazon. They want to understand the unique value you bring to the role and how your expertise will contribute to the company’s success.

“My background and skill set align seamlessly with the requirements of this position at Amazon. Firstly, I bring a robust analytical skill set honed through my experience at XYZ Company, where I consistently turned complex data into actionable insights. These insights not only improved operational efficiency but also drove revenue growth, demonstrating my ability to make data-driven decisions.

Secondly, my strong project management skills have been tested and proven in my previous role at ABC Corporation. I successfully led cross-functional teams, ensuring projects were completed on time and within budget. This aligns perfectly with Amazon’s emphasis on efficient project execution.

Additionally, my technical proficiency in cutting-edge software and tools, such as [mention relevant software], will enable me to adapt quickly to Amazon’s technology-driven environment.

Furthermore, my passion for innovation, fostered during my time at DEF Inc., makes me eager to contribute to Amazon’s culture of continuous improvement and customer-centric thinking.

Lastly, my effective communication and collaboration skills have been essential in fostering teamwork and aligning colleagues toward common goals, which are vital qualities for success at Amazon.

In conclusion, my analytical prowess, project management expertise, technical acumen, innovation mindset, and strong teamwork capabilities make me well-equipped to excel in this role and contribute to Amazon’s ongoing growth and success.”

10. Describe a challenging project you’ve worked on and how it relates to this role.

Interviewers pose this question to gauge your ability to tackle complex challenges, which is crucial in Amazon’s fast-paced and dynamic environment. They want to assess how your past experiences have prepared you for similar challenges in the role you’re interviewing for, ensuring you can contribute effectively to Amazon’s goals.

“In a previous role at XYZ Corporation, I was tasked with leading a challenging project that bears relevance to the demands of this position at Amazon. The project involved optimizing the supply chain, a task that required meticulous planning, strong leadership, and the ability to navigate unforeseen obstacles effectively.

One notable challenge was managing the project’s tight timeline. We had to revamp the entire supply chain process to meet growing customer demands while minimizing costs. To address this, I assembled a diverse team of experts and leveraged their collective skills, fostering collaboration and a shared vision for success.

Another significant hurdle was adapting to rapidly changing market dynamics. As the industry evolved, we encountered unexpected disruptions in the supply chain, from sourcing issues to logistics delays. I quickly learned to employ a data-driven approach, using real-time analytics to make swift, informed decisions that helped us stay ahead of the curve.

Ultimately, the project resulted in a 25% increase in supply chain efficiency and a 15% reduction in operational costs, positively impacting the bottom line. I’m excited to apply these lessons to drive similar achievements here.”

11. How do you prioritize and manage your tasks to meet tight deadlines?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your ability to effectively manage time and prioritize tasks, which is crucial in Amazon’s fast-paced and demanding work environment. They want to understand your strategies for handling tight deadlines and ensuring that you can meet the company’s high-performance expectations.

“Managing tasks and meeting tight deadlines is a crucial aspect of any role, and I’ve developed a systematic approach to excel in this area. To start, I believe in setting clear objectives and deadlines for each task, creating a roadmap for my work.

Next, I prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance, using frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize them into four quadrants. This ensures that I address critical tasks first, aligning with Amazon’s focus on customer-centricity.

Additionally, I’ve found that breaking down larger projects into smaller, manageable sub-tasks helps maintain momentum and prevents feeling overwhelmed. I use digital tools and project management software to track progress, set reminders, and allocate time efficiently.

Effective communication is another key element. I collaborate closely with team members, sharing progress updates, and ensuring alignment on priorities. This promotes a sense of shared responsibility and ensures everyone is working toward the same goal.

Lastly, I stay adaptable, knowing that unexpected challenges can arise. I allocate some buffer time in my schedule to accommodate unforeseen issues, and I regularly review my task list to adjust priorities as needed.

In summary, my approach involves clear goal-setting, strategic prioritization, breaking tasks into manageable parts, open communication, and adaptability. These strategies have consistently enabled me to meet tight deadlines effectively, a skill that I’m eager to apply in a high-pace environment like Amazon.”

12. Can you explain your understanding of the key responsibilities of this role?

Interviewers ask this question to evaluate your comprehension of the role’s core responsibilities at Amazon and to ensure that your understanding aligns with the expectations of the position. They want to gauge if you have a clear grasp of the job’s key functions and if you can articulate how your skills and experience make you a suitable candidate for the role.

“I understand that this role at Amazon entails a multifaceted set of responsibilities. Primarily, it involves ensuring the seamless flow of products through the supply chain, from procurement to delivery, while maintaining optimal inventory levels. This means strategizing to meet customer demand, mitigating potential disruptions, and optimizing logistics for efficiency.

Moreover, effective communication and collaboration with various teams and stakeholders, both internally and externally, are crucial aspects. This involves coordinating with suppliers, carriers, and internal departments to guarantee timely and accurate deliveries.

Additionally, the role involves data-driven decision-making. Analyzing supply chain data to identify trends, forecast demand, and optimize inventory management is key. This includes leveraging technology and tools to enhance efficiency and minimize costs.

Furthermore, a commitment to continuous improvement is integral to this role. Amazon places a strong emphasis on innovation and efficiency, so actively seeking ways to enhance processes and reduce waste is essential.

Lastly, the role requires adaptability and resilience to navigate the dynamic nature of the e-commerce industry, where challenges can arise unexpectedly.

In summary, I understand that this position revolves around managing the end-to-end supply chain, optimizing logistics, fostering collaboration, making data-driven decisions, driving innovation, and being adaptable in a fast-paced environment. My background and skills align with these responsibilities, and I’m excited to contribute to Amazon’s commitment to excellence in customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.”

13. What strategies do you use for problem-solving and decision-making in your current role?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your problem-solving and decision-making skills, which are crucial in Amazon’s fast-paced and dynamic work environment. They want to understand the specific strategies and approaches you employ to address challenges and make effective decisions, ensuring you can thrive in a role where quick, data-driven solutions are highly valued.

“In my current role, I’ve honed a strategic approach to problem-solving and decision-making that I believe aligns well with Amazon’s dynamic work environment. I begin by thoroughly assessing the problem at hand, breaking it down into its essential components. This allows me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue and its potential impact.

Next, I leverage data and analytics to inform my decisions. I rely on quantitative and qualitative data to identify trends, patterns, and potential root causes. Amazon’s emphasis on data-driven decision-making resonates with my approach, and I’m accustomed to using these insights to make informed choices.

Additionally, I prioritize collaboration and seek input from team members and subject matter experts. I believe diverse perspectives lead to more robust solutions. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and commitment among the team, which is essential in achieving effective outcomes.

Furthermore, I’m proactive about contingency planning. I anticipate potential challenges and have mitigation strategies in place to address them swiftly, minimizing disruptions.

Lastly, I regularly evaluate the outcomes of my decisions and use feedback mechanisms to iterate and improve. This commitment to continuous improvement aligns with Amazon’s customer-centric culture and its drive for operational excellence.

In summary, my problem-solving and decision-making strategy involves thorough assessment, data-driven insights, collaboration, proactive planning, and a dedication to continuous improvement, all of which I believe make me well-equipped to excel in a role at Amazon.”

14. How do you stay updated on industry trends and best practices related to this role?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your commitment to continuous learning and your proactive approach to staying informed about industry developments. They want to ensure that you will remain current with trends and best practices, which is crucial in a highly competitive and innovative environment like Amazon.

“Staying updated on industry trends and best practices is a fundamental aspect of my professional growth. I consistently engage in a multifaceted approach to ensure I remain well-informed and at the forefront of industry developments.

One strategy I employ is regular consumption of industry-specific publications and websites. I follow reputable sources, such as industry journals, blogs, and news platforms, to keep abreast of the latest trends, emerging technologies, and best practices.

Additionally, I actively participate in relevant professional networks and associations, attending conferences and webinars whenever possible. This not only facilitates knowledge sharing but also allows me to connect with experts and thought leaders who offer valuable insights.

Furthermore, I’m a strong advocate for continuous learning and regularly enroll in courses and certifications related to my field. I believe in leveraging online learning platforms to deepen my expertise and gain new skills.

Moreover, I encourage an environment of innovation within my team, fostering open discussions and idea-sharing sessions. This collaborative approach often leads to uncovering innovative practices and solutions.

In conclusion, my commitment to staying updated on industry trends and best practices involves a combination of consistent reading, active participation in professional networks, ongoing education, and fostering a culture of innovation. These strategies equip me with the knowledge and insights necessary to excel in a dynamic and rapidly evolving industry, which I am eager to bring to the Amazon team.”

15. Share an example of a time when you successfully collaborated with a cross-functional team.

Interviewers ask this question to assess your ability to work effectively in Amazon’s collaborative and cross-functional environment. They want to understand how you have contributed to team success in the past, as collaboration is a critical aspect of achieving Amazon’s customer-centric goals.

“I was tasked with a project that required seamless collaboration across multiple departments. We needed to launch a new product within a tight timeframe, and the success of the project depended on the collective efforts of a cross-functional team.

I initiated the collaboration process by organizing a kick-off meeting that included representatives from marketing, product development, and sales. During this meeting, I facilitated an open discussion to align our goals and establish a clear project timeline. We also identified potential challenges and developed contingency plans to address them.

Throughout the project, I maintained open lines of communication, scheduling regular check-ins and progress updates. I encouraged team members to share their insights and expertise, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.

As a result of our collective efforts, we not only met the project deadline but also exceeded our initial sales targets by 15%. This success showcased the power of cross-functional collaboration and demonstrated my ability to lead and work effectively with diverse teams.

This experience reinforced my belief in the value of teamwork and the importance of leveraging the strengths of each team member. I look forward to applying these collaboration skills to contribute effectively to Amazon’s culture of innovation and customer-focused excellence.”

16. How do you handle ambiguity and changing priorities in a fast-paced environment?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your adaptability and resilience in the face of uncertainty, which is essential in Amazon’s fast-paced and ever-evolving work environment. They want to understand your ability to effectively manage shifting priorities and make decisions in ambiguous situations to ensure you can thrive in a dynamic role.

“Handling ambiguity and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment is a skill I’ve consistently honed throughout my career. My approach centers on effective communication, adaptability, and a proactive mindset.

Firstly, I prioritize clear communication. I regularly engage with team members and stakeholders to ensure everyone is informed about evolving priorities. This proactive communication not only mitigates confusion but also fosters a sense of shared responsibility.

Secondly, I remain adaptable. I embrace change as an opportunity for growth and learning. When faced with ambiguity, I focus on identifying the core objectives and take decisive action based on the information available.

Furthermore, I’ve learned to maintain a flexible work plan. I set aside time in my schedule to accommodate unexpected priorities, allowing me to pivot quickly without sacrificing the quality of my work.

Lastly, I rely on data-driven decision-making. I leverage available data and insights to make informed choices, even in uncertain situations. This ensures that my decisions are grounded in facts rather than assumptions.

In summary, my strategy for handling ambiguity and shifting priorities involves effective communication, adaptability, flexible scheduling, and data-driven decision-making. These approaches have consistently enabled me to thrive in fast-paced environments, and I’m eager to bring these skills to Amazon’s dynamic workplace.”

17. What tools or software are you proficient in that would be relevant to this role?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your technical qualifications and compatibility with the tools and software commonly used in the role at Amazon. They want to ensure that you have the necessary skills to contribute effectively and adapt to the technological demands of the position.

“In my experience, I’ve developed proficiency in several tools and software that directly align with the requirements of this role at Amazon. Firstly, I am highly skilled in using advanced data analytics tools like Tableau and Power BI, which I’ve leveraged to transform complex data into actionable insights. This expertise has enabled me to make informed decisions and drive process improvements in previous positions.

Secondly, I have a strong command of supply chain management software such as SAP and Oracle. These platforms have been integral in optimizing inventory management and streamlining procurement processes in my past roles, aligning with Amazon’s emphasis on efficient supply chain operations.

Additionally, I am proficient in using project management tools like Jira and Asana to coordinate and track project progress. These tools have proven invaluable in ensuring timely deliveries and aligning cross-functional teams, skills that are paramount at Amazon.

Moreover, I am well-versed in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, which I’ve used extensively for data analysis, reporting, and modeling.

Lastly, my experience with customer relationship management (CRM) software, such as Salesforce, has allowed me to effectively manage customer interactions and sales processes, a skillset that aligns with Amazon’s customer-centric approach.

In summary, my proficiency in data analytics, supply chain management, project coordination, Microsoft Office Suite, and CRM software positions me well to excel in this role at Amazon, where technological proficiency is essential for success.”

18. Why do you want to work at Amazon, specifically?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your understanding of Amazon’s values, culture, and mission, and to determine if your career goals and aspirations align with what the company offers. They want to ensure that you have a genuine interest in Amazon and are motivated by its unique opportunities and impact in the industry.

“I’m excited about the prospect of working at Amazon for several compelling reasons. First and foremost, Amazon’s relentless focus on innovation deeply appeals to me. The company is at the forefront of technological advancements, constantly pushing boundaries, and I want to be part of this cutting-edge environment.

Moreover, Amazon’s customer-centric approach aligns perfectly with my professional values. I’m passionate about exceeding customer expectations and delivering top-notch experiences. Amazon’s commitment to customer obsession resonates with my own dedication to going above and beyond for customers.

Furthermore, Amazon’s inclusive and diverse work culture is something I highly value. The company’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion fosters creativity and collaboration, making it an ideal place for me to thrive and contribute my skills.

Additionally, Amazon’s global footprint and impact on e-commerce present an incredible learning opportunity. I aspire to grow professionally, and Amazon’s scale offers an unparalleled platform to broaden my skill set.

Lastly, the leadership principles at Amazon, which emphasize ownership, inventiveness, and long-term thinking, mirror my personal values and career aspirations. I believe I can make a meaningful impact while growing personally and professionally at Amazon, and that’s why I’m eager to join this dynamic organization.”

19. Can you describe Amazon’s core values and how they align with your own values?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your understanding of Amazon’s core values and culture, as well as to determine if your personal values and beliefs align with those of the company. They want to ensure that you are a cultural fit and share Amazon’s commitment to customer obsession, innovation, and long-term thinking.

“Amazon’s core values deeply resonate with my own, making it an ideal workplace for me. Firstly, Amazon’s relentless commitment to customer obsession is something I wholeheartedly align with. I firmly believe that understanding and meeting the needs of customers is paramount, and I’ve consistently advocated for customer-centric approaches in my previous roles.

Secondly, Amazon’s culture of innovation resonates with my passion for pushing boundaries and seeking creative solutions. I’ve always thrived in environments that encourage experimentation and continuous improvement, values that are central to Amazon’s culture.

Moreover, Amazon’s long-term thinking perfectly aligns with my approach to decision-making. I believe in making choices that have a lasting, positive impact, even if they require short-term sacrifices. This forward-looking perspective is evident in Amazon’s commitment to sustainable practices and investments in future technologies.

Furthermore, Amazon’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion resonates with my belief in the power of diverse perspectives to drive innovation and excellence. I actively support and champion diversity initiatives, and I appreciate Amazon’s dedication to fostering an inclusive workplace.

In conclusion, Amazon’s core values of customer obsession, innovation, long-term thinking, and diversity align seamlessly with my own values and experiences. I’m eager to contribute to a company whose culture and values reflect my own, and I’m confident that my dedication to these principles will be a valuable addition to the Amazon team.”

20. How familiar are you with Amazon’s leadership principles, and which ones resonate with you the most?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your knowledge of Amazon’s unique leadership principles and to gauge how well you align with the company’s values. They want to ensure that you not only understand these principles but can also identify which ones personally resonate with you, showcasing your potential cultural fit within Amazon.

“I am quite familiar with Amazon’s leadership principles, having extensively researched and studied them before applying for this position. The principle that resonates with me the most is “Customer Obsession.”

This principle underscores Amazon’s unwavering commitment to putting the customer at the center of everything it does. It aligns with my personal belief in the importance of understanding and meeting customer needs. In my previous role at XYZ Company, I consistently sought out customer feedback to improve our products and services.

Furthermore, “Ownership” is another principle that deeply resonates with me. I believe that taking ownership of one’s work and outcomes is crucial for success. During my tenure at ABC Inc., I initiated and led a project that resulted in a 15% increase in efficiency, demonstrating my commitment to taking ownership and driving results.

In addition, “Invent and Simplify” is a principle I admire. I thrive on finding innovative solutions to complex problems and simplifying processes to achieve better results. At my previous job, I introduced a streamlined workflow that reduced project completion time by 20%, showcasing my ability to innovate and simplify.

Overall, my familiarity with these principles and my alignment with “Customer Obsession,” “Ownership,” and “Invent and Simplify” make me a strong fit for Amazon’s culture of innovation and customer-centricity.”

21. What do you know about Amazon’s culture and work environment?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your level of research and understanding of Amazon’s unique culture and work environment. They want to ensure that you are informed about the company’s values, expectations, and the kind of professional atmosphere you can expect at Amazon.

“At its core, Amazon is guided by a set of 16 Leadership Principles that shape its culture. These principles emphasize customer obsession, innovation, long-term thinking, and a commitment to excellence. They serve as a foundation for decision-making, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and a relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction.

Amazon’s work environment is known for its fast-paced, entrepreneurial spirit. The company encourages employees to take ownership of their initiatives, giving them autonomy and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact. The culture also promotes diversity and inclusion, recognizing that diverse perspectives drive innovation and better decision-making.

Furthermore, Amazon’s customer-centric approach is woven into its DNA, and this focus on meeting customer needs drives every aspect of the company’s operations. The work environment is characterized by a strong bias for action, where employees are encouraged to experiment, take calculated risks, and learn from failures.

Amazon also places a significant emphasis on sustainability and community engagement, reinforcing its commitment to responsible business practices.

In summary, Amazon’s culture and work environment revolve around its Leadership Principles, customer-centricity, a bias for action, diversity and inclusion, and a strong sense of responsibility to the community and the environment. I’m excited about the prospect of contributing to such a dynamic and values-driven organization.”

22. How do you think Amazon maintains its commitment to customer obsession?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your understanding of Amazon’s customer-centric approach and to evaluate how you believe the company continues to prioritize customer obsession in its operations. They want to gauge your alignment with Amazon’s core values and your ability to contribute to and support this commitment.

“One significant factor is its data-driven approach. Amazon consistently gathers and analyzes vast amounts of customer data, which enables the company to understand customer preferences, anticipate needs, and tailor its offerings accordingly.

Additionally, Amazon’s customer-centric culture is fostered by its Leadership Principles, with “Customer Obsession” being the foremost among them. These principles guide decision-making at every level of the organization, reinforcing the importance of customer satisfaction in all aspects of the business.

Furthermore, Amazon’s emphasis on continuous innovation plays a pivotal role. The company is constantly seeking new ways to enhance the customer experience, whether through innovations in delivery, technology, or expanding its product and service offerings.

Amazon also maintains its commitment to customer obsession by actively listening to customer feedback and using it to drive improvements. This feedback loop, combined with a culture that encourages experimentation and risk-taking, allows Amazon to iterate and refine its offerings to better serve its customers.

In summary, Amazon’s unwavering commitment to customer obsession is maintained through data-driven decision-making, a customer-centric culture rooted in Leadership Principles, continuous innovation, and a genuine commitment to listening to and acting on customer feedback. These practices are integral to Amazon’s success and are what make it a leader in delivering exceptional customer experiences.”

23. Can you provide an example of a time when you demonstrated customer obsession in your previous role?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your practical experience and ability to apply Amazon’s customer obsession principle in real-world situations. They want to understand how you’ve prioritized and gone above and beyond to meet customer needs, as this is a fundamental value at Amazon.

“In my previous role as a Customer Success Manager at Amazon Company, I had a memorable experience that embodies customer obsession. We received feedback from a long-standing client indicating that our software lacked a critical feature they needed for their operations.

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, I immediately scheduled a meeting with our product development team and the client’s key stakeholders. We discussed the specific requirements in detail and assessed the feasibility of a quick solution.

Despite the tight timeframe, I ensured constant communication between our team and the client, providing regular updates on our progress. We worked tirelessly, often outside regular hours, to expedite the development and testing of the new feature.

Ultimately, we delivered the solution ahead of schedule, exceeding the client’s expectations. Their operations improved significantly, and they renewed their contract with us, expressing their appreciation for our dedication.

This experience reaffirmed my belief in the importance of customer obsession. It demonstrated that by listening attentively to customer needs, acting swiftly, and fostering collaboration, we can not only meet but also exceed expectations. I’m excited about the opportunity to bring this customer-centric mindset to Amazon, a company renowned for its unwavering commitment to customer obsession.”

24. What do you think sets Amazon apart from its competitors in the industry?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your understanding of Amazon’s competitive advantages and your ability to identify what makes the company unique in the industry. They want to determine if you have insight into Amazon’s strengths and can articulate how these factors set it apart from its competitors.

“What sets Amazon apart from its competitors in the industry is its relentless commitment to innovation. Amazon consistently pioneers new technologies and services that redefine the customer experience. For instance, the development of Amazon Prime, with its lightning-fast deliveries and extensive streaming content, has revolutionized e-commerce and entertainment.

Additionally, Amazon’s customer obsession is unparalleled. The company goes to great lengths to understand and anticipate customer needs, resulting in a seamless and highly personalized shopping experience. This level of customer-centricity is a key differentiator.

Amazon’s vast and efficient logistics network is another distinctive factor. The company’s ability to deliver products quickly and reliably sets it apart from competitors struggling to match Amazon’s logistical prowess.

Furthermore, Amazon’s culture of ownership empowers employees at all levels to take initiative and make a significant impact. This entrepreneurial spirit fosters continuous innovation and sets Amazon apart as a dynamic and agile player in the industry.

Lastly, Amazon’s long-term focus on sustainability demonstrates its commitment to responsible business practices. The company’s investments in renewable energy and initiatives like “The Climate Pledge” showcase its dedication to reducing its carbon footprint, a rarity in the industry.

In summary, Amazon’s innovation, customer obsession, logistics prowess, culture of ownership, and commitment to sustainability collectively set it apart from competitors, making it a leader and innovator in the industry.”

25. How would you contribute to Amazon’s mission of being the Earth’s most customer-centric company?

Interviewers ask this question to evaluate your alignment with Amazon’s mission and to assess how you can actively support and contribute to the company’s core goal of being the most customer-centric company in the world. They want to understand your specific strategies and approaches for enhancing the customer experience and driving customer satisfaction within the Amazon ecosystem.

“To contribute to Amazon’s mission of being the Earth’s most customer-centric company, I would start by actively listening to customer feedback and analyzing data to identify pain points and areas for improvement. I believe that understanding the voice of the customer is crucial in making data-driven decisions that enhance the customer experience.

Additionally, I would advocate for a culture of continuous improvement within my team, encouraging open communication and collaboration to brainstorm innovative solutions to customer challenges. This approach aligns with Amazon’s commitment to innovation and its willingness to experiment to meet evolving customer needs.

Furthermore, I would emphasize the importance of operational excellence. By optimizing processes, minimizing errors, and ensuring reliable and timely deliveries, I would contribute to Amazon’s reputation for efficiency and reliability, key components of a customer-centric company.

Moreover, I would prioritize sustainability initiatives to align with Amazon’s broader mission of reducing its environmental footprint. By championing eco-friendly practices, such as sustainable packaging and responsible sourcing, I would support Amazon’s commitment to long-term thinking and the well-being of the planet.

In summary, my contributions to Amazon’s mission of being the Earth’s most customer-centric company would involve active listening, a culture of innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability efforts. These strategies would help Amazon not only meet but exceed customer expectations while maintaining a focus on long-term customer satisfaction and the well-being of our planet.”

26. Describe a situation where you had to uphold a high standard of integrity and ethics in your work.

Interviewers ask this question to assess your commitment to ethical conduct and your ability to maintain the high standards of integrity that are fundamental to Amazon’s corporate culture. They want to ensure that you have a track record of making ethical decisions and can uphold the company’s values in your role.

“In my previous role as a Compliance Officer at Amazon Corporation, I encountered a situation that required upholding a high standard of integrity and ethics. Our company was undergoing a vendor selection process for a critical project, and I was part of the evaluation team.

During the process, I discovered that a close friend of mine was a consultant for one of the vendor candidates. While our friendship had no influence on the decision-making process, it posed a potential conflict of interest. To maintain the integrity of the selection process, I immediately disclosed this information to my supervisor and the evaluation team.

Upon consultation with our legal and compliance team, we decided that the best course of action was to recuse myself from any involvement in the evaluation of that particular vendor. I also voluntarily removed myself from all discussions and decision-making related to the project.

By taking these steps, I ensured that the vendor selection process remained impartial and ethical. This experience reinforced my unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity, even when faced with personal connections, and I believe it aligns perfectly with Amazon’s values and its dedication to ethical business practices.”

27. How do you think Amazon is innovating in the current market, and how can you contribute to that innovation?

Interviewers ask this question to gauge your awareness of Amazon’s innovative strategies in a competitive market and to assess your ability to align with the company’s culture of continuous innovation. They want to understand how you can actively contribute to Amazon’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and lead in various sectors of the market.

“One notable area is its investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which enhances the customer experience through personalized recommendations, efficient supply chain management, and streamlined operations. Additionally, Amazon’s focus on sustainability innovations, like electric delivery vans and renewable energy initiatives, showcases its commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

To contribute to Amazon’s innovation, I would leverage my experience in data analytics and technology. I could help harness the power of data to drive insights and innovation, identifying areas for process optimization, enhancing customer personalization, and streamlining operations. Additionally, my passion for sustainability aligns with Amazon’s goals, and I would actively support and engage in eco-friendly initiatives, seeking innovative ways to further reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

Furthermore, my collaborative approach to problem-solving would contribute to Amazon’s culture of innovation. By fostering cross-functional teamwork and encouraging the free flow of ideas, I would help create an environment where innovative solutions can thrive.

In conclusion, I believe Amazon’s innovative strengths lie in AI, machine learning, and sustainability, and I’m eager to contribute by leveraging my data analytics expertise, advocating for sustainability initiatives, and fostering a collaborative environment for innovation. I’m excited about the opportunity to join Amazon’s innovative journey and help shape its future success.”

28. Tell us about a time when you faced a significant challenge at work and how you overcame it.

Interviewers ask this question to assess your problem-solving skills and your ability to navigate challenges, which are essential qualities at Amazon due to its dynamic and fast-paced work environment. They want to understand how you approach and overcome significant obstacles to achieve successful outcomes, as this reflects your potential contributions to the company’s culture of innovation and adaptability.

“In my previous role as a Project Manager at XYZ Company, I encountered a significant challenge when our major client unexpectedly changed project requirements just weeks before the deadline. This shift not only jeopardized the project’s timeline but also strained our resources.

To overcome this challenge, I immediately assembled a cross-functional team of experts, including engineers, designers, and stakeholders. We conducted a comprehensive assessment of the new requirements, identified potential roadblocks, and quickly devised a revised project plan.

Effective communication was key during this process, as we needed to ensure that everyone was aligned with the changes. We maintained a transparent and open dialogue with the client to manage their expectations and secure their buy-in for the updated approach.

Through our collective efforts and a relentless focus on the end goal, we successfully delivered the project ahead of the revised deadline, exceeding the client’s expectations. This experience taught me the importance of adaptability, teamwork, and clear communication in overcoming significant challenges.

I believe that my ability to lead cross-functional teams, adapt to changing circumstances, and maintain a customer-centric approach aligns well with Amazon’s culture of innovation and customer obsession. I’m eager to bring these skills to Amazon and contribute to its continued success in overcoming challenges and driving excellence.”

29. Share an example of a project where you had to lead a team. What was the outcome?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your leadership abilities and your track record of successfully managing teams, which is vital at Amazon given its emphasis on collaboration and innovation. They want to understand how you handle leadership responsibilities and the outcomes you’ve achieved, as this reflects your potential contribution to Amazon’s culture of excellence and teamwork.

“In my previous role as a Product Manager at XYZ Tech, I led a cross-functional team in developing a critical software upgrade. The project involved enhancing our flagship product to meet evolving customer demands and market trends.

To ensure its success, I assembled a team comprising engineers, designers, and QA specialists, each with unique expertise. We started by defining clear project goals and objectives and established a detailed project plan with well-defined milestones.

Throughout the project, I prioritized open communication and collaboration, holding regular team meetings to address challenges and provide updates. I encouraged team members to share their insights and ideas, fostering an environment of mutual trust and respect.

As a result of our collective efforts, we not only delivered the upgraded software on time but also exceeded customer expectations. Our enhancements led to a 20% increase in user engagement and a 15% growth in revenue within the first quarter of the launch.

This project reinforced my belief in the power of effective leadership and collaboration. I’m confident that my experience in leading teams and delivering successful outcomes aligns well with Amazon’s emphasis on teamwork and innovation. I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute my leadership skills to Amazon’s dynamic work environment and continue driving impactful results.”

30. Can you describe a situation where you had to adapt to a sudden change or setback?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your adaptability and resilience, two crucial qualities for success at Amazon, where the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of the business requires employees to navigate unexpected challenges effectively. They want to understand how you handle unforeseen circumstances and setbacks, as this reflects your ability to thrive in Amazon’s dynamic environment.

“In my previous role as a Project Manager at ABC Corporation, I encountered a situation where adaptability was key. We were in the final stages of a critical project when a sudden change in client requirements disrupted our carefully laid plans. The client’s decision required us to rework a substantial portion of the project within a significantly shorter timeframe.

To address this setback, I immediately convened a meeting with the project team. We assessed the new requirements and identified areas where we could streamline processes without compromising quality. I encouraged open communication, and team members shared innovative ideas to expedite the project.

Through our collective effort, we not only adapted to the change but also completed the project ahead of the revised deadline. The client was impressed with our agility and commitment to delivering on time, which led to an ongoing partnership and additional project opportunities.

This experience reinforced the importance of adaptability, teamwork, and a solution-oriented mindset in overcoming setbacks. I believe that these qualities align well with Amazon’s culture, which thrives on embracing change and continuously striving for excellence. I’m excited about the chance to contribute to Amazon’s success by leveraging my adaptability and resilience in a dynamic environment.”

31. How do you handle disagreements or conflicts within a team or with colleagues?

Interviewers ask this question to evaluate your interpersonal skills and conflict resolution abilities, as teamwork and effective collaboration are crucial at Amazon. They want to understand how you approach and navigate disagreements or conflicts, as this reflects your capacity to contribute positively to a harmonious and productive work environment.

“When disagreements or conflicts arise within a team or with colleagues, my approach is centered on open communication, active listening, and collaborative problem-solving. Firstly, I believe in addressing issues directly and professionally. I initiate a private conversation to understand the perspectives of all parties involved, allowing each person to express their concerns and viewpoints.

Next, I actively listen without judgment, seeking common ground and areas of agreement. This helps build rapport and demonstrates my commitment to finding a mutually beneficial resolution. I also encourage team members to propose solutions and work together to reach a consensus.

Furthermore, I recognize the importance of compromise when necessary. Sometimes, the best solution requires each party to make concessions. I promote this idea and ensure that everyone feels heard and valued throughout the process.

Lastly, I follow up after the resolution to ensure that the agreed-upon actions are implemented and effective. This approach not only resolves conflicts but also strengthens relationships and fosters a more cohesive and productive work environment.

I believe that my conflict resolution skills align well with Amazon’s principles of collaboration and customer obsession. I am committed to creating a positive and inclusive team atmosphere where disagreements are opportunities for growth and innovation.”

32. Describe a time when you had to manage a project with limited resources or budget constraints.

Interviewers ask this question to assess your ability to manage resources efficiently and make impactful decisions, which is crucial at Amazon where responsible resource allocation is essential for innovation and cost-effectiveness. They want to understand how you’ve navigated challenges related to limited resources or budget constraints and how your actions have led to successful project outcomes.

“In my previous role as a Project Manager at XYZ Inc., I faced a challenging project that required effective management of limited resources and a tight budget. We were tasked with launching a new product in a highly competitive market, but due to unforeseen financial constraints, our initial budget was reduced by 30%.

To address this challenge, I adopted a strategic approach. Firstly, I conducted a thorough resource assessment to identify areas where we could optimize without compromising quality. This involved renegotiating vendor contracts, reprioritizing tasks, and reallocating team members to focus on critical project components.

Next, I established clear communication channels to keep the team informed about the budget constraints and the revised project plan. I encouraged everyone to contribute cost-saving ideas and fostered a culture of frugality.

Throughout the project, I monitored expenses diligently, tracking every penny spent and ensuring that we adhered to the revised budget. Despite the constraints, we successfully launched the product within the reduced budget, exceeding customer expectations and achieving a significant market share.

This experience reinforced my ability to manage limited resources effectively and make data-driven decisions to maximize project outcomes. I believe that my resourcefulness and commitment to cost-effectiveness align well with Amazon’s principles of frugality and innovation, and I look forward to applying these skills to contribute to Amazon’s success.”

33. Explain a situation where you had to take a calculated risk in your previous role.

Interviewers ask this question to evaluate your ability to make informed decisions in dynamic environments, which is vital at Amazon, where calculated risk-taking is encouraged to drive innovation and growth. They want to understand how you assess risks, weigh potential benefits, and ultimately make decisions that align with Amazon’s culture of bold experimentation and customer-centricity.

“In my previous role as a Product Manager at ABC Tech, I encountered a situation that required taking a calculated risk to drive innovation. We were developing a new software product, and our team was split between two competing design approaches. One approach was a safe and incremental improvement, while the other was a more radical redesign that promised significant gains in usability and performance.

After conducting thorough market research and customer feedback analysis, I recognized that the conservative approach might not meet the evolving demands of our customers. It was a tough decision, but I chose to advocate for the riskier, radical redesign, backed by data-driven insights and a clear strategy for mitigating potential setbacks.

We implemented the redesign, and while it did introduce some initial challenges, the long-term benefits were remarkable. Our product’s user base expanded, customer satisfaction soared, and we gained a competitive edge in the market.

This experience taught me the importance of calculated risk-taking to foster innovation and drive results. I believe my ability to make well-informed decisions in uncertain situations aligns with Amazon’s culture of embracing change and relentlessly pursuing customer-centric solutions. I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to Amazon’s ongoing innovation journey.”

34. Share an example of a time when you had to influence a decision without having direct authority.

Interviewers ask this question to assess your ability to influence and collaborate effectively in a matrixed and fast-paced environment, which is crucial at Amazon where cross-functional teamwork is essential. They want to understand how you leverage your interpersonal and communication skills to drive decisions and achieve desired outcomes without relying on formal authority.

“I encountered a situation where I needed to influence a critical decision without holding direct authority. We were launching a new product, and I believed that a change in our marketing strategy was necessary to ensure its success.

To achieve this, I initiated a cross-functional collaboration by reaching out to key stakeholders, including the product development team and the marketing department. I scheduled regular meetings to share my insights, backed by market research and customer feedback, which highlighted the need for an adjusted approach.

I also engaged in one-on-one discussions with team members to address their concerns and gather their input. By actively listening to their perspectives and incorporating their suggestions, I built a consensus for the proposed changes.

As a result, we successfully implemented the revised marketing strategy, which led to a 20% increase in product sales within the first quarter. This experience taught me the importance of effective communication, collaboration, and data-driven insights in influencing decisions without formal authority.

I believe my ability to drive change through influence aligns with Amazon’s principle of customer obsession and its collaborative work culture. I look forward to leveraging these skills to contribute to Amazon’s mission of delivering exceptional customer experiences.”

35. How do you handle failure or mistakes, and what have you learned from them?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your resilience and ability to learn and grow from setbacks, which is critical at Amazon where innovation often involves experimentation and potential failures. They want to understand your mindset when facing mistakes and your capacity to turn them into opportunities for improvement and innovation.

“When it comes to handling failure or mistakes, my approach is grounded in a growth mindset and a commitment to continuous improvement. I view setbacks as valuable learning opportunities rather than roadblocks.

In my previous role as a Project Manager at XYZ Inc., there was a project where we faced unexpected delays due to miscommunication within the team. Instead of assigning blame, I gathered the team for an open discussion to identify the root causes. We recognized the importance of enhancing our communication processes and implemented regular status meetings and clear project tracking tools.

This experience taught me that failures and mistakes can serve as catalysts for positive change. I’ve learned that by taking a proactive and collaborative approach to address issues and implement improvements, we can not only recover from setbacks but also strengthen team dynamics and project outcomes.

I believe this mindset aligns perfectly with Amazon’s culture of innovation and its leadership principles, particularly the principle of “Learn and Be Curious.” I am eager to bring my ability to turn failures into opportunities for growth and my dedication to continuous improvement to a company that values and encourages such a mindset.”

36. Describe a situation where you demonstrated your ability to think big and innovate.

Interviewers ask this question to gauge your capacity to envision bold and innovative solutions, which is fundamental at Amazon where disruptive thinking drives the company’s success. They want to understand how you’ve applied creativity and a “think big” mindset to tackle challenges and create opportunities for innovation in your previous roles.

“In my previous role at XYZ Company, I was tasked with improving our supply chain operations. The challenge was to reduce costs while enhancing efficiency, and I saw an opportunity to think big and innovate.

I initiated a project to implement a cutting-edge demand forecasting system, leveraging advanced data analytics and machine learning. I collaborated with cross-functional teams to gather historical data and customer insights. Through proactive data analysis, we identified patterns and trends that had previously gone unnoticed.

Taking ownership of the project, I led the development of a customized forecasting algorithm tailored to our business needs. This algorithm not only improved the accuracy of our demand forecasts but also allowed us to anticipate fluctuations in demand.

As a result of this innovation, we achieved a remarkable 25% reduction in excess inventory and a 15% increase in on-time deliveries. This not only saved the company millions of dollars but also significantly improved customer satisfaction.

This experience highlights my ability to think big and innovate by identifying opportunities for improvement, harnessing data-driven insights, and successfully implementing transformative solutions. I am excited about the prospect of bringing this innovative mindset to Amazon and contributing to the company’s culture of continuous innovation and improvement.”

37. Can you provide an example of a time when you had to deliver results under pressure or in a high-stress environment?

Interviewers ask this question to assess your ability to thrive in Amazon’s fast-paced and high-pressure work environment, where delivering results efficiently is crucial. They want to understand how you have managed stress and pressure in the past, as this reflects your potential to excel in a similar context at Amazon.

“In my previous role at XYZ Company, we faced a critical situation when a major client had an urgent request to launch a new product line ahead of schedule. The pressure was immense, as the success of this launch was pivotal to our revenue targets.

To meet this challenge, I quickly assembled a cross-functional team, leveraging the strengths of individuals from various departments. We set clear objectives and developed a detailed project plan with aggressive timelines.

Under this high-stress environment, effective communication became paramount. I established daily stand-up meetings to ensure everyone was aligned, addressing any obstacles promptly. Additionally, I remained accessible to team members for constant support and guidance.

Despite the intensity of the situation, I maintained a calm and focused demeanor, which helped alleviate stress among the team. We worked tirelessly, often putting in extra hours, and successfully delivered the product launch ahead of schedule.

This experience reinforced my ability to perform under pressure, demonstrating strong leadership, teamwork, and adaptability. It also emphasized the importance of clear communication and maintaining composure during high-stress situations. I believe these skills are directly transferable to a dynamic and fast-paced environment like Amazon, where delivering results under pressure is a constant demand.”

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Emma Parrish

Emma Parrish, a seasoned HR professional with over a decade of experience, is a key member of Megainterview. With expertise in optimizing organizational people and culture strategy, operations, and employee wellbeing, Emma has successfully recruited in diverse industries like marketing, education, and hospitality. As a CIPD Associate in Human Resource Management, Emma's commitment to professional standards enhances Megainterview's mission of providing tailored job interview coaching and career guidance, contributing to the success of job candidates.

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Amazon SDE interview guide (85+ questions, process, and prep)

Amazon logo on a mobile phone screen

Today we’re going to show you what to expect during Amazon (or   AWS) Software Development Engineer interviews, and what you should do to prepare. 

This guide has directly helped candidates (such as Jimmy C ) to land SDE offers at Amazon, so take your time to understand the information provided in each section. 

And here’s one of the first things you’ll want to know:

Candidates often under-prepare for questions about Amazon’s 16 Leadership Principles. This is a HUGE mistake because Amazon places much more emphasis on these behavioral questions than other top tech companies do. 

Now let’s dive in.

  • Process and timeline
  • Coding interview
  • System design interview
  • Behavioral interview
  • Preparation tips

Note: We have separate guides for  Amazon software development managers ,  machine learning engineers , and data engineers , so take a look at those articles if they are more relevant to you.

Click here to practice 1-on-1 with ex-Amazon SDE interviewers

1. interview process and timeline.

Amazon SDE interview process and timeline

What's the Amazon software development engineer (SDE) interview process and timeline ? It takes four to eight weeks on average and follows these steps:

  • Resume, cover letter, and referrals
  • HR recruiter email or call
  • Online assessment (in some cases)
  • Phone screens: one to two interviews
  • Onsite: four to six interviews
  • Debrief: interviewers make a decision
  • You get an offer!

1.1 What interviews to expect

First, it's important that you understand the different stages of your software engineer interview process with Amazon. Note that the process at AWS follows similar steps. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Resume screening

1.1.1 Resume screening

First, recruiters will look at your resume and assess if your experience matches the open position. This is the most competitive step in the process—we’ve found that ~90% of candidates don’t make it past this stage.

So take extra care to tailor your engineering resume  to the specific position you're applying to.

If you’re looking for expert feedback, get input from our  team of ex-FAANG recruiters , who will  cover what achievements to focus on (or ignore), how to fine tune your bullet points, and more.

1.1.2 HR recruiter email or call

Next, the interview process starts with an HR recruiter call to discuss your interests and to see what group or team would be best for you. Your recruiter will also use this conversation to confirm that you've got a chance of getting the job at all.

You should be prepared to explain your background and why you’re a good fit for Amazon.

If things go well, the recruiter will then send you an online assessment or schedule your technical screen depending on the role you're applying for.

1.1.3 Amazon online assessments

Amazon primarily uses online assessments (OAs) for internship and new graduate positions , but also sometimes for experienced positions. You might have to solve up to three different online assessments before progressing to the technical phone screen stage.

OA1: Debugging (7 questions, 20mins)

The first online assessment (OA1), is a set of seven debugging questions you have to work through in 20mins.

You're presented with a problem and a snippet of code which is supposed to solve the problem, but it isn't because of a bug.

Each of the seven questions is allotted a certain amount of time (e.g. 3mins), and you need to fix the code before the time expires. There are only three coding languages available for this online assessment: Java, C, and C++.

Important note: as far as we know, this online assessment is only used for internship and new graduate positions.

OA2: Coding questions (2 questions, 70mins)

The second online assessment (OA2), is a set of two data structure and algorithm questions. Each question needs to be solved within a certain amount of time (e.g. 30mins). And your code must compile for the two questions in order to move forward in the interview process.

You'll be able to compile your code as many times as you like before submitting a solution and you can use any one of the following eight languages: C#, C++, Java, C, Python, Ruby, Swift, and JavaScript.

It's important to note that efficiency and optimization, as opposed to brute force solutions, earn more points. Finally, Leetcode maintains a helpful thread of questions asked in this second online assessment.

Important note: this online assessment is used for internship, new graduate and also sometimes experienced positions. The more senior you are, the harder the questions you'll get.

OA3: Work simulation (~2h) and logical reasoning (24 questions, 35mins)

The third online assessment (OA3) is composed of two parts .

Part 1 is an interactive video simulation of a day in the life of a software development engineer (SDE) at Amazon. You will be presented with various scenarios and select options for how you would respond. This part takes about 2h to complete.

Part 2 is a set of 24 logical reasoning multiple choice questions which you need to work through in 35 minutes. These questions test your problem-solving skills. Speed of completion for each question is not a factor in your score. Complete as many as you can during the time allotted.

1.1.4 Technical phone screens

If you've passed the online assessments, or if you weren't asked to take them, you'll be invited to one or two technical phone screens .

This step is called the "phone screen", but most of the time it takes place over video chat using Amazon Chime which is the company's video conferencing product.

Each interview will last 45 to 60 minutes. You'll speak to a peer or a potential manager and they'll ask you a mix of technical and behavioral questions.

Technical questions

For the technical part of the interview, you can expect typical data structure and algorithm questions which you'll have to solve in an online collaborative text editor such as collabedit . The editor won't have syntax highlighting or autocomplete features which you'll need to get used to during your interview preparation.

Your recruiter will share a list of software development topics that Amazon asks about in interviews. As a note, it's very unlikely that you'll be asked system design questions during your phone screen.

Behavioral questions

For the behavioral part, you can expect questions like "Tell me about yourself," " Why Amazon? ", or "Tell me about a feature you developed from start to finish."

When answering even the most common interview questions, be sure to express your understanding of Amazon’s Leadership Principles (more on that below).

1.1.5 Onsite interviews

If you crack the phone screen, the next step is the "onsite" interviews. For this round, you'll have a day packed with four to six interviews, which may be done virtually or in-person at an Amazon office.

These interviews will last about 60mins and be a one-on-one with a mix of people from the team you’re applying to join, including peers, the hiring manager, and a senior executive.

Question types

Three or four of your interviews will include coding questions (i.e. data structure and algorithm questions) which you'll need to solve on a whiteboard. The other one or two interviews will cover system design questions. You'll be asked behavioral questions in all your interviews.

All candidates are expected to do extremely well in coding and behavioral questions. If you're relatively junior (SDE II or below) then the bar will be lower in your system design interviews than for mid-level or senior engineers (e.g. SDE III or above).

One common mistake candidates make is to under-prepare for behavioral questions. Each interviewer is usually assigned two or three Leadership Principles to focus on during your interview. These questions are much more important at Amazon than they are at other big tech companies like Google or Facebook .

Finally, one of your last interviews will be with what Amazon calls a “ Bar Raiser ”. These interviewers are not associated with the team you’re applying for, and focus more on overall candidate quality than specific team needs.

They get special training to make sure Amazon’s hiring standards stay high and don’t degrade over time, so they are a big barrier between you and the job offer.

1.2 What exactly is Amazon looking for

At the end of each interview your interviewer will grade your performance using a standardized feedback form that summarizes the attributes Amazon looks for in a candidate. That form is constantly evolving, but we have listed some of its main components below.

The interviewer will file the notes they took during the interview. This usually includes: the questions they asked, a summary of your answers and any additional impressions they had (e.g. communicated ABC well, weak knowledge of XYZ, etc.).

B) Technical competencies

Your interviewer will then grade you on technical competencies . They will be trying to determine whether you are "raising the bar" or not for each competency they have tested.

In other words, you'll need to convince them that you are at least as good as or better than the average current Amazon SDE at the level you're applying for (e.g. SDE III).

The exact technical competencies you'll be evaluated against vary by role. But here are some common ones for SDE roles:

  • Problem solving
  • Object oriented design
  • Data structures

C) Leadership Principles

Your interviewer will also grade you on Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles and assess whether you're "raising the bar" for those too. As mentioned above each interviewer is given two or three Leadership Principles to grill you on. Here are some of the most commonly tested principles for SDE roles:

  • Customer Obsession
  • Bias for Action
  • Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

D) Overall recommendation

Finally, each interviewer will file an overall recommendation into the system. The different options are along the lines of: "Strong hire", "Hire", "No hire", "Strong no hire".

1.3 What happens behind the scenes

Your recruiter is leading the process and taking you from one stage to the next. Here's what happens at each of the stages described above:

  • After the phone screens , your recruiter decides to move you to the onsite or not, depending on how well you've done up to that point
  • After the onsite , each interviewer files their notes into the internal system, grades you and makes a hiring recommendation (i.e. "Strong hire", "Hire", "No hire", "Strong no hire")
  • The "Debrief"  brings all your interviewers together and is led by the Bar Raiser , who is usually the most experienced interviewer and is also not part of the hiring team. The Bar Raiser will try to guide the group towards a hiring decision. It's rare, but they can also veto hiring even if all other interviewers want to hire you.
  • You get an offer. If everything goes well, the recruiter will then give you an offer, usually within a week of the onsite but it can sometimes take longer

It's also important to note that recruiters and people who refer you have little influence on the overall process. They can help you get an interview at the beginning, but that's about it.

2. Example questions

Here at IGotAnOffer, we believe in data-driven interview preparation and have used Glassdoor data to identify the types of questions that are most frequently asked at Amazon.

For coding interviews, we've broken down the questions you'll be asked into subcategories (e.g. Arrays / Strings , Graphs / Trees , etc.), so that you can prioritize the most common ones in your preparation.

In addition, we've also listed 10 system design and 40+ behavioral questions asked at Amazon below. Let's start with coding questions.

2.1 Coding questions

Amazon coding interview questions

Amazon software development engineers solve some of the most difficult problems the company faces with code. It's therefore essential that they have strong problem-solving skills.

This is the part of the interview where you want to show that you think in a structured way and write code that's accurate, bug-free, and fast.

Here are the most common question types asked in Amazon coding interviews and their frequency. Please note the list below excludes system design and behavioral questions which we cover later in this article.

  • Graphs / Trees  (46% of questions, most frequent)
  • Arrays / Strings (38%)
  • Linked lists (10%)
  • Search / Sort (2%)
  • Stacks & Queues  (2%)
  • Hash tables (2% of questions, least frequent)

We've also listed common examples used at Amazon for these different question types below. For each example, we've modified the phrasing of the question to match the closest Leetcode problem and we've linked to a free solution on Leetcode.

Finally, we recommend reading our guide on  how to answer coding interview questions  to understand more about the step-by-step approach you should use to solve these questions, as well as our list of 49 recent Amazon coding interview questions for more practice.

Example coding questions asked by Amazon

1. Graphs / Trees (46% of questions, most frequent)

  • "Given preorder and inorder traversal of a tree, construct the binary tree." ( Solution )
  • "Given a non-empty binary tree, find the maximum path sum. For this problem, a path is defined as any sequence of nodes from some starting node to any node in the tree along the parent-child connections. The path must contain at least one node and does not need to go through the root." ( Solution )
  • "Design an algorithm to serialize and deserialize a binary tree. There is no restriction on how your serialization/deserialization algorithm should work. You just need to ensure that a binary tree can be serialized to a string and this string can be deserialized to the original tree structure." ( Solution )
  • "Given n nodes labeled from 0 to n-1 and a list of undirected edges (each edge is a pair of nodes), write a function to check whether these edges make up a valid tree." ( Solution )
  • "Given a list of airline tickets represented by pairs of departure and arrival airports [from, to] , reconstruct the itinerary in order. All of the tickets belong to a man who departs from JFK . Thus, the itinerary must begin with JFK ." ( Solution )
  • "Given a matrix of integers A  with  R  rows and C  columns, find the maximum  score of a path starting at  [0,0]  and ending at [R-1,C-1] ." ( Solution )
  • "There are a total of n courses you have to take, labelled from 0 to n-1 . Some courses may have prerequisites , for example, if prerequisites[i] = [ai, bi] this means you must take the course bi before the course ai . Given the total number of courses numCourses and a list of the prerequisite pairs, return the ordering of courses you should take to finish all courses." ( Solution )

2. Arrays / Strings (38%)

  • "Given an array of integers nums and an integer target , return indices of the two numbers such that they add up to target . You may assume that each input would have exactly one solution , and you may not use the same element twice." ( Solution )
  • "Given an array nums of n integers, are there elements a , b , c in nums such that a + b + c = 0? Find all unique triplets in the array which gives the sum of zero." ( Solution )
  • "Say you have an array for which the i th element is the price of a given stock on day i . If you were only permitted to complete at most one transaction (i.e., buy one and sell one share of the stock), design an algorithm to find the maximum profit. Note that you cannot sell a stock before you buy one." ( Solution )
  • "Given a string s , find the longest palindromic substring in s . You may assume that the maximum length of s is 1000." ( Solution )
  • "Convert a non-negative integer to its english words representation. Given input is guaranteed to be less than 2 31 - 1." ( Solution )
  • "Given an array of strings products and a string searchWord . We want to design a system that suggests at most three product names from products  after each character of  searchWord is typed. Suggested products should have common prefix with the searchWord. If there are more than three products with a common prefix return the three lexicographically minimums products. Return list of lists of the suggested products after each character of  searchWord is typed." ( Solution )
  • "Given a paragraph and a list of banned words, return the most frequent word that is not in the list of banned words.  It is guaranteed there is at least one word that isn't banned, and that the answer is unique. Words in the list of banned words are given in lowercase, and free of punctuation.  Words in the paragraph are not case sensitive.  The answer is in lowercase." ( Solution )

3. Linked lists (10%)

  • "Given a linked list, reverse the nodes of a linked list k at a time and return its modified list. k is a positive integer and is less than or equal to the length of the linked list. If the number of nodes is not a multiple of k then left-out nodes in the end should remain as it is." ( Solution )
  • "Merge two sorted linked lists and return it as a new sorted list. The new list should be made by splicing together the nodes of the first two lists." ( Solution )
  • "You are given an array of k linked-lists lists, each linked-list is sorted in ascending order. Merge all the linked-lists into one sorted linked-list and return it." ( Solution )
  • "A linked list is given such that each node contains an additional random pointer which could point to any node in the list or null. Return a deep copy of the list." ( Solution )
  • "Given a node from a Circular Linked List which is sorted in ascending order, write a function to insert a value  insertVal into the list such that it remains a sorted circular list. The given node can be a reference to any single node in the list, and may not be necessarily the smallest value in the circular list." ( Solution )

4. Search / Sort (2%)

  • "Given an array of integers nums , sort the array in ascending order." ( Solution )
  • "Given a 2d grid map of '1' s (land) and '0' s (water), count the number of islands. An island is surrounded by water and is formed by connecting adjacent lands horizontally or vertically. You may assume all four edges of the grid are all surrounded by water." ( Solution )
  • "Given an array of meeting time intervals consisting of start and end times [[s1,e1],[s2,e2],...] (s i < e i ), find the minimum number of conference rooms required." ( Solution )
  • "Write an efficient algorithm that searches for a value in an m x n matrix. This matrix has the following properties: [1] Integers in each row are sorted in ascending from left to right. [2] Integers in each column are sorted in ascending from top to bottom." ( Solution )

5. Stacks / Queues (2%)

  • "Design a stack that supports push, pop, top, and retrieving the minimum element in constant time." ( Solution )
  • "Given n non-negative integers representing an elevation map where the width of each bar is 1, compute how much water it is able to trap after raining." ( Solution )

6. Hash tables (2% of questions, least frequent)

  • "Given a non-empty 2D array grid of 0's and 1's, an island is a group of 1 's (representing land) connected 4-directionally (horizontal or vertical.) You may assume all four edges of the grid are surrounded by water. Count the number of distinct islands. An island is considered to be the same as another if and only if one island can be translated (and not rotated or reflected) to equal the other." ( Solution )
  • "Given a non-empty list of words, return the k most frequent elements. Your answer should be sorted by frequency from highest to lowest. If two words have the same frequency, then the word with the lower alphabetical order comes first." ( Solution )

2.2 System design questions

Amazon products have millions of monthly active users. Amazon's engineers therefore need to be able to design systems that are highly scalable.

The coding questions we've covered above usually have a single optimal solution. But the system design questions you'll be asked are typically more open-ended and feel more like a discussion.

This is the part of the interview where you want to show that you can both be creative and structured at the same time. In most cases, your interviewer will adapt the question to your background.

For instance, if you've worked on an API product they'll ask you to design an API. But that won't always be the case so you should be ready to design any type of product or system at a high level.

As mentioned previously, if you're a junior developer the expectations will be lower for you than if you're mid-level or senior. In addition, for certain roles (e.g. infrastructure, security, etc.) you will likely have several system design interviews instead of just one.

Below are the most common system design questions according to the Amazon interview reports which can be found on Glassdoor. For more information, we recommend watching the following Amazon video guide  and using our list of 31 system design questions if you need more practice.

Example system design questions asked at Amazon

  • How would you design a warehouse system for Amazon.com
  • How would you design Amazon.com so it can handle 10x more traffic than today
  • How would you design Amazon.com's database (customers, orders, products, etc.)
  • How would you design TinyURL
  • How would you design Google's search autocomplete
  • How would you design Dropbox
  • How would you design a real time ranking system for Fortnite
  • How would you design a parking payment system
  • How would you design an electronic voting system
  • How would you design a distributed cache system

2.3 Behavioral questions

Amazon’s SDE interview process heavily focuses on assessing if you live and breathe the company’s 16 Leadership Principles . The main way Amazon tests this is with behavioral questions, which you'll be asked in every interview.

Amazon leadership principles

SDE interviews tend to primarily focus on the first four principles we have highlighted below, according to the Amazon ex-interviewers on our coaching team. The other twelve topics also come up but less frequently.

Amazon's Leadership Principles:

  • Invent and Simplify
  • Are Right, A Lot
  • Deliver Results
  • Hire and Develop the Best
  • Learn and Be Curious
  • Insist on the Highest Standards
  • Strive to be Earth's Best Employer
  • Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

Below is a breakdown of each leadership principle and how you’ll be asked about them during your interview process with Amazon.

2.3.1 "Customer obsession" interview questions

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.”

Customer obsession is about empathy. Interviewers want to see that you understand the consequences that every decision has on customer experience. You need to know who the customer is and their underlying needs, not just the tasks they want done.

This is by far the most important leadership principle used at Amazon. Therefore, it is the most critical one to prepare for.

Example "customer obsession" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer
  • Tell me about a time you made something much simpler for customers
  • Which company has the best customer service and why?
  • Tell me about a time you said no to a customer request and why

2.3.2 "Ownership" interview questions

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 own team. They never say “that’s not my job.”

Interviewers at Amazon want to avoid hiring people who think, “That’s not my job!” When answering ownership questions, you’ll want to prove that you take initiative, can make tough decisions, and take responsibility for your mistakes.

Example "ownership" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time you did something at work that wasn't your responsibility / in your job description
  • Describe an instance where you had to make an important decision without approval from your boss
  • Tell me about a time you took ownership of a problem that was not the focus of your organization
  • When was the last time that you sacrificed a long term value to complete a short term task?

2.3.3 "Bias for action" interview questions

Bias for action — "Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.”

Since Amazon likes to ship quickly, they also prefer to learn from doing (while also measuring results) vs. performing user research and making projections. They want to see that you can take calculated risks and move things forward.

Example "bias for action" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time you had to change your approach because you were going to miss a deadline
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with incomplete information. How did you make it and what was the outcome?
  • Tell me about a time when you launched a feature with known risks
  • Tell me about a time you broke a complex problem into simple sub-parts

2.3.4 "Have backbone; disagree and commit" interview questions

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.”

Any group of smart leaders will disagree at some point. Amazon wants to see that you know when to challenge ideas and escalate problems to senior leadership. At the same time, they want to know you can sense the right time to move forward regardless of your disagreement.

Example "have backbone; disagree and commit" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker or manager and how you approached it
  • Tell me about a time you disagreed with your team and convinced them to change their position
  • Tell me about a time you had a conflict with your team but decided to go ahead with their proposal
  • Tell me about a time your work was criticized

2.3.5 "Invent and simplify" interview questions

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 by “not invented here." Because we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.”

Amazon relies on a culture of innovation. Answering invent and simplify questions is an opportunity to show your ability to create solutions when there is no obvious answer. You’ll also want to show that you know how to execute big ideas as simply and cheaply as possible.

Example "invent and simplify" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time you suggested a new approach
  • What is the most innovative idea you've ever had?
  • Tell me how you built a feature in an innovative way, give specific details

2.3.6 "Dive deep" interview questions

Dive deep — "Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.”

When something isn’t working, SDEs need to quickly find a solution. Interviewers want to see that you are excited to dive deep when problems arise.

Example "dive deep" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a project in which you had to deep dive into analysis
  • Tell me about the most complex problem you have worked on
  • Describe an instance when you used a lot of data in a short period of time

2.3.7 "Are right, a lot" interview questions

Are right, a lot — "Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgement and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.”

Amazon expects its Software Development Engineers to produce solutions as quickly as possible and to make a lot of decisions with little information. You’ll want to demonstrate skill in taking calculated risks and show that you're comfortable disproving your own opinions before moving ahead.

Example "are right, a lot" questions asked by Amazon

  • Describe a time you made a mistake
  • Tell me about a time you applied judgment to a decision when data was not available
  • Tell me about a time you had very little information about a project but still had to move forward

2.3.8 "Deliver results" interview questions

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.”

Amazon values action over perfection. When answering questions related to delivering results, you’ll want to indicate that you dislike slipped deadlines and failed goals.

Example "deliver results" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about the most challenging project you ever worked on
  • How do you prioritize in your current role?
  • What do you think are the most difficult parts of software engineering?

2.3.9 "Think big" interview questions

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.”

Amazon is huge and its SDEs need to build products that reach significant scale to make a difference for the business. As a result, interviewers will want to see that you can develop and articulate a bold vision.

Example "think big" questions asked by Amazon

  • Describe a time you proposed a non-intuitive solution to a problem and how you identified that it required a different way of thinking
  • Give a specific example where you drove adoption for your vision and explain how you knew it had been adopted by others
  • Tell me about your most significant accomplishment. Why was it significant?

2.3.10 "Hire and develop the best" interview questions

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 invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.”

As mentioned above, Amazon wants new hires to “raise the bar.” Interviewers will want to see that you are not afraid of working with and hiring people smarter than you.

You should also show you enjoy coaching younger colleagues and know how to get the most out of top performers. You’ll notice the examples listed here are general interview questions, but they provide a perfect opportunity for you to address this principle.

This leadership principle is typically discussed in interviews for very senior engineering positions that involve people management or building a team (e.g. Software Development Manager, Director, etc.).

Example "hire and develop the best" questions asked by Amazon

  • Describe a time you stepped in to help a struggling teammate
  • Tell me about a time you helped boost your team morale
  • Tell me about a time you hired or worked with people smarter than you are
  • Why do you want to work at Amazon?

2.3.11 "Frugality" interview questions

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.”

At every touchpoint, Amazon tries to provide customers with as much value for as little cost as possible. Interviewers will be looking for how you can support this idea while maintaining a constant drive for innovation.

Example "frugality" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time you successfully delivered a project without a budget or resources
  • Describe the last time you figured out a way to keep an approach simple or to save on expenses

2.3.12 "Learn and be curious" interview questions

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.”

Amazon demands constant improvement in every part of their business. You’ll want to show that you are interested in learning new things and exploring new ideas.

Some examples listed here are general interview questions, but they provide a perfect opportunity for you to address this principle.

Example "learn and be curious" questions asked by Amazon

  • Explain something interesting you’ve learned recently
  • Tell me about a time you taught yourself a skill
  • Why Software Engineering?

2.3.13 "Insist on the highest standards" interview questions

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.”

Amazon takes the view that nothing is ever “good enough.” They’d like to see that you push for standards that are difficult to meet.

Example "insist on the highest standards" questions asked by Amazon

  • Describe a project that you wish you had done better and how you would do it differently today
  • Tell me about the most successful project you've done
  • How do you ensure standards are met when delivering projects?

2.3.14 "Earn trust" interview questions

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.”

The key part of that principle that candidates often miss is the “vocally self-critical” bit. Amazon wants SDEs who focus on fixing mistakes instead of figuring out who to blame.

You’ll want to show that you take action when something is wrong and acknowledge your own faults before blaming other people and teams.

Example "earn trust" questions asked by Amazon

  • How do you earn trust with a team?
  • Tell me a piece of difficult feedback you received and how you handled it
  • A co-worker constantly arrives late to a recurring meeting. What would you do?

2.3.15 "Strive to be Earth's best employer" interview questions

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. ”

Similar to the principle “hire and develop the best,” this principle is more likely to come up in interviews for senior and/or managerial positions. In this case, you’ll want to show that you’ll not only boost your team, but also create a safe, diverse, and just work environment.

Essentially, if “hire and develop the best” means picking and training a top team, being “Earth’s best employer” means keeping that team safe, enriched, and engaged once you’ve got them.

Example "strive to be Earth's best employer" questions asked by Amazon

  • Tell me about a time that you went above and beyond for an employee
  • Tell me about a time you saw an issue that would negatively impact your team. How did you deal with it?
  • How do you manage a low performer in the team? How do you identify a good performer in the team and help in their career growth?

2.3.16 "Success and scale bring broad responsibility" interview questions

Success and scale bring broad responsibility — "W e 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. ”

Amazon wants its employees to understand the responsibility of working for a vast, impactful company.

Show how you measure the impact of your decisions, both in your workspace and in the world around you (e.g. sustainability, justice, etc.). You must always be willing to improve.

Example "success and scale bring broad responsibility" questions asked by Amazon

  • Give me an example on when you made a decision which impacted the team or the company
  • Can you tell me a decision that you made about your work and you regret now?

3. How to prepare

Now that you know what questions to expect, let's focus on how to prepare. Here are the four preparation steps we recommend to help you get an offer as an Amazon (or Amazon Web Services) software development engineer.

3.1 Learn about Amazon's culture

Most candidates fail to do this. But before investing tons of time preparing for an interview at Amazon, you should take some time to make sure it's actually the right company for you.

Amazon is prestigious and it's tempting to assume that you should apply, without considering things more carefully. But, it's important to remember that the prestige of a job (by itself) won't make you happy in your day-to-day work. It's the type of work and the people you work with that will.

If you know engineers who work at Amazon or used to work there, talk to them to understand what the culture is like. The Leadership Principles we discussed above can give you a sense of what to expect, but there's no replacement for a conversation with an insider.

We would also recommend reading the following resources:

  • Amazon's technology culture video mix (by Amazon)
  • Amazon vision and mission analysis (by Panmore Institute)
  • Amazon strategy teardown (by CB Insights)

3.2 Practice by yourself

As mentioned above, you'll have to answer three types of questions at Amazon: coding, system design, and behavioral. The first step of your preparation should be to brush up on these different types of questions and to practice answering them by yourself.

3.2.1 Coding interview preparation

For coding interviews, we recommend getting used to the step-by-step approach hinted at by Amazon in the video below.

Here is a summary of the approach:

  • Ask clarification questions to remove ambiguity about the problem
  • Explore the edges of the problem
  • Discuss potential approaches you could take
  • Pick an approach and lay out the high level steps
  • Write clean code, not pseudocode
  • Comment on your code as you go
  • Start by testing with a simple example
  • Try breaking your code with edge and corner cases
  • Calculate time complexity
  • Discuss how you can optimize your solution

We recommend using our coding interview prep  article as your one-stop-shop to guide you through this preparation process.

3.2.2 System design interview preparation

For system design interviews, we recommend getting used to the step-by-step approach hinted at by Amazon in the video below.

  • Understand the goal of the system (e.g. sell ebooks)
  • Establish the scope of the exercise (e.g. end-to-end experience, or just API?)
  • Gather scale and performance requirements (e.g. 500 transactions per second)
  • Mention any assumptions you're making out loud
  • Lay out the high level components (e.g. front-end, web servers, database)
  • Drill down and design each component (e.g. front-end first)
  • Start with the components you're most comfortable with (e.g. front-end if you're a front-end engineer)
  • Work with your interviewer to provide the right level of detail
  • Refer back to the requirements to make sure your approach meets them
  • Discuss any tradeoffs in the decisions you've made
  • Summarize how the system would work end-to-end

We'd also recommend studying our  system design interview guide  and learning  how to answer system design interview questions . These guides cover a step-by-step method for answering system design questions, and they provide several example questions with solutions. 

3.2.3 Behavioral interview preparation

For behavioral interviews, we recommend learning our step-by-step method . For Amazon, it's particularly important that you are able to demonstrate some of Amazon's Leadership Principles as you answer behavioral questions.

Finally, a great way to practice coding, system design, and behavioral questions, is to interview yourself out loud. This may sound strange, but it will significantly improve the way you communicate your answers during an interview.

Play the role of both the candidate and the interviewer, asking questions and answering them, just like two people would in an interview.

3.3 Practice with peers

Practicing by yourself will only take you so far. One of the main challenges of coding interviews is that you have to communicate what you are doing as you are doing it.

To get used to this kind of "thinking out loud" we strongly recommend practicing live coding interviews with a peer interviewing you. 

If possible, a great place to start is to practice with friends. This can be especially helpful if your friend has experience with software engineer interviews, or is at least familiar with the process.

3.4 Practice with ex-interviewers

Finally, you should also try to practice software engineer mock interviews with expert ex-interviewers, as they’ll be able to give you much more accurate feedback than friends and peers.

If you know a software engineer who has experience running interviews at Amazon or another big tech company, then that's fantastic. But for most of us, it's tough to find the right connections to make this happen. And it might also be difficult to practice multiple hours with that person unless you know them really well.

Here's the good news. We've already made the connections for you. We’ve created a coaching service where you can practice 1-on-1 with ex-interviewers from leading tech companies like Amazon.  Learn more and start scheduling sessions today . 

Applying for other companies?  Check out our other guides for  Facebook , Google ,  Microsoft ,  LinkedIn , and  Airbnb  software engineer interviews. 

Interview coach and candidate conduct a video call

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The 50 Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions with Answers

Here are the top 10 most asked Amazon behavioral interview questions, along with suggested answers to help you show you are the right candidate for the job.

1. Tell me about your most challenging customer. How did you resolve their issues and make them satisfied?

Amazon is committed to customer service. Dealing with demanding customers is a part of the job, and you need to be prepared. This question is an opportunity to show that you can deal with customers who are being difficult. If you have not had the experience of dealing with difficult customers, you can use this as an opportunity to draw on other areas in your life where you may have had to deal with difficult people.

Answer: In my current role, I had to deal with a customer who thought he was being lied to. The customer was expecting a payment to be made to him and felt he had been lied to about the timeframe for receiving that payment. While I could see that we had given him the correct information, I knew I had to find a way to keep the customer happy and not overtly tell him he was wrong. I first listened to his concern, repeating back what I was hearing, and asking questions to clarify anything that was unclear. I wanted to reassure him that I would find a solution. While the customer had not been lied to about the timeframe for receiving the payment, I was able to find a way to make the payment to him sooner without costing the company anything.

2. Describe a time when you had to make a decision without having all the data or information you needed.

This question helps show the interviewer how you analyze a situation and approach problem-solving. It shows whether you can make quick decisions. Your answer should focus on your interpersonal skills. Don’t be inclined to focus on the negative points. Instead, take the opportunity to highlight the positives. It can be easy to turn this question into an opportunity to blame others for forcing you to make a decision without making sure you have all the information, but make sure to avoid doing that.

Answer: In my last role, when I was still new to the job, I met with a new prospective supplier. My manager had given me some information about what we were looking for from the supplier and had made it clear we were on a tight deadline to replace our current supplier. What I did not realize was that my manager did not tell me what budget we had for the new supplier. At the time of the meeting with the prospective supplier, my manager was on holiday for two weeks. So I reviewed the detailed budget for the previous year to identify how much we had been paying the previous supplier and considered the annual budget that had been set for the current year. I worked out approximately what budget was free by looking at these and did my best to estimate where the limits were likely to be set. Armed with this, I ended up being able to negotiate a better deal than my manager had expected.

3. Which Amazon leadership principle resonates with you most?

Amazon has 14 leadership principles. You should be familiar with each of them before your interview. Think about any situations you have been involved in that would demonstrate how you resonate with that principle. For example, if you choose customer obsession, explain why. If you opt to learn and be curious, talk about how you are always looking for new things to learn, perhaps by taking classes.

Answer: The principle that resonates most with me is customer obsession. My previous roles have all been customer-facing sales roles, and I appreciate that customers are at the heart of what we do to succeed. I know that an unhappy customer will be very vocal about the poor service they have had. I also know that a satisfied customer may share their recommendation if asked, but a customer who has had excellent service is more likely to talk unprompted about their experience.

4. Tell me about a time when you were working on a project, and you realized that you needed to make changes to what you were doing. How did you feel about the work you had already completed?

This question is designed to show your adaptability and how you cope with changing priorities. It is also an opportunity to show how you deal under pressure.

Answer: In my last role, we had acquired a competitor business. It was part of my role to ensure that all its products were input into our sales system. To do so, I had been given a list of all its current products, descriptions, and pricing by my manager. I prioritized my workload to allow this to take precedence, as I knew it was important to have a smooth integration. I had spent almost two days inputting the data into our system when I noticed that there was an error in the data that I had been provided. The data I had been provided was out of date, and a large proportion of the items that I had been inputting into the system were items that the competitor business had stopped selling. I immediately stopped inputting data and contacted my manager to discuss the next steps. Together we obtained the correct data, and I then spent additional time removing the incorrect data from the system. While it was frustrating to have spent so much time inputting the wrong data, I didn’t let myself become distracted from the task and focused on solving the problem.

5. Can you give me an example of a time when you exceeded expectations?

The answer you give to this question does not have to be specific to the role for which you are interviewing. It is designed to allow the interviewer to gain an understanding of whether you are the type of person to go above and beyond, or whether you are the type of person who follows instructions and does what they are told without considering whether you can do better. To ensure you impress the interviewer, describe a situation where you were given a very clear goal. Then, explain the opportunity that you spotted to go above and beyond what was expected and what the outcome was. Make it clear why exceeding what was required of you was the right thing to do.

Answer: In my last role, we implemented a new part of our process where we would ask each customer to review our service after a transaction. My instructions were to email every customer immediately after the transaction with a link to the internet page with our review. Personally, when I receive these kinds of unexpected emails, I ignore them, so I decided to ask customers at the end of our calls if they would mind if I emailed them a link to our review site to allow us to gain feedback about our service. Most customers agreed to this, and by asking the customer about the review on the phone, my return rate was over double that of my co-workers, who simply sent the email with no prior warning as they were instructed. My thought process was that giving the customer a choice in receiving the email or not engaged them in the process. I also thought that by completing the review, they were upholding their word to me, and the review was humanized. I did seek the permission of my manager in advance, as I was aware that if a customer refused to allow me to send the email I would be breaching my manager’s specific instructions to send the email to every customer. My manager was happy to allow me to modify the process, and I was pleased with the favorable outcome.

6. Can you describe a time when you took the lead on a project?

This question allows the interviewer to assess your leadership potential. It gives you the chance to discuss people-management, project management, or both. The interviewer will want to know how you managed the project and/or people and/or resources under your control to obtain the best possible outcome or return on the project. If you haven’t had the experience of leading a project, you can use examples from other areas of your life where you have taken a role in leading part of a project.

Answer: In my previous role, my team had hit a difficult period, with sales falling month on month. We were all tasked by our manager to come up with solutions to help improve our sales. I thought about our current training and approach and realized that many within the team had either not had specific sales training or had not had any refresher training for quite some time. I felt that having a training session on different sales methods might revitalize the team and help us to improve our sales. I discussed this with my manager, and we organized training and put in place a new sales strategy. My manager allowed me to set targets and ensure the training was given to the entire team. The outcome was that sales increased in the first quarter, which had the additional benefit of giving the team more self-confidence.

7. Think about a time you received negative feedback. How did you deal with that?

No one likes to receive negative feedback. Receiving negative feedback can make us defensive. In an interview, the interviewer is trying to find out your weaknesses, both in the area in which you received negative feedback and also in how you responded to that feedback. Think carefully about the story you tell – you don’t want to hurt your chances of securing the job – but use the story to show that you can listen to negative feedback and use it to ensure better results in the future.

Answer: In a previous role, my manager was critical about my time management skills. I had come from a team where my work was filtered through my manager to a role where I received work from 6 different team members. My manager felt that I was struggling to manage my time effectively. I was surprised by this, as no one within the team had raised any concerns with me. On the contrary, the feedback from within my team was all positive. So I took some time to consider the feedback my manager had given me, rather than responding immediately. I realized that my manager wasn’t aware of the amount of work I was producing because they had no visibility into the work I was receiving from other team members. I spoke with my manager, and we agreed that I would start recording all my tasks electronically so that she could see what I was working on. Previously, I used a manual to-do list on my desk. By taking the time to analyze the feedback from my manager and then later discussing it with her, I was able to show her that I had good time-management skills and find a way to allow her to see all my work assignments.

8. You witness a co-worker stealing. The value of the item is $2. What is your response?

In Amazon’s industry, shrinkage is a major concern. It is crucial to show your interviewer that you have high ethical standards and don’t tolerate stealing or any other unethical behavior, regardless of the value of the item. You can use this question to demonstrate that you understand that if every employee stole items worth $2, it would soon add up.

Answer: Theft, regardless of the value, is illegal and unethical. Further, it is against company policy. The issue would need to be addressed, and I would report it in line with Amazon’s policy. From a purely logical perspective, if everyone took items of small value, the overall cost would soon be significant to the company and would impact its profitability.  

9. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with ambiguity. How did you overcome the ambiguity to reach a positive outcome?

The interviewer is asking this question to test whether you can act decisively in times of uncertainty. Ambiguity can arise in a number of different situations in the workplace; for example, there may be competing priorities, constantly changing deadlines or a lack of clarity around the chain of command. Ambiguity can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings. Workplaces such as Amazon need people to step up and help their teams and co-workers deal with ambiguity. Ambiguity also presents opportunities to show your creativity and be innovative. Use this question to demonstrate that you understand the positive aspects of ambiguity, rather than talking about its negative aspects.

Answer: In my previous role, we were launching a new product and had insufficient information. The data we were given wasn’t clear about which type of customer to target to ensure the best sales. I pointed this out to my manager. I suggested we look at our previous launch for a similar type of product, analyze the data used for that launch and the outcome of that launch, and then use that information to identify our target customer. It wasn’t a perfect substitute for good information, but the alternative of postponing the launch would have resulted in foregone income and increased cost for the additional preparation for the launch.

10. Describe a time when you had a set amount of time to complete a task.

This question gives the interviewer an opportunity to assess how you handle priorities and how you work under pressure. In a customer service environment such as at Amazon, there can be significant pressures on your time and changing deadlines. Show the interviewer that you can cope in such situations and can find a way to prioritize tasks appropriately. 

Answer: In my last job, we offered different levels of delivery service. This meant that I had to prioritize picking orders on a daily basis to ensure that those orders with guaranteed delivery dates were shipped in time. I also had to ensure that orders that weren’t picked and shipped were still dispatched within on a timely basis to avoid customer complaints.

Next 40 Most Asked Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions

  • Have you ever been wrong? Tell me about that time.
  • How do you motivate others? Can you give me an example of a time you have motivated someone?
  • Tell me about a time you have disagreed with your manager and how you handled it.
  • What obstacles have you encountered in your career? How did you overcome them?
  • Have you ever had to make a quick customer service decision without any help or guidance from a co-worker or manager? How did you arrive at a decision?
  • You are asked by a supervisor to do something that is against policy and is unsafe. How would you handle that?
  • Tell me about a time when you took a risk and failed. What did you learn from that experience?
  • What do you do when faced with an unfamiliar task?
  • Have you ever coached anyone? Tell me about that.
  • Within a team, have you ever faced conflict? Tell me how you handled that conflict.
  • Tell me about a time you helped a co-worker in their work.
  • Tell me about a project you are proud of. How did you ensure high standards were met in delivering that project?
  • Why do you want to work for Amazon?
  • How do you ensure you have positive relationships with your co-workers?
  • Tell me about a time when you have had to work to earn someone’s trust.
  • Describe a time when you were given a project to work on, but your responsibilities were unclear. What did you do?
  • Tell me about a time you showed initiative.
  • You see a co-worker struggling with a task. What do you do?
  • Have you ever had to make an unpopular decision? Tell me how you handled it.
  • Have you ever had to ask for help at work? Tell me about it.
  • Describe for me a time when your actions directly impacted customer satisfaction.
  • What is your proudest professional achievement?
  • Have you ever faced a complex problem and managed to come up with a simple solution? Tell me about that.
  • Thinking about your current role, tell me about something that you have learned recently.
  • What characteristics do you have that will help you succeed at Amazon?
  • When you have the interests of large numbers of customers to think about, how do you prioritize their needs?
  • Tell me of a time when you feel you influenced change in some way by only asking questions.
  • Tell me a bit more about yourself.
  • When was the last time you had to apologize to someone? Tell me about that.
  • Describe for me a time when you had to choose short-term sacrifices to achieve long-term gains.
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a tough decision without consulting anybody.
  • How do you deal with having to provide feedback to someone?
  • How do you motivate co-workers to work together as a team?
  • Imagine a situation where separate managers have given you the same work to do, but that the priorities on each are different. What do you do?
  • Tell me about a time you faced a challenge with a number of different solutions. How did you decide on the correct solution?
  • How do you use data to develop strategies?
  • Workplace safety is important. How do you help ensure everyone views it as a priority?
  • Have you ever helped a co-worker who didn’t want help? Tell me about that.
  • A manager asks you to do something with which you disagree. How do you handle that?
  • Tell me about a time you failed to meet a deadline. How did you cope with that?

10 Best Questions to Ask in an Amazon Behavioral Interview

The interview isn’t just about the interviewer asking you questions. You will get the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the interview. You can use the questions you ask to reinforce your interest in the job and to gauge whether this is the right job for you. Here are the 10 best questions to ask.

  • What does a typical day in this position look like?
  • What do you think are the most challenging aspects of this role?
  • Why do you enjoy working at Amazon?
  • How do you think Amazon demonstrates its values?
  • For someone in this role, what is the definition of success?
  • How would you describe the culture here?
  • What qualities do you think successful Amazon employees have?
  • What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Amazon today?
  • What would be expected of me in my first 90 days at Amazon?
  • What makes people want to continue working here?

When preparing for an Amazon behavioral interview, take time to think about situations you have encountered, and how you can use them to demonstrate you are the right person for that job at Amazon. Being prepared for these types of questions will make you more confident and allow you to pay attention to the rapport you develop with your interviewer. 

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MOST COMMON Amazon CODING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

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15 Most-Asked Amazon Interview Questions With Answers

Amazon is a technology-driven company that relies on its software infrastructure. The giant e-commerce platform needs experts who can optimize its ecosystem. To land your dream job, you must prove your coding skills during the Amazon interview process. If you need help figuring out where to start the preparation, this guide is the perfect place. To help you, we have compiled a list of the top 15 coding questions asked during Amazon interviews. The answers will teach you the fundamental concepts required to navigate difficult problem-solving questions. They will also help you sharpen your coding abilities so that you can learn to code with confidence during the interview .

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I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.

Amazon coding interviews focus on arrays as they store and manipulate collections of elements. They allow for fast access, insertion, deletion, and searching. Expertise in arrays demonstrates your understanding of data structures and algorithms. Amazon seeks candidates who can handle large datasets and build scalable systems, because these tasks showcase your critical thinking skills and ability to process data efficiently. In a nutshell, you need to show your problem-solving skills through the efficient use of arrays. The best way to prepare is to practice. Brush up your concepts of arrays by solving the following problems:

Find the missing number in the array

Problem Statement

You are given an array containing 'n' distinct numbers taken from the range 0 to 'n'n. Since the array has only 'n' numbers out of the total 'n+1' numbers, find the missing number.

Determine if the sum of two integers is equal to the given value

Problem statement

Given an array of integers and a value, determine if there are any two integers in the array whose sum is equal to the given value.

LINKED LISTS

Linked lists are another important data structure required for Amazon coding interviews. They provide a more cost-effective way of inserting and deleting data elements. With a strong foundation in using linked lists, you can traverse, change, and manipulate data. Moreover, using linked lists in algorithms improves the solution's scalability. See if you can solve these problems:

Merge two sorted linked lists

Given two sorted linked lists, merge them so that the resulting linked list is also sorted.

Copy linked list with arbitrary pointer

You are given a linked list where the node has two pointers. The first is the regular ‘next’ pointer. The second pointer is called ‘arbitrary_pointer’ and it can point to any node in the linked list.

Your job is to write code to make a deep copy of the given linked list. Here, deep copy means that any operations on the original list (inserting, modifying and removing) should not affect the copied list.

You must know all the essential data structures to write the fastest algorithm. A key part of your interview preparation is developing a solid understanding of the application of tree data structure. In the context of Amazon, you can use trees for the following functions:   

Storing and retrieving hierarchical data 

Building decision trees for machine learning applications 

Constructing data structures for natural language processing

Level order traversal of a binary tree

Given the root of a binary tree, display the node values at each level. Node values for all levels should be displayed on separate lines.

Determine if a binary tree is a binary search tree

Given a Binary Tree, figure out whether it’s a Binary Search Tree. In a binary search tree, each node’s key value is smaller than the key value of all nodes in the right subtree, and are greater than the key values of all nodes in the left subtree i.e. L < N < R.

You can extract, transform, and analyze textual data if you are good at string manipulation. Text data plays a crucial role in Amazon due to the website’s use of search queries, product descriptions, and more. You can try solving these problems to see if you're ready for this topic:

String segmentation

Given a dictionary of words and an input string tell whether the input string can be completely segmented into dictionary words.

Reverse words in a sentence

Given a string, find the length of the longest substring which has no repeating characters.

DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING

Dynamic programming is a systematic way to solve complex problems by breaking them down into overlapping subproblems and then solving them. This reduces the computation cost. It is a helpful tool for Amazon because they need it to optimize their system in various ways. This includes the optimization of inventory management, supply chains, route planning, and pricing strategies. Test yourself with this coding problem:

How many ways can you make change with coins and a total amount

Given coin denominations and total amount, find out the number of ways to make the change.

MATH AND STATS

Mathematics and statistics play a significant role in Amazon's business. You can use math and stats to identify patterns and relationships in the vast amount of available data. Having a solid foundation in math and stats will help you with the following tasks: Designing efficient algorit https://www.educative.io/courses/algorithms-coding-interviews-java hms : 

Working with machine learning models 

Quantitative analysis 

Making data-driven decisions

Find Kth permutation

Given a set of ‘N’ elements, find the Kth permutation.

Find all subsets of a given set of integers

You are given a set of integers and you have to find all the possible subsets of this set of integers.

BACKTRACKING

Backtracking means exploring the problem space to find the best solution. You can apply this technique through a trial-and-error approach to the choices. 

Amazon faces many constraint-based problems, like scheduling, resource allocation, and logistics. You can solve these challenges by iterating combinations. Then, you can choose the most workable one. Solve this question now to test yourself:

Print balanced brace combinations

Print all braces combinations for a given value 'N' so that they are balanced.

A graph is a tool used to depict a group of connected elements. You can use them to simulate real-world scenarios by applying graph algorithms. 

Amazon uses graphs to analyze customer behavior and market trends, among other things. The personalized recommendations feature for customers also uses graphs. Amazon Web Services (AWS) also uses graph-based systems for distributed computing. Graphs can help with the following: Efficient routing Optimization Resource allocation If you want to test your understanding of graphs, try solving this problem:

Clone a directed graph

Given the root node of a directed graph, clone this graph by creating its deep copy so that the cloned graph has the same vertices and edges as the original graph.

SORTING AND SEARCHING

Amazon deals with large amounts of data. This is why you need to have a strong understanding of searching algorithms in order to create efficient search functionalities. Sorting algorithms are also valuable in identifying patterns in large data sets. 

Do you know which search or sort algorithm to choose? The time and space complexity of the algorithm will help you decide. This, in turn, optimizes the system's performance. To assess your skills in sorting and searching, try out these challenges:

Find the High/Low index

Given an array of points in the a 2D plane, find ‘K’ closest points to the origin.

Search rotated array

Given an unsorted array of numbers, find the top ‘K’ frequently occurring numbers in it.

MORE INTERVIEW PREP?

Tips to ace the Amazon coding interview: 

Create simple code. 

Don't wait for the optimal solution to come to you. Just start and enhance as you go. The code that you write should be easy to maintain as the traffic increases. 

Improve readability by breaking up the code into logical components. 

Think thoroughly about the edge cases to validate your ultimate solution. 

When you are not sure about something, be sure to mention and discuss it with the interviewer. 

Need further interview prep?  

This toolbox of basic data structures and algorithms is essential in order to tackle Amazon interview questions. We've partnered with Educative to bring you the best interview prep around. Check out this complete list of top Amazon coding interview questions . For a thorough data structure and algorithm practice, click the link below. These structured courses will give you the strategy you need to convert your dream into a realistic goal. 

Good luck with the interview!

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Amazon Interview Questions

Most Asked Questions

  • K largest elements from a big file or array .
  • Find a triplet a, b, c such that a 2 = b 2 + c 2 . Variations of this problem like find a triplet with sum equal to 0. Find a pair with given sum. All such questions are efficiently solved using hashing. – Practice here
  • Binary tree traversal questions like left view, right view, top view, bottom view, maximum of a level, minimum of a level, children sum property, diameter etc.
  • Convert a Binary tree to DLL – Practice here
  • Lowest Common ancestor in a Binary Search Tree and Binary Tree.
  • Implement a stack with push(), pop() and min() in O(1) time.
  • Reverse a linked list in groups of size k – Practice here
  • Given two numbers represented by two linked lists, write a function that returns sum list – Practice here
  • Rotate a matrix by 90 degree.
  • Stock span problem
  • Next greater element
  • Maximum sum subarray such that no elements are consecutive – Practice here
  • Edit distance
  • Assembly line scheduling
  • Why Amazon?
  • Questions about projects done in previous company or final year.

Important Links :

  • Amazon Interview Experiences
  • Amazon Practice Questions
  • Amazon’s most frequently asked Questions – Set 2
  • Amazon Recruitment Process

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Amazon Problem Solving Interview Questions

Don't miss, what questions to ask in a nurse practitioner interview, how to prepare for facebook software engineer interview, advent health walk in interviews, 500 most important data science interview questions and answers, questions for an exit interview, what type of questions to ask during an interview, how to follow up after an interview, where to watch the meghan markle oprah interview, tell me about a time that you dealt with a hostile customer.

When interviewers ask about a time you dealt with a hostile customer, they are looking to see how you handle difficult situations. They want to know if you can remain calm under pressure and whether you can think on your own. The best way to answer this question is to share an example of a time when you could successfully de-escalate the situation. You can talk about the steps you took to diffuse the situation and how you managed to keep the customer happy.

Why Does Amazon Use Case Study Interviews

Amazon uses case study interviews because your performance in a case study interview is a measure of how well you would do on the job. Amazon case interviews assess a variety of different capabilities and qualities needed to successfully complete job duties and responsibilities.

Amazons case study interviews primarily assess five things:

  • Logical, structured thinking : Can you structure complex problems in a clear, simple way?
  • Analytical problem solving : Can you read, interpret, and analyze data well?
  • Business acumen : Do you have sound business judgment and intuition?
  • Communication skills : Can you communicate clearly, concisely, and articulately?
  • Personality and cultural fit : Are you coachable and easy to work with?

Since all of these qualities can be assessed in just a 20- to 30-minute case, Amazon case study interviews are an effective way to assess a candidates capabilities.

In order to do well on the personality and cultural fit portion, you should familiarize yourself with before your interview. At a high level, these principles include:

  • Customer obsession : Leaders start with the customer and work backwards
  • Ownership : Leaders are owners and act on behalf of the entire company
  • Invent and simplify : Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify
  • Learn and be curious : Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves
  • Frugality : Accomplish more with less

Amazon Behavioral Questions: 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.

Amazon is an enormous company, and its employees need to build products and structures that reach significant scale in order to make a difference for the business. As a result, interviewers will want to see that you can develop and articulate a bold vision.

Example behavioral questions asked at Amazon: Think big

  • Tell me about your most significant accomplishment. Why was it significant?
  • Tell me about a time you proposed a non-intuitive solution to a problem and how you identified that it required a different way of thinking
  • What was the largest project you’ve executed?

Recommended Reading: How To Interview At Amazon

Discuss The Most Difficult Problem You Have Ever Dealt With

This question is designed to assess your problem-solving skills and ability to think on your feet. The best way to answer this question is to discuss a problem you were passionate about solving. You should describe the problem in detail and explain how you approached it. Talk about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. Be sure to highlight your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience.

Insist On The Highest Standards

How To Solve Amazon

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.

Practice questions on the highest standards:

  • As a manager, how do you handle tradeoffs?

Amazon expects their employees to always be striving to reach higher standards. They want to see employees who have pushed themselves to meet difficult goals and who will continue to do so in the future.

This is one of the things that makes Amazon such a great place to work. It is a company that is always looking to challenge its employees and help them grow. Employees at Amazon always feel like they are learning and growing, which helps to keep them motivated and engaged.

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Merge Two Sorted Linked Lists

Given two sorted linked lists, merge them so that the resulting linked list is also sorted. Consider two sorted linked lists and the merged list below them as an example.

Click here to view the solution in C++, Java, JavaScript, and Ruby.

Runtime Complexity: Linear, O where m and n are lengths of both linked lists

Memory Complexity: Constant, O O

Maintain a head and a tail pointer on the merged linked list. Then choose the head of the merged linked list by comparing the first node of both linked lists. For all subsequent nodes in both lists, you choose the smaller current node and link it to the tail of the merged list, and moving the current pointer of that list one step forward.

Continue this while there are some remaining elements in both the lists. If there are still some elements in only one of the lists, you link this remaining list to the tail of the merged list. Initially, the merged linked list is NULL.

Compare the value of the first two nodes and make the node with the smaller value the head node of the merged linked list. In this example, it is 4 from head1. Since its the first and only node in the merged list, it will also be the tail.Then move head1 one step forward.

Which Is More Important: Money Or Work

In my point of view work is more important to me. Once you achieve and overperform the target and help increase the company’s growth, then definitely money will follow.

These are a few Intermediate Level Amazon Interview Questions. Now, understand the Advanced Level Amazon Interview Questions.

Free Course: Programming Fundamentals

Also Check: How To Prepare System Design Interview

Copy Linked List With Arbitrary Pointer

You are given a linked list where the node has two pointers. The first is the regular next pointer. The second pointer is called arbitrary and it can point to any node in the linked list. Your job is to write code to make a deep copy of the given linked list. Here, deep copy means that any operations on the original list should not affect the copied list.

Runtime Complexity: Linear,

This approach uses a map to track arbitrary nodes pointed by the original list. You will create a deep copy of the original linked list in two passes.

  • In the first pass, create a copy of the original linked list. While creating this copy, use the same values for data and arbitrary_pointer in the new list. Also, keep updating the map with entries where the key is the address to the old node and the value is the address of the new node.
  • Once the copy has been created, do another pass on the copied linked list and update arbitrary pointers to the new address using the map created in the first pass.

+ Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions

To help you prepare strategically for your job interview, we have used Glassdoor data to identify the real questions asked in different Amazon interviews. The questions weve chosen come from our research on five Amazon tech roles: PM , TPM , program manager , software development engineer , and data scientist .

Each category below tests a different leadership principle, and the frequency of questions testing certain principles will vary depending on the role. For instance, interviews for managerial roles will include a higher number of questions targeting the principles hire and develop the best or strive to be Earths best employer.

Note that we’ve edited the language in some of the questions for clarity or grammar. Now lets get into it.

Also Check: How To Interview For A Leadership Position

What Is Unique About Amazons Interview Process

For the most part, the is similar to other FAANG companies . However, they have a couple of key rounds and certain Amazon coding challenge questions that make the interview process unique.

The Loop is centered around Amazonâs 14 leadership principles:

Unlike most other companies, in the , the Loop is heavily centered around the companyâs 14 leadership principles. Recruiters evaluate you against these leadership principles directly or indirectly at any on-site interview stage.

The presence of a Bar Raiser:

Amazon also has a special âBar Raiserâ round, where specially trained employees gauge if youâre the right fit. The primary function of the Bar Raisers is to maintain the hiring bar high by seeking out only the best talent. They have a decisive say in the interviewâs outcome, so if you ace the core technical rounds and Amazon coding challenge questions, you must pass the bar raiser round to lock an offer.

To become a bar raiser, an interviewer should have done 100+ interviews. The bar raiser has to undergo special training and shadow other bar raisers. The bar raiser may not be from the team youâd be joining, but they may be under the same VP org. The bar raisers evaluate if the candidate is better than 50% of the existing employees.

With the two major unique factors discussed, let us now look at the Amazon interview process in more detail.

What Is A Behavioral Interview At Amazon

Amazon uses behavioral interviews to assess job candidates based on their past experiences. These questions typically start with Tell me about a time you and focus on soft skills such as: leadership, communication, teamwork, problem solving, etc. In Amazon’s case, there will be an emphasis on the 16 leadership principles , which we’ll dive into a bit later.

To round out your preparation, we’ve also included some resume, HR, and hypothetical questions such as “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” or “how would you…?” in this article. As these are real questions that have been reported by past candidates, we want to make sure you’re ready for anything.

These questions will appear at every step of the interview process at Amazon and at AWS, from the initial recruiter screen all the way through to the onsite interviews. They may even appear as icebreaker or transition questions during technical screens. The frequency and type of behavioral questions will vary per role, but be prepared to answer many.

For more information on the process for a specific role, consult one of our comprehensive interview guides below:

Now, what will your interviewers be looking out for? Lets take a look at those leadership principles.

Recommended Reading: How To Prepare For A Second Interview

Mathematical Problems For The Amazon Interview

Amazon sometimes asks problems around mathematics, where you have to code the solution to a mathematical problem. Below are some such sample Amazon coding interview questions:

  • Given: The first 2 terms A1 and A2 of an arithmetic series Task: Find the Nth term of the series
  • Given: The first term and common ratio X and R of a GP series Task: Find the nth term of the series
  • Given: Two non-zero integers N and M Task: Find the number closest to N and divisible by M. If there are more than one such number, then output the one having maximum absolute value
  • Given: A 3-digit number Task: Find whether it is an Armstrong number or not
  • Given: A number N
  • Task: Calculate the prime numbers up to N using Sieve of Eratosthenes
  • Given: A positive integer N Task: Find the sum of all prime numbers between 1 and N
  • Given: A string Task: Return the index of the first non-repeating character
  • Given: a 2-D array of integers, where a -ve number is land and +ve number is water Task : Count the number of islands.
  • Task: Find the minimum value in an unbalanced unsorted tree

Practice these Amazon coding interview questions and youâre well on your way to crack your Amazon interview!

Tell Me When You Had To Analyze Facts Quickly Define Key Issues And Respond Immediately To A Situation What Was The Outcome

Can You Solve Amazonâs Hanging Cable Interview Question? â Mind Your ...

In my previous job as a research analyst, I often had to analyze data quickly and draw conclusions. This was especially important when working on presentations for my team or clients. To be successful, I had to learn how to quickly define the key issues at hand and respond immediately to any situation or outcome. This involved being able to think on my feet and making decisions quickly. I improved my analytical abilities and became more efficient when working under pressure by practicing these skills. This was beneficial in my current role as a business analyst, where I often need to provide solutions to problems in a short amount of time.

Recommended Reading: How To Host An Interview

Do You Know Our Ceo How Do You Pronounce His Name

This question is asked to check whether you have researched this company well or not. Generally, people know about tech giants like Amazon and their CEOs, but this question is asked to check how the candidate pronounces the name. The CEO of Amazon is Jeff Bezos since 1996. It is pronounced as “Bay-zohs,” not “Bee-zos”.

Describe A Time When You Had To Manage A Budget Were You Able To Get More Out Of Less

The best way to answer this question is to give an example of when you had to be very strategic with your resources and make the most out of every penny. Perhaps you spearheaded a project where you had to work with a limited budget, or maybe you had to cut back on your spending to save money. When answering this question, focus on the steps you took to succeed rather than the outcome. For instance, if you could reduce costs without sacrificing quality, highlight that achievement.

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Amazon Behavioral Questions: 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.

Amazon likes to learn by doing, with an eye on results over user projections and research. This is part of what helps them act quickly and ship their products to customers as fast as they do. So your interviewer will want to see that you can take calculated risks and move things forward.

Example behavioral questions asked at Amazon: Bias for action

  • Tell me about a time you had to change your approach because you were going to miss a deadline
  • Tell me about a time you had to make an urgent decision without data. What was the impact and would you do anything differently?
  • Tell me about a time when you launched a feature with known risks
  • Did you come across a scenario where the deadline given to you for a project was earlier than expected? How did you deal with it and what was the result?

How Should I Prepare To Answer Amazon Interview Questions

There is a reliable way to prepare how to answer behavioural interview questions at Amazon. First, you should understand in detail and prepare situations from your professional experience that map to these Leadership Principles. Second, you should structure these stories using the STAR Method. Third, you should practice answering these questions live – with partners or expert coaches .

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Good Questions To Ask Atthe End Of An Amazon Interview

As your Amazon interview starts to wrap up, youll get a chance to ask the hiring manager some questions. Being ready for this moment is critical, as it allows you to assert your interest and learn valuable tidbits that can help you decide if the job is right for you. If you dont know what to ask, here are a few questions that can work in nearly any situation:

  • What qualities do your most successful employees have in common?
  • Can you describe a typical day in this role?
  • What defines success in this position?
  • What is the biggest challenge Amazon is facing today? How does this role help solve it?
  • What do you enjoy most about working for Amazon?

If you want some more examples, check out our article: questions you can ask during your interview .

+ Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions To Practice

Below, you’ll find the short explanation of each leadership principle given by Amazon on their careers page . These principles will be present throughout the entire hiring process.

.Read each explanation thoroughly, as you’ll pick up clues as to how your answers to behavioral questions will be scored. When you’re ready, watch the expert mock interviews linked and then try your hand at a few sample behavioral interview questions compiled from past interviews

Recommended Reading: How To Prepare For A Substitute Teacher Interview

What Is Meant By Selection Sort

Selection sort is an in-place sorting technique. It splits the data set into sub-lists known as sorted and unsorted. Then it selects the minimum element from the unsorted sub-list and places it into the sorted list. This iterates unless all the elements from the unsorted sub-list are consumed into a sorted sub-list.

Can You Tell Me When You Had To Make A Fast Customer Service Decision Without Any Guidance How Did You Decide What To Do

Amazon SDE 2 ð¤ð¤ takes Mock Interview ðð Problem solving ð¤ð¤ Data ...

This is a difficult question because it is hard to think of an example where you had to make a customer service decision without any guidance. One option is to describe when you had to handle a challenging customer service situation. You could explain how you remained calm and handled the situation in a way that was satisfactory for both the customer and the company.

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Amazon Interview Questions and Answers That You Should Know Before Attending an Interview

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Lesson 14 of 15 By Hemant Deshpande

Amazon Interview Questions and Answers That You Should Know Before Attending an Interview

Table of Contents

In preparation for your Amazon interview, it is important to understand the types of questions that will be asked. In particular, you should focus on problem-solving and algorithm questions. While some questions may be specific to Amazon, many will be general and can be applied to any technical interview . By preparing for these questions, you will stand out from the other candidates and demonstrate your familiarity with common interviewing practices. In this article, we will look at some of the most frequently asked interview questions at Amazon and provide tips on answering them.

Firstly, look at Beginner Level Amazon Interview Questions.

Amazon_logo.

Want a Job at AWS? Find Out What It Takes

Want a Job at AWS? Find Out What It Takes

1. Why do you want to join Amazon?

This is one of the most straightforward Amazon interview questions you might encounter. Here’s an answer to it:

  • The company's growth is increasing rapidly every day, and Amazon has disrupted every industry it has set its foot in every sector in the world.
  • It is really about putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer to win their trust and confidence towards the company and the skills in a personality.
  • It also helps me to excel at immersing myself in new industries and applying that knowledge to deliver above-average results.

2. What are checked exceptions?

A checked exception is an exception that occurs at the compile-time; these exceptions are also called compile-time exceptions. The exceptions cannot simply be ignored at the time of compilation, and the programmer should take care of (handle) these exceptions.

For example:- If a file is to be opened, but the file was not found, an exception occurs. These exceptions that occurred cannot simply be ignored at the time of compilation.

3. What is hashing?

Hashing is a technique used to convert a range of key values into a range of indexes of an array. For example, you can create an associative data storage where the data index is found by providing its key values using the hash tables .

4. What is linear data structure?

A Linear data structure has data elements arranged in a sequential manner, and each element is connected to its previous and next element. Such data structures are easy to implement as computer memory is also sequential.

The examples of the linear data structure are Lists, Queue, Stack, Array, etc. 

5. What does algorithm mean?

An algorithm is a finite sequence of well-defined instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing calculations, data processing , automated reasoning, automated decision-making, and other tasks. A heuristic, in contrast, is an approach to problem-solving that may not be fully specified or may not guarantee correct or optimal results, especially in problem domains where there is no well-defined correct or optimal result.

Learn Essential Skills for Effective Leadership

Learn Essential Skills for Effective Leadership

6. What is a search operation?

Search operation means whenever an element is to be searched, start searching from the root node, where the data is less than the key value, search for the element in the left subtree. Or, in simple terms, searching for the element in the right subtree.

7. What is the purpose of the "is" operator in Python?

The "is" keyword is used to test if two variables refer to the same object or not. The test returns the results true if the two objects are the same object and false if they are not referred to the same object or if the two objects are accurate. Use the == operator to test if two variables are equal.

8. What is data structure?

Data structure is a data organization and storage format that enables efficient access and modification of the data. And, a data structure is a collection of data values and the relationships among the data and the functions that can be applied over the data.

9. What is the difference between tuples and lists in Python?

The main differences between the lists and tuples are: lists are enclosed with ( [] ) square brackets and their elements, and the size can be changed when required. Tuples are enclosed in round or parentheses ( () )and cannot be updated. Tuples can be off as read-only lists.

10. What is the Tower of Hanoi?

The Tower of Hanoi is a puzzle consisting of three towers and more than one ring. Where all rings are of different sizes and stacked upon each other, the large disk is always below the small disk. The main aim is to move the disk tower from one peg to another without breaking its properties.

11. What is Collections API?

Collections API is a set of classes and interfaces that support operations on the collection of objects. The significant advantages of a collections API are that it provides interoperability between unrelated APIs.

12. Describe a time where you failed at something. How did you recover?

When I was managing a project for one of our biggest clients in my previous company, I was so eager to please them that I told them we could finish the project within three weeks. So, I took my experience and used it to become much better at managing clients' expectations during the project.

13. Tell something about you which is not included in your resume?

  • Mention something you achieved at your current job that's so recent and not included in your resume.
  • Talk about a volunteering experience that you can relate to the position.
  • Stress is a strength or skill that's essential to the current position.

14. What is BFS?

Breadth-First Search algorithm is used in searching for a tree data structure for a node satisfying the given property. The algorithm begins at the tree root and goes further to explore all the tree nodes at present depth before it moves on to the nodes at the next depth level. The extra memory, usually a queue, should be needed to keep track of the child nodes that were encountered but not explored.

15. Why should we hire you?

As some right out of college, I am on the lookout for opportunities to prove my ability. As a part of this organization, I'll put all my efforts and strengths to make your company reach outstanding achievements, and if you hire me, I will get an opportunity to build my professional experience through your company.

These are a few Beginner Level Amazon Interview Questions. Now, jump on to the Intermediate level Amazon Interview Questions in this tutorial.

16. What is a Heap in Data Structure?

Heap is a balanced binary tree data structure where the root-node key is compared with its children and is arranged accordingly. A min-heap, a parent node has a key-value less than its child’s, and a max-heap parent node has a value greater than its child’s.

17. What does success mean to you?

In my point of view, I define success as fulfilling my role in my team and the company. I trust that my employer has placed me in a position where I can achieve the goals of the company and my team. So I work toward completing my duties as effectively as possible.

18. How does Prim's algorithm find spanning trees?

The Prim's algorithm considers the nodes to be part of a single tree and adds new nodes to the spanning tree from the given graph.

19. What is synchronization?

Synchronization is the capability to control the access of multiple threads to the shared resources. Synchronized keyword in Java provides locking that ensures exclusive mutual access of shared resources and prevents data race.

20. List a few advantages of Packages in Java?

  • Packages in Java avoid name clashes.
  • Packages in Java also provide easier access control.
  • It is easy to locate the related classes using packages in Java.

21. What is Tree Traversal?

Tree traversal is a process of visiting all the nodes of a tree. All the nodes are connected via edges (links), where we always start from the root (head) of the node.

The three ways to traverse a tree:

  • In-order Traversal
  • Pre-order Traversal
  • Post-order Traversal

22. Why did you decide to go into IT?

While technical skills can get you far, there's a lot in IT work that can be learned on the job. Because of this, employers might look for somebody who has other qualities that can be linked to success, like passion and curiosity. So this question can also be a way for employers to get to know you and your story.

23. What are your salary expectations?

For these kinds of questions, rather than offering a set number of the salary you expect, provide a range in which you'd like your salary to fall. And also, try to keep your range tight rather than very wide.

For example, if you want to make $80,000 a year, an excellent range to offer would be $75,000 to $90,000.

24. What does success mean to you?

 In my point of view, I define success as fulfilling my role in my team and the company. I trust that my employer has placed me in a position where I can achieve the goals of the company and my team. So I work toward completing my duties as effectively as possible.

25. What is Database?

A Database is a collection of the data that is stored and accessed by the computer system, and designed by formal design and modeling techniques. 

26. Describe yourself in five words?

Give a response like the following:  

27. How does Kruskal's algorithm work?

The working of Kruskal's algorithm treats the graph as a forest and every node as an individual tree. A tree that connects to another only if it has the least cost among all available options and does not violate MST properties.

28. How does depth-first traversal work?

The Depth First Search algorithm algorithm traverses a graph in a depthward motion and remembers the stack to get the next vertex to start a search when a dead end occurs in any iteration.

29. What was the biggest mistake of your life?

For these kinds of questions, one of the best ways to answer is to talk about a specific example of a time when you made a mistake. Explain what the mistake was and elaborate a little about it. Quickly switch over what you learned and how you improved after making that mistake.

30. What is shell sort?

Shell sort can be said as a variant of insertion sort. It divides the list into smaller sublists based on some gap variable, and then each sub-list is sorted using insertion sort. In some cases, it can also perform up to 0(n log n).

31. Mention some examples of greedy algorithms?

Examples of greedy algorithms are:  

  • Kruskal's Minimal Spanning Tree Algorithm
  • Travelling Salesman Problem
  • Knapsack Problem
  • Prim's Minimal Spanning Tree Algorithm
  • Job Scheduling Problem
  • Dijkstra's Minimal Spanning Tree Algorithm
  • Graph - Map Coloring
  • Graph - Vertex Cover

32. What is a recursive function?

A recursive function is a function that calls itself directly or calls a function that in turn calls it.

Every recursive function follows the recursive properties base criteria where functions stop calling itself and progressive approach where the function tries to meet the base criteria in each iteration.

33. List the types of Data Structures? 

Data structures are divided into two categories: 

  • Linear Data Structure
  • Non-Linear Data Structure

34. What are your strengths?

The answer to this amazon interview question could be:  

  • Determination

35. What are the situations that make you angry?

For these kinds of questions, briefly mention the situation that agitated you and then move on to the solution. Every interviewer appreciates a problem-solving attitude or bent-of-mind. Do not over exaggerate about you being a calm and professional person.

36. State the properties of B Tree.

The properties of B Tree are: 

  • Every node in a B-Tree contains at most m children.
  • Every node in a B-Tree except the root node and the leaf node contains at least an m/2 children.
  • The root nodes in B-Tree must have at least two nodes.

37. Which is more important: money or work?

In my point of view work is more important to me. Once you achieve and overperform the target and help increase the company's growth, then definitely money will follow.

These are a few Intermediate Level Amazon Interview Questions. Now, understand the Advanced Level Amazon Interview Questions.

38. Mention some examples of dynamic programming algorithms?

  • Knapsack problem
  • Shortest path by Dijkstra
  • Tower of Hanoi
  • Project scheduling
  • Floyd-Warshall
  • Fibonacci number series

39. What is a queue in Data Structure?

Queue in a data structure is an abstract data structure. In contrast to stack, where the queue is opened at both ends, one end is mainly used to insert data (enqueue), while the other to remove data (dequeue). Queue follows FIFO methodology, and the data item stored first will be accessed first.

40. Mention the use of a default constructor in Java?

The purpose of the default constructor in Java is to assign the default value to the objects. Java compiler always creates a default constructor implicitly if there is no constructor present in the class.

41. What is a postfix expression?

An expression in which the operators follow the operands is known as postfix expression. The benefit of this form is that there is no need to group sub-expressions in parentheses or consider operator precedence.

In postfix notation, the expression "a + b" will be represented as "ab+".

42. What is meant by Selection Sort?

Selection sort is an in-place sorting technique. It splits the data set into sub-lists known as sorted and unsorted. Then it selects the minimum element from the unsorted sub-list and places it into the sorted list. This iterates unless all the elements from the unsorted sub-list are consumed into a sorted sub-list.

43. Write a code for Inserting a node?

class Node:

def __init__(self, data):

self.data = data 

self.next = None 

class LinkedList:

def __init__(self):

self.head = None

44. What is merge sort, and how does it work?

Merge sort is a sorting algorithm based on the divide and conquers programming approach. Merge sort keeps dividing the list into smaller sub-list until all sub-list have only one element. And then, it merges them in a sorted way until all sub-lists are consumed. It has a run-time complexity of 0(n log n), and it needs 0(n) auxiliary space.

45. Tell me about a time you could not finish a project and had to pivot quickly. How did you handle it?

At my last job, I led a project that was near completion. When everything was moving smoothly and on target for timely completion, then one of our partners provided one of the software upgrades that were to occur at the 90 percent mark and encountered a breach of systems and was estimated to be delayed by two to four weeks. Instead, we could allocate two resources to support the provider and help to recover from the breach in less than half of the projected time.

46. Why did you leave your Last Job?

The best way to answer these questions is, to be honest. Try not to forget to add your learnings from the situation and how you have overcome those problems.

Take care of yourself not to speak ill of your former employer, colleagues, or the job. Your attempt and approach should be to make the answer as positive as you can. So, it will be beneficial to make a good impression on you.

47. Count possible paths in an mXn matrix from top left to bottom right?

class Tree {

static int numberOfPaths(int a, int b)

if (a == 1 || b == 1)

return numberOfPaths(a- 1, b) + numberOfPaths(a, b - 1);  

public static void main(String args[])

System.out.println(numberOfPaths(3, 3));

48. Write a function to give the sum of all the numbers in the list?

def sum(numbers):

total = 0 for num in numbers:

print(''Sum of the numbers: '', total)

sum((10, 20, 30, 40, 0, 50))

49. How to Split String in Java?

public class Split {

  public static void main(String args[])

  String str = "Simplielearn";

  String[] arrOfStr = str.split("e", 2);

  for (String a : arrOfStr)

  System.out.println(a);

50. Write a code to find the factorial?

class Factorial

 public static void main(String args[])

  int i, fact=1;  

  int number=5;   

  for(i=1; i<=number; i++){    

      fact=fact*i;    

  System.out.println("Factorial of "+number+" is "+fact);    

51. How do you find the missing number in the array?

The secret to finding the missing number in an array is to use the formula n(n+1)/2. This will help you find the middle number in the array, and from there, you can determine the missing number.

52. Find out if the summation of two integers equals the given value.

This can be determined by using the following steps:

  • Determine the two numbers that are being added together.
  • Substitute these numbers for x and y in the equation x + y = z.
  • Solve the equation for z.
  • Check to see if the value of z is equal to the given value.

53. How to merge two sorted linked lists?

There are a few ways to merge two sorted linked lists . One way is to use a temporary variable to store the address of the head of the first list and then traverse the lists, inserting each element of the first list into the second list before moving on to the next element in the first list.

Another way is to use a temporary variable to store the address of the head of the second list and then traverse the lists, inserting each element of the first list into the second list before moving on to the next element in the first list.

54. How to copy linked list with arbitrary pointer?

For example, you have a linked list, and you want to copy it. But you don't have a pointer to the first element, so you can't use the standard library function memcpy(). How do you do it?

The solution is as follows:

  • Traverse the given linked list and copy the data of each node to a new location.
  • Update the pointer in the original list to point to the next node.
  • Recursively copy the new list to the same new location.

55. What is the level order traversal of a binary tree?

The level order traversal of a binary tree is a depth-first search algorithm . The algorithm starts at the root node and explores the left and right child nodes before moving to the next level. The algorithm visits every node in the tree, including the leaves, and prints the nodes in the visit order.

56. Determine if a binary tree is a binary search tree

A binary search tree (BST) is a data structure that allows fast searching of data. It can be used to store a sorted list of items. The tree is binary because it has two children for each node at most. A binary search tree is a binary search tree if and only if the following two conditions are met:

  • The left child of a node is less than the node itself.
  • The right child of a node is greater than the node itself.

57. What is string segmentation?

String segmentation is breaking a string into smaller strings or segments. This can be done in several ways, depending on the desired outcome. Common methods of string segmentation include character delimitation, word delimitation, and sentence delimitation.

When you segment a string, you essentially break it down into smaller strings. These smaller strings can then be processed individually. For example, you could use string segmentation to split a list of names into individual strings. This would allow you to loop through the list and process each name separately.

58. How do you reverse words in a sentence?

In C programming , you can reverse the order of the words in a sentence by using the strrev() library function. The strrev() function takes a string as input and reverses the order of the characters in the string.

59. How to find Kth permutation?

To find the kth permutation, we can use the factorial function to calculate the product of all the possible permutations of the first k items in the set and then divide by k!. The brute force method would be to try every possible permutation, which would take n!/(k! (n-k)! ) steps. However, this can be sped up using various algorithms.

One such algorithm is the Knuth shuffle, which takes O(n*k) time. Another is the insertion sort, which takes O(n*log(n)) time. Finally, the bubble sort takes O(n*log(n)*k) time.

60. What are the Key steps to succeed in your Amazon interview?

There are several key steps that you can take to set yourself up for success when interviewing with Amazon. First and foremost, it is important to research the company and the role you are interviewing for. Understand the company's values and culture, and be prepared to talk about how your skills and experience align with those values.

It is also important to be prepared for common interview questions. Practice answering questions aloud so that you can speak confidently and clearly. Be sure to ask questions of your own during the interview, as this will show that you are interested in the role. Finally, send a thank you note after the interview to reiterate your interest in the position.

61. How to clone a directed graph

Cloning a directed graph is a process that creates a replica of the original graph. The new graph will have the same nodes and edges as the original, and the order of the edges will be preserved. The most common way to clone a directed graph is to use a graph algorithm like breadth-first search or depth-first search. These algorithms recursively explore all paths in the graph, creating a new copy of the graph for each path they encounter. 

62. How to find low/High index

You can use these algorithms to find low and high indexes.

For Low Index:

  • Consider the range between low and high indexes at each step and then find the mid-index.
  • If the element at the mid Index is lower than the key, low will become mid + 1. This allows you to move towards the beginning of the range.
  • If the mid element >= the key, the high will be mid - 1. The low Index will remain the same.
  • If the low > high, it would indicate the first appearance of the key.
  • Return -1 if the key does not match the element at the low.

For High Index:

Similar results can be obtained by slightly altering the condition above for high Index

  • Switch the low Index to middle + 1 if the key Index of an element is lower than or equal to the Index at mid.
  • Switch the high Index to middle - 1 if the key element is larger than the mid.

63. How to search a rotated array?

There are a few ways to search a rotated array. One way is to use the binary search algorithm. This algorithm works by dividing the array in half and searching for the element in the middle. If the element is found, then the algorithm terminates. If the element is not found, the algorithm splits the array in half again and searches for the element in the middle of that subarray. This process is repeated until the element is found or the array is reduced to a single element.

64. Create a program that prints the k largest elements of an array. An array element can have any order. If you have an array of [1, 23, 12, 9, 30, 2,50] and are asked to print the largest three elements, i.e., k = 3, the output should be 50, 30 or 23

  • Modify Bubble Sort to run an outer loop maximum of k times.
  • Print the last k elements from the array created in step 1.

The complexity of Time: O(n*k).

65. What are classes and objects in c++?

Classes and objects are the two most important concepts in C++. A class is a template for creating objects. It is a blueprint for an object. Classes are defined by their members, which are the data and functions that belong to the class.

An object is an instance of a class. It is a specific instance of the template defined by the class. Objects are created by using the new keyword. The class members are copied into the object when it is created.

66. Given an array of integers, write a function that returns true if there is a triplet (a, b, c) that satisfies a2 + b2 = c2. 

Import kotlin. math.*

class ArrayTripletsAlg {

    fun doIt(array: Array<Int>): Triple<Int, Int, Int>? {

        fun sort(a: Int, b: Int, c: Int): Triple<Int, Int, Int> {

            return if (a > b) {

                if (a > c) {

                    if (b > c) {

                        Triple(a, b, c)

                    } else {

                        Triple(a, c, b)

                    }

                } else {

                    Triple(c, a, b)

                }

            } else if (b > c) {

                    Triple(b, a, c)

                    Triple(b, c, a)

            } else {

                Triple(c, b, a)

            }

        (0 until array.size - 2).forEach { i ->

            (i + 1 until array.size - 1).forEach { j ->

                (j + 1 until array.size).forEach { k ->

                    val triplets = sort(array[i], array[j], array[k])

                    if (triplets.first.toDouble().pow(2) ==

                            (triplets.second.toDouble().pow(2) + triplets.third.toDouble().pow(2)))

                        return triplets

        return null

67. What is Operator Overloading?

Operator overloading is a feature of some programming languages that allows you to redefine the behavior of operators for user-defined data types. This can make code more concise and readable or provide more functionality.

68. How do you allocate and deallocate memory in c++?

The new operator is used in C++ to allocate memory from the free store (or heap). int *ptr=new int; , and the delete operator to deallocate.

Customer Obsession Amazon Interview Questions

1. please tell me when you were obsessed with providing high-quality customer service..

Sample Answer: I worked as a support engineer at a software company and one of our biggest clients called XYZ. They were having some issues with the product, and I was the only one who could help them. I spent hours on the phone with them to resolve the issue. I was obsessed with giving them the best possible service. In the end, I was able to fix the issue, and they were very happy. That experience taught me the importance of going above and beyond for customers.

2. What was the most difficult interaction you had with a customer?

Sample Answer: 

The most difficult customer interaction that I have ever had was working at a call center for a cell phone company. I was helping a customer trying to upgrade his phone, but he was having trouble because his old phone was still under contract. He became extremely angry and began to shout at me. He accused me of being incompetent and of trying to cheat him. I felt like I would lose my temper, but I managed to stay calm and resolve the issue to his satisfaction.

3. Could you give an example of when you sought feedback from a customer? What did you do with the feedback?

Sample Answer:

I was always very open to customer feedback and often sought it out to understand what I could do to improve their experience and the product. I would also take this feedback and use it to develop new features or products. For example, one of my customers suggested that we develop a desktop application because they found the website difficult to use on their mobile phones. We developed a desktop application based on this customer feedback, which was a huge success.

Invent and Simplify Questions

1. please tell me when you solved a complicated problem with a simple solution..

When answering this question, you have to share a time when you utilized your problem-solving skills to solve a complex issue. Be sure to highlight how you could remain calm under pressure and utilize your critical thinking skills to find a solution.

For example, suppose you were in a previous job and were tasked with developing a new software system. In that case, you could share a story about how you were able to simplify the process by breaking it down into smaller steps that could be easily tackled. This would show the interviewer that you can think on your feet and develop creative solutions to complex problems.

2. Tell me about a time when you invented something.

The interviewer is looking to gauge your problem-solving skills, creativity, and resourcefulness. When answering this question, you have to share a story that demonstrates how you could think outside the box and develop new ideas.

3. Please walk me through a different scenario of a process you invented or improved.

There are a few ways to answer this question. One way would be to describe how you identified a problem and came up with a solution. This could involve describing the steps you took to research the problem and develop a plan of attack.

Another way to answer this question would be to describe how you implemented a process improvement. This could involve explaining how you worked with your team to make changes and then following up to ensure that the changes were effective.

Dive Deep Amazon Interview Questions

1. give me an example of when you used data to decide/solve a problem..

There are a few different ways to answer this question. One way is to give an example of when you used data to decide your personal life, such as deciding what college to attend. Another way is to give an example of when you used data to solve a problem in your professional life. For example, you might have used data to figure out how to increase website traffic or improve customer retention rates.

2. Discuss the most difficult problem you have ever dealt with.

This question is designed to assess your problem-solving skills and ability to think on your feet. The best way to answer this question is to discuss a problem you were passionate about solving. You should describe the problem in detail and explain how you approached it. Talk about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. Be sure to highlight your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience.

3. 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?

The problem I had to solve was how to increase website traffic. I knew that I needed to focus on the right things to achieve this goal. I analyzed my website's Google Analytics data to determine which pages received the most traffic. Then I looked at the data to see what content attracted the most visitors. I also used Google Search Console to determine which keywords people used to find my website. I created new content that would target these keywords and published it on my website based on this data. I also promoted this content on social media and other websites. I knew I was focusing on the right things when I was able to come up with a potential solution after spending some time thinking about the problem and how to best approach it. This solution ended up working. As a result, I was able to increase website traffic.

Frugality Questions

1. tell me about a time when you had to work with limited time or resources..

There are a few ways to answer this question. One way is to share a time when you had to work with a tight deadline. You can talk about how you managed your time and resources efficiently to meet the deadline.

Another way to answer this question is to share a time when you had to work with limited resources. You can talk about how you were creative and innovative ways to get the most out of your resources.

2. Describe a time when you had to manage a budget (or manage time/money/resources/etc.). Were you able to get more out of less?

The best way to answer this question is to give an example of when you had to be very strategic with your resources and make the most out of every penny. Perhaps you spearheaded a project where you had to work with a limited budget, or maybe you had to cut back on your spending to save money. When answering this question, focus on the steps you took to succeed rather than the outcome. For instance, if you could reduce costs without sacrificing quality, highlight that achievement.

3. Tell me about a time when you thought of a new way to save money for the company.

The best way to answer this question is to describe when you identified an opportunity to save the company money and then implemented a plan. For example, you might have noticed that the company was regularly spending a lot of money on shipping costs, and you devised a strategy to reduce those expenses. Or, you may have realized that the company was wasting a lot of money on unnecessary inventory and developed a system to improve inventory management. Whatever the case may be, describe the problem you identified and how you solved it.

Ownership Amazon Interview Questions

1. give me two examples of when you did more than what was required in any job experience (d1c: i don't know why the interviewer asked for two situations).

There are a few ways to answer this question. One way is to give an example from a previous job where you went above and beyond the call of duty. For instance, you could talk about staying late to help a colleague with a project or taking on extra work when you were already overloaded.

Another way to answer this question is to give an example from a current or past job where you exhibited leadership skills. For example, you could talk about how you spearheaded a project or took charge during a difficult situation.

2. Tell me about a time when you took on something significant outside your area of responsibility, and why was that important?

When answering the question, you have to highlight how you successfully contributed to the organization's goals, despite not having prior experience in that area. You can also talk about how you were able to learn on the job and develop new skills. Ultimately, you want the interviewer to see that you are willing to take on new challenges and proactively seek growth opportunities.

3. Describe a time you didn't think you were going to meet a commitment you promised?

There are a few different ways to answer this question. One way is to share a time when you were under a lot of pressure and thought you wouldn't be able to meet the commitment, but you did anyway. Another way is to share a time when you didn't think you could meet the commitment because of unforeseen circumstances, but you found a way to make it happen. Finally, you can share a time when you thought meeting the commitment was impossible, but you were able to pull it off in the end.

Earn Trust Questions

1. tell me about a critical piece of feedback you received.

When you're asked about a critical piece of feedback you received, be prepared to share an experience where someone gave you honest and constructive feedback that you took to heart. You can frame your answer around the following four steps:

  • Explain the situation
  • Describe how you felt about the feedback at the time
  • Talk about how you processed the feedback and what you did with it
  • Explain the outcome and what you learned from the experience.

2. Tell me about a time when you saw your team member struggling.

The interviewer wants to know if you can be observant and recognize when someone struggles, whether with work or personal issues. They also want to know if you can step in and offer help.

Your answer should showcase your ability to be a problem solver and leader. You should describe a time when you noticed that someone was struggling and took action to help them. Describe the steps you took to identify the source of the struggle and how you resolved it. Finally, talk about the positive outcome of your actions.

3. Building trust with teams can be difficult to achieve sometimes. Can you give me an example of how you effectively built trusting working relationships with others?

The interviewer asks about your interpersonal skills and how you've applied them in the past. First, think of an example of when you had to build trust with someone new. Maybe you were working on a project with a team member you'd never met before, or you were starting a new job and had to establish trust with your new boss and coworkers.

Next, describe what you did to build trust. Perhaps you took the time to learn about their background and shared some personal stories of your own. Maybe you showed that you were reliable and always followed through on your commitments.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit Interview Questions

1. tell me when you took an unpopular stance in a meeting with peers and your leader, and you were the outlier..

I was the outlier in a meeting when working at my previous job. We discussed a new project, and I was the only one against it. My boss and coworkers were pushy and tried to convince me to go along with the project, but I stuck to my guns and said no. They went ahead with the project without me, and it failed miserably.

I learned two things from that experience. First, always trust your gut instinct. If you don't feel right about something, there's probably a good reason for it. Second, it's important to be assertive and stand up for what you believe in, even if it means going against the majority.

2. Tell me when you decide to go along with the group decision, even if you disagree.

There are a few different ways to answer this question. One way is to discuss a time when you were in disagreement with the rest of the group, but you decided to go along with their decision anyways. This can show that you are a team player and willing to compromise to get the job done.

Another way to answer this question is to discuss a time when you agreed with the group decision, even if you didn't necessarily agree with it. This can show that you have good judgment and make decisions quickly.

3. Tell me when you strongly disagreed with your manager on something you deemed very important to the business. What was it about, and how did you handle it?

There are a few different ways to answer this question. One way is to stay calm and professional and explain your reasoning clearly and concisely. Another way is to be honest and upfront, explaining that you disagreed with the manager's decision but are still willing to do your best to carry out the task. Finally, you could also find a compromise or middle ground between the manager's decision and your own beliefs. Whichever way you respond, make sure that you are respectful and polite.

Hire and Develop the Best Amazon Interview Questions

1. tell me about a time when you dealt with an employee with poor performance..

When answering this question in an interview, you want to focus on a time you successfully improved the employee's performance. You could talk about how you identified the problem and what actions you took to correct it. You could also share how you monitored the employee's progress and provided feedback. Ultimately, you want the interviewer to see that you have the ability to identify and solve problems when they arise.

2. Tell me about a time when you coached someone into outstanding performance.

This question can be difficult to answer if you haven't had any experience coaching employees. However, if you have had this experience, there are a few things you can do to answer this question effectively.

The first step is to outline the goals you set for the employee and how you helped them achieve them. Next, describe the techniques you used to motivate and guide the employee. Finally, explain how the employee's progress was monitored and adjusted.

3. Tell me about when you've built a team for a specific project.

This question is designed to probe into your ability to lead and manage a team. When answering this question, it's important to highlight when you took the lead on a project and successfully delegated tasks to team members. Be sure to highlight how you allocated responsibilities, delegated tasks, and communicated with your team. If you have any examples of successful projects that your team was a part of, be sure to share those as well.

Bias for Action Interview Questions

1. can you give me an example of a calculated risk where speed was critical what was the situation, and how did you handle it.

I once took a calculated risk to increase my company's speed to market. We were working on a new product and knew that we needed to get it to market quickly to be successful. We decided to take a chance and develop the product using a new technology that we were not familiar with. This decision allowed us to get the product to market much faster than we would have been otherwise, and we could beat our competition to the punch. While this was a risky decision, it was ultimately successful and allowed us to achieve our goals.

2. Describe a situation where you made an important business decision without consulting your manager

You could talk about a time when you had to make a tough call on your own or when you had to make a decision quickly and didn't have time to consult your manager. Be sure to highlight your ability to think on your feet and make decisions in a high-pressure situation.

You could also talk about when you disagreed with your manager's decision and made the call to go against them. This shows that you dare stand up for what you believe in and aren't afraid to go against the grain. Whichever way you answer, explain why you made the decision and what outcome resulted from it.

3. Tell me when you had to analyze facts quickly, define key issues, and respond immediately to a situation. What was the outcome?

In my previous job as a research analyst, I often had to analyze data quickly and draw conclusions. This was especially important when working on presentations for my team or clients. To be successful, I had to learn how to quickly define the key issues at hand and respond immediately to any situation or outcome. This involved being able to think on my feet and making decisions quickly. I improved my analytical abilities and became more efficient when working under pressure by practicing these skills. This was beneficial in my current role as a business analyst, where I often need to provide solutions to problems in a short amount of time.

Deliver Results

1. tell me about a time when you were leading a group, were assigned a goal, and did not reach it..

The interviewer is asking about a time when you were not successful. This question is designed to understand how you handle difficult situations and what you learned from the experience.

I was once assigned a goal to lead a team in producing a large-scale event. Unfortunately, we did not reach the goal, and the event was a disaster. Despite this, I learned a lot from the experience, and it taught me how to be a better leader.

2. Tell me about a time when you not only met a goal but considerably exceeded expectations.

There are a few ways to answer this question. You could talk about a time when you overcame an obstacle in your way or a time when you went above and beyond to get the job done.

An example of overcoming an obstacle could be if you were working on a project and the deadline was suddenly moved up, and you still managed to meet the original deadline. An example of exceeding expectations could be if you were working on a project and the client asked for an additional charge, and you were able to make the change without any issues.

3. Tell me about a time when you were able to deliver an important project under a tight deadline.

When answering this question, you want to highlight your ability to stay calm under pressure and your ability to think on your feet. One time when I was able to deliver an important project under a tight deadline was when my company was preparing to launch a new product. We were behind schedule, and I was in charge of ensuring that all the marketing materials were ready to go. I worked around the clock for a week and was able to get everything done on time.

Insist on the Highest Standards Interview Questions

1. tell me about a time when you have been unsatisfied with the status quo. what did you do to change it were you successful.

The best way to answer this question was with an example of when you were proactive in making change, even if it meant going against the status quo. For instance, maybe you led a project to improve a process at work that had been stagnant for years, or maybe you organized a petition to get your school to change its policy on something you felt strongly about. Whatever the situation may be, explain how your actions positively impacted you.

2. Tell me about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality of something at work and went out of your way to improve it.

The best way to answer this question is to give an example of when you were dissatisfied with the quality of something at work and then took it upon yourself to improve it. For instance, maybe you noticed that many customer complaints were related to product quality. In that case, you might have decided to take on a quality assurance role to ensure that the products met customer expectations. Alternatively, if you felt that the company's branding was lackluster, you might have started a branding initiative to improve the company's image.

3. When you refused to compromise around quality or customer service

The interviewer is looking for a real-life example of a time when you had to make a tough decision in the workplace. This is not the time to talk about when you made a minor concession or gave in a little bit. They are looking for a story about when you had to put your foot down and say no.

Learn and Be Curious

1. what's the coolest thing you've learned on your own that you've then been able to apply and perform your job further.

The coolest thing I've learned on my own is how to code. It's something I was interested in and decided to teach myself. Once I learned the basics, I started coding for fun projects on the side. A few months ago, I was able to use my coding skills to help my company create a new website. It was a great experience, and I was proud of what I could do.

2. Tell me about a time when someone openly challenged you. How did you handle this feedback?

It can be tough to know how to answer this question in an interview, but it's important to show that you can handle criticism positively. One way to answer this question is to share an instance where you disagreed with someone's opinion but could still listen to them and learn from what they had to say.

You could also share a time when you received negative feedback but were able to use it to improve your work. Whatever example you choose, explain how you handled the situation and what you learned from it.

3. Give an example of a tough or critical piece of feedback you received. What was it, and what did you do about

The toughest feedback I ever received was when my boss told me that I needed to be more aggressive in my sales pitches. I had always been a bit of a shy person, so this was a difficult adjustment for me to make. I worked on being more assertive and eventually saw results. I learned that it's important to take criticism seriously but not let it get you down. Feedback can be tough to hear, but it's always given to help you improve.

Think Big Interview Questions

1. tell me about a time when very senior people adopted your vision across the organization..

When answering this question in an interview, it's important to stay positive and focus on the outcome rather than the challenges you may have faced. Try to think of a situation where several senior people adopted your vision within the organization and how that positively impacted the business.

For example, you could share a story about how your vision led to a significant increase in sales or helped the company achieve a new milestone. Stay positive, focus on the outcome, and avoid talking about any challenges you may have faced.

Are Right a Lot Amazon Interview Questions

1. can you think of a time you made a bad professional decision what was the impact of the decision what did you learn.

The interviewer is trying to get a sense of your decision-making abilities. When answering this question, you want to focus on when you made a mistake that you learned from. Don't try to make yourself look good by talking about when you made the right decision.

2. When you had to make a difficult decision with input from a lot of people

The interviewer wants to know that you can handle difficult situations and take input from other people before making a decision. When answering this question, it is important to stay calm and not get defensive. Start by describing the situation in detail and explaining the process you went through to decide. Be sure to mention how you took into account the opinions of others before making your final decision. If you have an example of a difficult decision you made, share that. This will show the interviewer that you are capable of handling difficult situations.

Strive to Be Earth's Best Employer Interview Questions

1. tell me about a time when you created conditions for others to succeed..

This is a question that often comes up in interviews. When answering it, think about a time when you delegated tasks effectively or created an environment where others could thrive.

For example, suppose you were asked to describe when you created conditions for others to succeed. In that case, you might talk about a project you led where you delegated tasks effectively and gave people the freedom to work on what they were most interested in. You could also describe a time when you fostered a positive and productive work environment, where employees felt comfortable taking risks and collaborating.

2. Tell me about a time when you drove decisions that created a working environment that was more fun and inclusive.

The best way to answer this question is to give an example of when you made a decision that had a positive impact on the team. For instance, you might have decided to host a company-wide picnic or organize a team-building activity.

When you make decisions that create more fun and inclusive working environment, it tells your team that you care about their well-being. This can help to improve morale and boost productivity.

Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

1. tell me about a time when you considered the environmental impact of your decisions..

When answering this question in an interview, it's important to think about when you decided that it had an environmental impact. You want to share a positive story and showcase your dedication to considering the environment in your decision-making process.

For example, you might have chosen an environmentally friendly product over a less sustainable option, or you may have reduced your company's carbon footprint by changing how your business operates. Whatever the story, highlight how your actions had a positive environmental impact.

How to Answer Amazon Interview Questions

The Amazon interview process is notoriously difficult. To make the process a bit easier, here are some tips for answering Amazon interview questions:

  • Go through the company's website and research what they do.
  • Know your resume inside out, and be able to speak to your experience and how it relates to the position you are applying for
  • Practice, practice, practice. The best way to get comfortable with an interview is to practice in advance.
  • Be prepared to answer behavioral questions and other question types.

Top 3 Amazon Interview Questions 

1. what would you do if you found out your closest friend at work was stealing.

This is a difficult question. You want to be honest, but you don't want to hurt your friend's feelings. You also don't want to get yourself in trouble. The first thing you should do is talk to your friend. Find out what's going on and why they're stealing. Maybe they're in a tough financial situation, and they feel like they have no other choice. Maybe they're doing it for fun, and they don't realize the implications.

If you believe that your friend is stealing because they need money, you might want to suggest some other solutions. Maybe they could apply for a loan or sell some of their possessions. If they're stealing for fun, you could try to talk to them about the dangers and consequences of stealing. If you believe that your friend is stealing because they're addicted to stealing, you might suggest getting help. Many addiction treatment centers can help your friend overcome their addiction.

2. Describe your most difficult customer and how you handled it. 

The interviewer is looking to see how you handle difficult customer interactions. They want to know if you have the skills and experience to deal with challenging situations. When answering this question, give a specific example of a difficult customer that you interacted with and outline how you handled the situation. Make sure to highlight your problem-solving skills and customer service experience. Explain what you did to resolve the issue and make the customer happy. If you have any awards or accolades for customer service, mention them.

3. Tell me about a time you were 75 percent through a project and had to pivot quickly. How did you handle it?

The interviewer is looking to see how you handle difficult and unexpected situations. This is a common question in interviews, so you should be prepared for it.

First, take a moment to think about when you had to change your plan mid-project. Then, walk the interviewer through the steps you took to handle the situation. Highlight how you maintained your professionalism and remained focused on the end goal. Finally, explain what you learned from the experience.

More Interview Questions from Amazon 

1. why amazon.

The best way to answer this question is to research Amazon's core values and how your skills and experiences align with them. Amazon's core values include innovation, customer obsession, and frugality. You can highlight examples of how you've demonstrated these values in your previous roles. For example, if you've launched a new product or streamlined a process at your previous company, you can discuss how your innovation improved the customer experience.

2. Which leadership principle of Amazon do you connect with most?

This question can be answered by thinking about what you value most in a leader. Do you appreciate someone who is decisive and takes action? Or do you prefer a more analytical leader who takes the time to consider all of the options? Once you have identified the leadership principle you connect with most, you can provide an example of how you demonstrated that principle in your past work experience.

3. Do you know who the Amazon CEO is? How do you pronounce his name?

Jeff Bezos is the founder, CEO, and President of Amazon. He is an American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. His full name is Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen.

4. Tell me about a time you faced a crisis at work. How did you handle it?

The best way to answer this question is to share a time when you could successfully manage a difficult situation. You can talk about how you kept a calm head under pressure, displayed excellent problem-solving skills, or took decisive action when needed.

Ensure your strengths and how they helped you resolve the crisis. Stay positive, and don't try to paint yourself as perfect - nobody is. If you made a mistake, own up to it and explain what you learned from the experience.

5. Describe [Amazon product or service relevant to the role] as you would to a prospective customer.

When describing Amazon's product or service relevant to the role, one should focus on how it is useful and unique. For example, when interviewing for Amazon Solution Architect , you can talk about cloud storage service, I.e., " Amazon's cloud storage service is incredibly useful because it allows you to store all of your data in one place. You can access your data from anywhere globally, and you can easily share files with other people."

6. Can you tell me when you had to make a fast customer service decision without any guidance? How did you decide what to do?

This is a difficult question because it is hard to think of an example where you had to make a customer service decision without any guidance. One option is to describe when you had to handle a challenging customer service situation. You could explain how you remained calm and handled the situation in a way that was satisfactory for both the customer and the company.

7. Tell me about a time that you dealt with a hostile customer.

When interviewers ask about a time you dealt with a hostile customer, they are looking to see how you handle difficult situations. They want to know if you can remain calm under pressure and whether you can think on your own. The best way to answer this question is to share an example of a time when you could successfully de-escalate the situation. You can talk about the steps you took to diffuse the situation and how you managed to keep the customer happy.

8. When given an unfamiliar task, how do you ensure you handle it properly?

The best way to ensure you handle an unfamiliar task properly is to research the task. Once you have a general understanding of what is involved, you can begin developing a plan of action. This plan can be tailored specifically for the task at hand and will help to ensure that you handle it most efficiently and effectively possible. Finally, it is always a good idea to have someone else review your plan before putting it into action, just to ensure there are no potential problems.

9. If you are given two conflicting priorities from two separate managers, how do you figure out how to proceed?

There are a few ways to approach this problem. One is to try and prioritize the goals based on their importance to the company as a whole. Another is finding a way to compromise and meet in the middle. If neither of those solutions works, then it might be necessary to choose one goal over the other. It might even be necessary to speak with the managers directly and get their take on the situation in some cases.

10. Give me an example of when you received criticism. How did you respond to the information?

The interviewer is looking for an indication of how you handle constructive criticism. This is important because no one is perfect, and as a future employee, you will make mistakes. The company wants to know that you are capable of handling feedback (even if it is negative) in a professional manner.

11. What metrics do you use to drive positive change?

When asked this question in an interview, it's important to understand the interviewer's definition of "positive change." Some interviewers might be asking about tangible results, such as increasing sales or profits. Others might be more interested in softer metrics, such as employee satisfaction or customer satisfaction. No matter what the interviewer is looking for, you should always have at least one metric to track progress and success. 

12. What would you do if a supervisor asked you to do something unsafe that went against policy?

The best way to answer this question is to discuss how you would try to resolve the situation. You could mention that you would first try to talk to the supervisor about the situation and explain why you think it is unsafe. If that doesn't work, you could then go to a higher-up or the HR department to resolve the situation.

13. Tell me about a time when you were handling a project outside your scope of work. How did you handle it?

I was responsible for managing a project that went outside of my scope of work in my previous job. The project plan had changed, and I was not aware of the change. As a result, I could not properly prepare for the project.

I handled the situation by communicating with my manager and the client. I explained the situation and asked for help getting up to speed on the new project plan. I also made sure to stay in close communication with my team to continue to be effective in my role.

14. Describe a situation where you had to deal with ambiguity when making a decision.

When I was working as a project manager , I had to deal with ambiguity. To make the best decision possible, I would ask many questions and gather as much information as possible. Sometimes it was hard to get a clear answer, but I always tried to stay calm and make the best decision I could under the circumstances.

15. Can you tell me about a time when you had to make a decision when all of the data you needed was unavailable?

When I was working as a sales representative for a company, I had to decide whether to offer a discount to a potential customer. The customer had requested a discount, but I didn't know how much profit the company would make if the sale went through. Offering a discount would be beneficial for the customer, but it could negatively impact the company's profits. In this situation, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of offering a discount before deciding.

16. How do you keep yourself / your team / your colleagues motivated?

There are many ways to keep yourself, your team or your colleagues motivated. One way is to set goals and rewards for meeting them. For example, if you want someone to finish a project by a certain date, you could give them a bonus or a gift card if they are successful.

Another way to keep people motivated is to offer praise and recognition when they do a good job. This can be as simple as saying "thank you" or as elaborate as giving a public shout-out. Either way, positive reinforcement is an effective way to encourage people to keep up the good work.

17. What steps do you take to form positive and functional relationships with your colleagues?

The first step in building positive relationships with your colleagues is to be friendly and open. Introduce yourself and take an interest in them as people, not just workers. Be respectful and considerate, and don't gossip or talk about others.

Try to be helpful and supportive, and offer to help out with tasks or projects. Be positive and constructive in your feedback, rather than negative and critical. Celebrate successes together, and offer a shoulder to cry on during tough times.

18. What would you do if a team member wasn't pulling their weight?

There are a few possible answers to this question. You could explain that you would have a conversation with the team member to understand the issue and try to resolve it. If the issue was not resolved, you might then decide to reassign that person to a different task or team. Alternatively, you could explain that you would let the team member go if they were not meeting expectations.

19. What do you do to ensure that the customer experience is always a priority?

There are a few key things that I always do to make sure that the customer experience is a priority. One must always be willing to go the extra mile for a customer. If they need something, I do my best to get it for them. Another key thing is to be proactive in addressing any complaints or concerns that a customer may have. I want to know about them as soon as possible to address the issue and prevent it from happening again. Finally, I always try to be friendly and personable with customers.

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This article provides a list of common interview questions asked by Amazon. If you are applying for a position at Amazon or are just curious about what they might ask, this is a great resource. The answers to these questions will help you prepare for your interview and show you what Amazon is looking for in candidates.

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About the author.

Hemant Deshpande

Hemant Deshpande, PMP has more than 17 years of experience working for various global MNC's. He has more than 10 years of experience in managing large transformation programs for Fortune 500 clients across verticals such as Banking, Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Telecom and others. During his career he has worked across the geographies - North America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Hemant is an internationally Certified Executive Coach (CCA/ICF Approved) working with corporate leaders. He also provides Management Consulting and Training services. He is passionate about writing and regularly blogs and writes content for top websites. His motto in life - Making a positive difference.

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Amazon Business Intelligence Engineer (BIE) Interview Guide

It's no secret that Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world. Even during the worst of COVID-19, they (briefly) achieved a TRILLION-dollar market capitalization and have grown to over one million employees. It's a complex business featuring dozens of departments, countless teams, and seemingly infinite data. Who analyzes this mountain of information, discovering critical insights driving the biggest decisions? Amazon's Business Intelligence Engineers , or BIEs for short.

Amazon's BIEs design and build out the many analytics, essential KPIs, and data pipelines while also drafting reports, data dashboards, and visualizations. BIE positions require a significant grasp of statistics, data warehousing, and the Extract, Transform, Load data copying procedure. As is often the case with data analytics positions, proficiency in SQL is required of Amazon Business Intelligence Engineers.

Are you looking to join Amazon's ranks as a Business Intelligence Engineer? Let's go ahead and take a closer look at the interview process for BIEs.

Interview Process

Similar to other technical interview loops at Amazon, the BIE interview generally consists of two phone interviews followed by an on-site round.

Phone Screen

The first step in the BIE interview process is an initial discovery screening. Most offen this will be with a recruiter, but you may also have an additional screening with a team member or hiring manager - this seems to differ among locations. The focus of this call is primarily to gauge whether you would be a good fit. You can expect basic questions focused on past work experience. Make sure to prepare by reviewing your resume closely, as you'll probably be asked to elaborate on some key points. Most importantly, your interviewer will allow you to detail the reasons why you want to join the specific team you applied to. Ultimately, you'll need to provide an answer impressive enough that they forward you to the next stage.

Technical Screen

Afterward, you'll be asked to complete a live technical screening to test your skills in SQL and Python. This won't be the last technical round, but it's meant to test your basic technical prerequisites. You should be prepared to answer at least five SQL, Python, data visualization, and/or business analytics questions. In preparing for this round, practice presentation skills and business acumen - it's just as important to communicate actionable recommendations to your interviewers as it is to code well. Demonstrate your ability to leverage corporate data to make insightful business decisions, and you'll have a good shot of advancing.

The on-site consists of 5-6 individual rounds with business intelligence engineers, data scientists, and a hiring manager. Each will last 45 minutes to 1 hour. Expect more in-depth questions and be prepared to provide details. In many ways, the on-site is practically an expanded and more substantive screening. Given the length and number of the interview rounds, you may be wondering what the daily schedule would look like. Usually, the interviews begin around 10 AM and last until 4 PM, with an hour lunch break in between.

You will be asked numerous questions spanning both data science and business analytics during your meetings with BIEs and data scientists. You'll be asked questions about qualifying requirements, checking edge cases, and expected to complete whiteboarding problems with the BIEs and data scientists. Many of the questions will be based on real business problems that Amazon has faced in the past, so study Amazon's structure and history beforehand. Aspiring BIEs also must be prepared for the inevitable series of behavioral questions characteristic of an Amazon interview. These questions, especially, will be highly focused on Amazon's Leadership Principles . Reviewing these are an absolute must for any aspiring Amazon employee. Like the initial technical screen, you'll be asked a series of statistics, SQL, and other data science questions by the Business Intelligence Engineers. Your interviews with the data scientists will also consist of statistics and data science questions. They will also include questions about more general data science concepts.

You'll meet with several Amazon employees during your on-site interview. Each interviewer has an equal say in the final hiring decision, except for the designated "bar raiser." These have a unique veto power, capable of rejecting an otherwise solid interview. The other interviewers will be focused on your particular fit to the role in question, but not the bar raiser. - he or she is focused on your fit at the company. Jeff Bezos is notorious for his love of the word "relentless" and it's expected that each hire should be shown up by the next. The "bar raisers" in these interviews are literally gauging whether you meet this standard. To avoid the dreaded veto, candidates will need to demonstrate to their bar raiser that their standards are higher than at least 50% of employees. The interview committee won't make you wait for long after you complete your interviews. You will hear back from them in 24 hours.

Sample Interview Questions

Amazon's behavioral questions assess fit with their (many) leadership principles.

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.

  • Tell me about a time when you declined a customer requirement.
  • Tell me about a time when a customer gave you critical feedback.
  • Tell me about a time when you developed something for a customer that they did not ask for.

Customer Obsession: Pain Point

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 own team. They never say “that’s not my job."

  • Tell me about a time when you worked on a project outside of your scope.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to leave a task unfinished.

Ownership: Status Quo

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 by “not invented here." As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

  • Tell me about the most innovative project you worked on, why it was innovative, and what the challenges were.
  • Tell me about a time when you gave a simple solution to a complex problem.

Invent and Simplify: Simple Solution

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.

  • Tell me about a time where you made a decision without having complete information.
  • Tell me about a time you made a design decision where a lot of people had opposed you. Why did they oppose you?
  • Tell me about a time you made a design decision where a lot of people had agreed with you. Why did they agree with you?

Are Right A Lot: Instincts

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.

  • Tell me about a skill you recently learned. How did you learn it?
  • Tell me about an experience you went through that changed your way of thinking.

Learn and Be Curious: New Skill

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 invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.

Note: This leadership is less frequently touched upon in the interview.

  • Tell me about a time when one of your team members had difficulty doing a project. What did you do?
  • Who is the most important person in your life and why?

Hire/Develop The Best: Team Member

Insist on 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.

  • Tell me about a time when everything was going well on a project, yet you worked on an improvement that no one had asked for. What was the improvement? Why did you think it was important? How would you measure success?
  • Tell me about a time when you raised the bar.

Highest Standards: Raising the Bar

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.

  • Tell me about a time when you initiated work on a project that both impacted a majority of your team and had a lot of opposition.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to make a bold and difficult decision.

Think Big: Difficult Decision

Bias for Action

Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk-taking.

  • Tell me about a time when you had a conflict and you had multiple ways to resolve it. How did you evaluate your options? Which solution did you choose and why?
  • Tell me about a time when you made a decision too quickly and what you would have done differently.

Bias for Action: Calculated Risk

Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.

  • Tell me about a time when you had to work with limited time or resources.
  • Tell me about a time where you turned down more resources to complete an assignment.

Frugality: Turning Down Resources

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.

  • How do you earn the trust of stakeholders?
  • Tell me about a time when you made a mistake.
  • Tell me about a time when you worked on a project that got delayed. How did you handle it? Once you know it would be delayed, explain the actions you took afterwards.

Earn Trust: Mistake

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.

  • Tell me about a time when you had a problem and you had to go through several hoops to discover the root cause.
  • Tell me about a time when you had a problem yet no one was willing to investigate since they thought it was outside their scope of ownership.

Dive Deep: Root Cause

Have Backbone

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.

  • Tell me about a time when an idea you proposed was not agreed on. How did you react?
  • What do you believe that no one else does?

Disagree and Commit: Idea Proposal

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.

  • Tell me about your proudest project.
  • Tell me about a time when everyone else on your team gave up on something but you pushed the team towards delivering a result.

Deliver Results: Tell me about your proudest project

Miscellaneous

When Exponent spoke with a few folks who interviewed for the Amazon non-tech PM role, some had reported that they also encountered the following questions

  • How do you prioritize requests from multiple stakeholders?
  • What are your favorite and second most favorite leadership principles?
  • Which leadership principle do you least resonate with?

Hiring Decision

Once your on-site is over, the committee will convene. The main thing they will be discussing is how well you reflected Amazon's leadership principles. Each of the interviewers you meet with will be delegated 2-3 leadership principles to evaluate in-depth. Depending on the answers you give, these interviewers may raise red flags to their colleagues. A job offer is increasingly unlikely if too many conflicts between your answers and the leadership principles is found. For example, let's suppose you gave an example of working on a strategic project. It would send a negative signal for the "customer obsession" principle if you devised your approach based on the competition rather than the customer.

If you ace all your interview questions without raising any leadership principle red flags and you escape the bar-raiser veto, you have a good chance of receiving an offer. If so, great work! This hiring decision is made within 24 hours, after which you'll receive a phone call from a hiring manager. Here you'll have a final opportunity to discuss your job expectations and your salary. There are other possible scenarios if the interviewers didn't think it was a good fit beyond a simple rejection. If your interview was strong enough to impress, other hiring managers from different Amazon teams may want to meet with you. They may find a good fit for you on their teams instead.

Tips and Strategies

Technical drills.

Amazon's Business Intelligence teams are very technical given the emphasis on data analytics. Aspiring BIEs should prepare for the numerous technical questions they'll be asked during their interviews. You should be capable of answering questions on the optimization of queries based on many different data modeling concepts. Your interviewers will have you writing SQL frequently, along with many questions about edge cases. Be sure to study up the ways to simplify complex queries.

Practice designing analytics and data visualizations for the relevant stakeholders. This is especially true for building data dashboards using tools like QuickSight or Tableau, drafting statistical reports, and establishing the KPIs that best measure Amazon's success. Amazon has stated that the company does not have any hard preferences in terms of specific visualization tools you use. They are more interested in the thought process and problem-solving approaches the BIE candidates bring to the table.

During your interviews, you'll need to be sure to adequately demonstrate these problem-solving skills through your data analysis, chosen statistical methods, or even A/B testing. You'll need to show off your ability to translate the ambiguous problems facing Amazon into concrete requirements while pulling actionable insights from these data sets. Prepare to answer questions about data warehousing and the ETL procedure.

Ask Plenty of Questions

Be sure to ask plenty of questions during the interview process, especially in the initial phone screenings with the recruiter and hiring manager. Ask them what skills are the most relevant and necessary for the particular BIE team you're applying to. For instance, they may say that the team has emphasized statistics skills. Others may require past experience and proficiency with data warehousing and copying procedures. Keep in mind that something like experience with scripting languages, for example, is desired by some teams while irrelevant to others. Regardless, every aspiring Business Intelligence Engineer will need experience with SQL, data visualization, and business analytics.

Make Use of the Whiteboard

Throughout the interview process, you'll have the opportunity to use a whiteboard. Whether it be with a real whiteboard or a code-sharing link, whiteboarding is an excellent way for your interviewer to learn about your thought-process.

When solving your technical questions, be sure to write a list of requirements on the board, always asking your interviewer more questions. Before going further, these requirements should be written out.

Keep digging for additional clarification from your interviewer. None of them will be actively trying to trick or deceive you, but these questions may initially be vague or abstract. The vagueness requires candidates to ask more questions and think creatively.

Raj R.

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Amazon QA Engineer Interview Questions

Dipen Dadhaniya

Amazon operates across several industries providing customer-focused products and services. Quality is an essential facet of Amazon’s consumer-centric vision.

Quality Assurance (QA) engineers at Amazon work closely with software developers to evaluate the functionality of products and services through manual or automated tests. QA engineers run a series of test suites and cases to identify product defects and drive quality initiatives.

QA engineers play an important role at Amazon, ensuring the company’s products and services meet the highest standards of excellence.

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In this article, we’ll look at the Amazon Quality Assurance Engineer interview process, including the type of questions asked at the interview. We also offer tips and insights to help you prepare for and ace your upcoming QA interview.

In this article, we’ll cover:

  • The Amazon QA Interview Process

Amazon QA Interview Questions

  • Tips to Crack the Amazon QA Interview

How to Prepare for a QA Interview

Amazon qa interview process.

Amazon’s QA interview process is similar to Amazon’s coding interview process. Amazon’s QA interview process comprises the following 5 stages:

  • Evaluation of Your Coding Skills

Your knowledge of basic data structures (Arrays, Strings, Linked Lists, etc.) is assessed at this stage. To ace this coding interview , you have to be adept at an object-oriented programming language such as Java, Python, or C++.

  • Evaluation of Your Testing Skills

At this stage of the Amazon QA engineer hiring process, you will be evaluated on your ability to plan and execute test strategies in a real-time situation. Experience in software testing is necessary to be successful in this round.

  • Evaluation of Your Analytical Skills

Your ability to debug code, among other analytical skills, will be assessed in this round. Although similar to the coding interview , questions asked in this round will be more challenging and will involve algorithmic problems.

  • Evaluation of Your Behavioral Skills

Amazon follows a unique method to evaluate candidates’ behavioral skills. Amazon’s behavioral interview is based on Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles .

In this round, you’ll be asked questions on workplace conduct and discipline, collaboration, leadership, initiative, and inclusion.

  • The Amazon Bar Raiser Interview

The Bar Raiser round is the final stage of the interview process. It is conducted by a member of Amazon’s Bar Raiser team , i.e., a group of employees specially trained to hire only the best talent.

At the Bar Raiser interview, you’ll be asked questions pertaining to:

  • Your prospective role
  • Your past projects and productivity
  • Your potential value contribution to the team
  • Your views on work-life balance and workplace situations

Questions asked at Amazon’s QA interview are a mix of coding, testing, analytical, and behavioral questions. Given below are sample Amazon QA interview questions .

Amazon QA Interview Questions on Testing

Testing for bugs, errors, and inconsistencies is the primary role of an Amazon QA engineer. Below are some testing questions asked at Amazon’s QA interview:

  • Explain the different types of software testing with examples.
  • Explain the difference between bug leakage and bug release.
  • Explain the automation challenges software quality testers face.
  • Devise a test strategy for a newly launched e-commerce website that sells books.
  • Write test cases for an app that uploads files from a remote machine to the cloud.
  • Write a test case to validate an API for which the input is a URL to an HTML webpage.
  • Write test cases for when customers make credit card payments for products purchased online.
  • What testing approach would you adopt for a smartphone that turns off when the alarm rings?
  • How would you test (optimally) the search feature on the Amazon e-commerce platform? How would you automate the process to check if search results are displayed correctly?
  • Write smoke tests for the given situation: There are three modules with a fundamental defect in one of the modules. Module 3 gets its input from Module 1 and 2. How would you identify and report defects?

Amazon QA Interview Questions on Coding and Analytical Skills

Knowing how to code and approach problem-solving analytically is an essential requirement for QA engineers.

Below are some coding questions asked at the Amazon QA interview . These questions are generally based on coding topics such as arrays, strings, linked lists, graphs, trees, hashing, and other coding concepts on algorithms and data structures.

  • Given K sorted arrays ‘arr’, of size N each, merge them into a new sorted array ‘res.’ ( Solution )
  • Given an array of integers ‘arr’ of size n, which is analogous to a continuous stream of integers input, find K largest elements from a given stream of numbers. ( Solution )
  • Given an array of integers, find any non-empty subarray whose elements add up to zero. ( Solution )
  • Find all magic triplets in a given integer array ‘arr’ of size n. A magic triplet is a group of three numbers whose sum is zero. Note that magic triplets may or may not be made of consecutive numbers in arr. ( Solution )
  • Given an integer, check whether it is a palindrome. ( Solution )
  • Given an integer n, find all possible ways to position n queens on an n×n chessboard so that no two queens attack each other. ( Solution )
  • Given the root node of a binary tree T, modify that tree in place, transform it into the mirror image of the initial tree T. ( Solution )
  • Given a variety of coin types defining a currency system, find the minimum number of coins required to express a given amount of money. Assume an infinite supply of coins of every type. ( Solution )
  • Given the daily prices of a stock, what’s the maximum possible profit one can generate by first buying one share of that stock on a certain day and then selling that share at least one day later? ( Solution )
  • Given a sequence, return its next lexicographically greater permutation. If such a permutation does not exist, then return it in ascending order. ( Solution )

Go through more coding questions and their answers to improve your QA coding interview prep.

Amazon QA Interview Behavioral Questions

Behavioral interviews are a key part of the interview process at Amazon for all roles, whether junior, mid, or senior-level roles. Below are some sample behavioral questions asked at Amazon’s QA interview:

  • What are the characteristics of a good leader?
  • Give us an instance when you had to make an important decision based on limited data.
  • How do you avoid distractions at work?
  • What do you think makes for perfect work-life balance?
  • How would you engage clients to keep them interested in a product or service?
  • How would you deal with conflict with a coworker?
  • Describe how you handled an uncooperative coworker.
  • Describe a disagreement you had with a superior on the course of a project.
  • Tell us about a time you had to enhance your skills to meet project requirements.
  • What was the most difficult project you ever worked on? What were your key learnings from it?

For more behavioral questions that can be asked at Amazon’s QA engineer interview, check out these pages on Amazon Behavioral Interview Questions and Amazon Leadership Principles Interview Questions .

Tips to Crack the Amazon QA Engineer Interview

Given below are some tips to help you ace your next QA engineer interview.

  • Create an Impressive Project Portfolio

A strong project portfolio can give you a competitive edge. Create your portfolio using the STAR format, which highlights situations, tasks, actions, and results for each project. This will give interviewers the right context and clarity about projects as you talk about them.

  • Prepare Well for the Behavioral Interview

Behavioral interviews are a very important part of the Amazon interview process. Amazon’s behavioral interviews differ from behavioral interviews at other FAANG companies. The Bar Raiser round at Amazon focuses primarily on Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles .

Make sure you prepare answers to behavioral questions using the STAR format. Appearing unprepared at the behavioral round by answering questions unsatisfactorily can negatively impact your interview results.

  • Uplevel Your Problem-Solving and Analytical Skills

Practice as many coding problems as possible before your interview. Try to practice at least 80 problems before your interview. This will help you identify different patterns that you can apply to solve new problems.

  • Earmark Adequate Time to Prepare for Your Interview

Give yourself a minimum of 8 weeks to prepare for the interview. Inadequate preparation time can cause you to overlook crucial technical concepts, weakening your competitive edge.

  • Practice Mock Interviews

Mock interviews with the right professionals are a great way to polish your interviewing skills and become confident.

At Interview Kickstart , you can practice mocks with instructors who are hiring managers and technical leads at Tier-1 companies, including Amazon.

Kickstart your interview prep for your next QA engineer interview by availing the best guidance on technical interviews. Register for our free webinar to learn how to structure your interview prep.

At IK, we help you develop a winning strategy to beat the competition and crack technical interviews at the biggest companies . Register to uplevel your career now!

FAQs about Amazon AQ Engineer Interview Questions

Q1. what skills do i need to be a qa engineer at amazon.

Interviewers at Amazon look for QA engineers with experience in testing web technologies, services, and physical devices. Moreover, proficiency in QA methodology and expertise in working closely with development and business teams is a must. Knowledge of Scrum, Kanban, and Lean methodologies puts you in a stronger position. 

Q2. How much does a QA Engineer I at Amazon make? 

The average salary of an Amazon QA Engineer I is ₹12,21,481 per year. It can range from ₹5,75,717 - ₹14,64,284 per year.

Q3. Is coding required for QA engineers?

Coding skills can be beneficial for QA professionals, but they are not mandatory for the role. The knowledge helps them collaborate with other team members. However, QA professionals usually deal with test planning, test case design, test execution, and defect management. So, they can excel in their roles with a strong foundation in testing methodologies and techniques, not necessarily coding.

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Top 20 Problem Solving Interview Questions (Example Answers Included)

Mike Simpson 0 Comments

problem solving questions for amazon interview

By Mike Simpson

When candidates prepare for interviews, they usually focus on highlighting their leadership, communication, teamwork, and similar crucial soft skills . However, not everyone gets ready for problem-solving interview questions. And that can be a big mistake.

Problem-solving is relevant to nearly any job on the planet. Yes, it’s more prevalent in certain industries, but it’s helpful almost everywhere.

Regardless of the role you want to land, you may be asked to provide problem-solving examples or describe how you would deal with specific situations. That’s why being ready to showcase your problem-solving skills is so vital.

If you aren’t sure who to tackle problem-solving questions, don’t worry, we have your back. Come with us as we explore this exciting part of the interview process, as well as some problem-solving interview questions and example answers.

What Is Problem-Solving?

When you’re trying to land a position, there’s a good chance you’ll face some problem-solving interview questions. But what exactly is problem-solving? And why is it so important to hiring managers?

Well, the good folks at Merriam-Webster define problem-solving as “the process or act of finding a solution to a problem.” While that may seem like common sense, there’s a critical part to that definition that should catch your eye.

What part is that? The word “process.”

In the end, problem-solving is an activity. It’s your ability to take appropriate steps to find answers, determine how to proceed, or otherwise overcome the challenge.

Being great at it usually means having a range of helpful problem-solving skills and traits. Research, diligence, patience, attention-to-detail , collaboration… they can all play a role. So can analytical thinking , creativity, and open-mindedness.

But why do hiring managers worry about your problem-solving skills? Well, mainly, because every job comes with its fair share of problems.

While problem-solving is relevant to scientific, technical, legal, medical, and a whole slew of other careers. It helps you overcome challenges and deal with the unexpected. It plays a role in troubleshooting and innovation. That’s why it matters to hiring managers.

How to Answer Problem-Solving Interview Questions

Okay, before we get to our examples, let’s take a quick second to talk about strategy. Knowing how to answer problem-solving interview questions is crucial. Why? Because the hiring manager might ask you something that you don’t anticipate.

Problem-solving interview questions are all about seeing how you think. As a result, they can be a bit… unconventional.

These aren’t your run-of-the-mill job interview questions . Instead, they are tricky behavioral interview questions . After all, the goal is to find out how you approach problem-solving, so most are going to feature scenarios, brainteasers, or something similar.

So, having a great strategy means knowing how to deal with behavioral questions. Luckily, there are a couple of tools that can help.

First, when it comes to the classic approach to behavioral interview questions, look no further than the STAR Method . With the STAR method, you learn how to turn your answers into captivating stories. This makes your responses tons more engaging, ensuring you keep the hiring manager’s attention from beginning to end.

Now, should you stop with the STAR Method? Of course not. If you want to take your answers to the next level, spend some time with the Tailoring Method , too.

With the Tailoring Method, it’s all about relevance. So, if you get a chance to choose an example that demonstrates your problem-solving skills, this is really the way to go.

We also wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free cheat sheet that will give you word-for-word answers for some of the toughest interview questions you are going to face in your upcoming interview. After all, hiring managers will often ask you more generalized interview questions!

Click below to get your free PDF now:

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Top 3 Problem-Solving-Based Interview Questions

Alright, here is what you’ve been waiting for: the problem-solving questions and sample answers.

While many questions in this category are job-specific, these tend to apply to nearly any job. That means there’s a good chance you’ll come across them at some point in your career, making them a great starting point when you’re practicing for an interview.

So, let’s dive in, shall we? Here’s a look at the top three problem-solving interview questions and example responses.

1. Can you tell me about a time when you had to solve a challenging problem?

In the land of problem-solving questions, this one might be your best-case scenario. It lets you choose your own problem-solving examples to highlight, putting you in complete control.

When you choose an example, go with one that is relevant to what you’ll face in the role. The closer the match, the better the answer is in the eyes of the hiring manager.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

“While working as a mobile telecom support specialist for a large organization, we had to transition our MDM service from one vendor to another within 45 days. This personally physically handling 500 devices within the agency. Devices had to be gathered from the headquarters and satellite offices, which were located all across the state, something that was challenging even without the tight deadline. I approached the situation by identifying the location assignment of all personnel within the organization, enabling me to estimate transit times for receiving the devices. Next, I timed out how many devices I could personally update in a day. Together, this allowed me to create a general timeline. After that, I coordinated with each location, both expressing the urgency of adhering to deadlines and scheduling bulk shipping options. While there were occasional bouts of resistance, I worked with location leaders to calm concerns and facilitate action. While performing all of the updates was daunting, my approach to organizing the event made it a success. Ultimately, the entire transition was finished five days before the deadline, exceeding the expectations of many.”

2. Describe a time where you made a mistake. What did you do to fix it?

While this might not look like it’s based on problem-solving on the surface, it actually is. When you make a mistake, it creates a challenge, one you have to work your way through. At a minimum, it’s an opportunity to highlight problem-solving skills, even if you don’t address the topic directly.

When you choose an example, you want to go with a situation where the end was positive. However, the issue still has to be significant, causing something negative to happen in the moment that you, ideally, overcame.

“When I first began in a supervisory role, I had trouble setting down my individual contributor hat. I tried to keep up with my past duties while also taking on the responsibilities of my new role. As a result, I began rushing and introduced an error into the code of the software my team was updating. The error led to a memory leak. We became aware of the issue when the performance was hindered, though we didn’t immediately know the cause. I dove back into the code, reviewing recent changes, and, ultimately, determined the issue was a mistake on my end. When I made that discovery, I took several steps. First, I let my team know that the error was mine and let them know its nature. Second, I worked with my team to correct the issue, resolving the memory leak. Finally, I took this as a lesson about delegation. I began assigning work to my team more effectively, a move that allowed me to excel as a manager and help them thrive as contributors. It was a crucial learning moment, one that I have valued every day since.”

3. If you identify a potential risk in a project, what steps do you take to prevent it?

Yes, this is also a problem-solving question. The difference is, with this one, it’s not about fixing an issue; it’s about stopping it from happening. Still, you use problem-solving skills along the way, so it falls in this question category.

If you can, use an example of a moment when you mitigated risk in the past. If you haven’t had that opportunity, approach it theoretically, discussing the steps you would take to prevent an issue from developing.

“If I identify a potential risk in a project, my first step is to assess the various factors that could lead to a poor outcome. Prevention requires analysis. Ensuring I fully understand what can trigger the undesired event creates the right foundation, allowing me to figure out how to reduce the likelihood of those events occurring. Once I have the right level of understanding, I come up with a mitigation plan. Exactly what this includes varies depending on the nature of the issue, though it usually involves various steps and checks designed to monitor the project as it progresses to spot paths that may make the problem more likely to happen. I find this approach effective as it combines knowledge and ongoing vigilance. That way, if the project begins to head into risky territory, I can correct its trajectory.”

17 More Problem-Solving-Based Interview Questions

In the world of problem-solving questions, some apply to a wide range of jobs, while others are more niche. For example, customer service reps and IT helpdesk professionals both encounter challenges, but not usually the same kind.

As a result, some of the questions in this list may be more relevant to certain careers than others. However, they all give you insights into what this kind of question looks like, making them worth reviewing.

Here are 17 more problem-solving interview questions you might face off against during your job search:

  • How would you describe your problem-solving skills?
  • Can you tell me about a time when you had to use creativity to deal with an obstacle?
  • Describe a time when you discovered an unmet customer need while assisting a customer and found a way to meet it.
  • If you were faced with an upset customer, how would you diffuse the situation?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to troubleshoot a complex issue.
  • Imagine you were overseeing a project and needed a particular item. You have two choices of vendors: one that can deliver on time but would be over budget, and one that’s under budget but would deliver one week later than you need it. How do you figure out which approach to use?
  • Your manager wants to upgrade a tool you regularly use for your job and wants your recommendation. How do you formulate one?
  • A supplier has said that an item you need for a project isn’t going to be delivered as scheduled, something that would cause your project to fall behind schedule. What do you do to try and keep the timeline on target?
  • Can you share an example of a moment where you encountered a unique problem you and your colleagues had never seen before? How did you figure out what to do?
  • Imagine you were scheduled to give a presentation with a colleague, and your colleague called in sick right before it was set to begin. What would you do?
  • If you are given two urgent tasks from different members of the leadership team, both with the same tight deadline, how do you choose which to tackle first?
  • Tell me about a time you and a colleague didn’t see eye-to-eye. How did you decide what to do?
  • Describe your troubleshooting process.
  • Tell me about a time where there was a problem that you weren’t able to solve. What happened?
  • In your opening, what skills or traits make a person an exceptional problem-solver?
  • When you face a problem that requires action, do you usually jump in or take a moment to carefully assess the situation?
  • When you encounter a new problem you’ve never seen before, what is the first step that you take?

Putting It All Together

At this point, you should have a solid idea of how to approach problem-solving interview questions. Use the tips above to your advantage. That way, you can thrive during your next interview.

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  • What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
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problem solving questions for amazon interview

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.

His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others.

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Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com. His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

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Home » Job Tips » Interview Guide » Amazon SQL Interview Questions

Top 45 Amazon SQL Interview  Questions and Answers

Are you preparing for an SQL interview at Amazon? Whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional, mastering SQL is essential for a successful interview for a developer or related jobs. To become an SQL developer at Amazon, you need to have a strong understanding of SQL functions, advanced commands, database design, and advanced queries. The recruiter asks questions based on these topics to evaluate your expertise in SQL and determine your suitability for the role.

In this blog, we will cover a wide range of Amazon SQL interview questions and discuss the interview process to help you answer everything from general questions to technical interview questions with confidence in your next interview. 

Table of Contents

Amazon SQL Interview Process 

Amazon puts candidates through a thorough evaluation process to check the database management and query optimization skills of the prospect candidate. Here are the different stages of the Amazon SQL interview process and what you can expect:

  • Provide specific examples of SQL projects you have worked on, including details about the goals, your responsibilities, and the results. 
  • Explain how you have used SQL to solve problems or improve processes in previous roles. 
  • Focus on demonstrating your technical proficiency with SQL and your ability to apply those skills to add value and solve real-world business problems. 
  • You should brush up on SQL basics, like SELECT statements, JOINs, and GROUP BY clauses, and practice optimization techniques for complex queries.
  • You should be ready to discuss your approach to real-world SQL challenges. 
  • You can expect more in-depth technical questions and scenarios that assess your ability to apply SQL concepts to Amazon’s real-world data challenges. 
  • Be prepared to dive deeper into advanced SQL concepts like window functions, CTEs, and stored procedures . 
  • You must familiarize yourself with Amazon’s data structure and business scenarios, and showcase your ability to handle complex database design challenges. 

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Amazon SQL Interview Questions: General SQL Questions

To answer these questions properly, clear communication and critical thinking are very important. Be ready to explain your thought process and alternative approaches, and demonstrate your problem-solving skills . Here are some general Amazon SQL interview questions to help you prepare.

Q1. What do you know about Amazon’s database?

Answer: Amazon relies primarily on a variety of databases to support its extensive operations. They use both relational databases like Amazon RDS and NoSQL databases such as Amazon DynamoDB. These databases play a critical role in managing customer data, and inventory, and ensuring the smooth functioning of various services across the Amazon ecosystem.

Q2. What is DynamoDB Auto Scaling?

Answer: DynamoDB Auto Scaling is a feature provided by Amazon DynamoDB, a fully managed NoSQL database service. Auto Scaling automatically adjusts the read and write capacity of a DynamoDB table in response to changes in application traffic, ensuring that the table’s performance remains optimized and meets the specified throughput requirements.

Q3. Which of the four available AWS services will you choose to collect and process e-commerce data for real-time analysis? 

Answer: For real-time e-commerce data analysis, I would choose Amazon Kinesis. Amazon Kinesis enables the smooth processing of large amounts of streaming data, providing the foundation for real-time processing and analysis. The service’s scalability and integration with other AWS tools make it ideal for handling dynamic and high-throughput data streams.

Q4. Is it possible to perform a rollback after using the ALTER command?

Answer: No. Unlike other commands, in many database systems and relational databases, once the ALTER command is executed, changes are typically committed immediately, and a rollback cannot be performed to undo the alterations. So, it is important to test the ALTER statements properly before running them in production environments since you cannot simply roll them back.

Q5. Can you mention some examples of pseudo-columns in SQL?

Answer: Pseudo-columns in SQL provide additional information during query execution. Here are some examples:

  • ROWNUM: Returns the row number in the result set.
  • ROWID: Represents the unique identifier for a row in a table.
  • CURRENT_DATE: Yields the current date.

Q6. Can you write a command to change the password of user X from “abcd” to “dfgh” in MySQL?

Answer: Here is the command to use in MySQL .

Q7. At the column level, which constraint is the only one that functions?

Answer: The only constraint that works at the column level is the CHECK constraint. This constraint specifies a condition that each row in a table must satisfy. 

Q8. Can you explain SQL to a person with no technical knowledge?

Answer: SQL (Structured Query Language) is a language used to communicate with databases. Imagine a large electronic filing cabinet where data is stored. SQL is the tool that helps you ask questions and retrieve, insert, update, or delete information from this cabinet. It helps in managing and interacting with data easily.

Technical SQL Questions for Amazon Interviews

With technical questions, the interviewers aim to evaluate the candidates’ understanding of advanced SQL concepts. While answering these questions, you should focus on exhibiting your technical knowledge as well as showcasing analytical skills and problem-solving abilities. Here are some technical Amazon interview questions on SQL: 

Q9. Can you find the top three products with the highest average review rating for the past month?

Answer: To find the top three products with the highest average review rating for the past month, I would typically use a query like the following in SQL.

Q10. Write a query to identify customers who placed at least two orders in the last quarter but have not purchased anything in the current month.

Answer: I would use the following query to identify customers who placed at least two orders in the last quarter but have not purchased anything in the current month.

Q11. How would you improve the performance of a query that frequently filters orders by a specific date range?

Answer: I would improve the performance of a query that frequently filters orders by a specific date range by following the following strategy.

  • First, I would create an index on the order_date column.
  • Next, I would utilize query partitioning if the table is large and partitioned by date.
  • Finally, I would materialize a view with pre-aggregated data for the frequently queried date.

Q12. What experience do you have with handling missing data in a query?

Answer: I always try to make queries as efficient as possible. One good practice that I follow is to use ISNULL or COALESCE functions to replace missing values with default values. When necessary, I filter out rows with missing data, but it’s important to document any limitations or biases this might introduce. 

Q13. Can you explain the concept of data normalization and its benefits?

Answer: Data normalization is a process that minimizes redundancy and ensures data integrity by storing data in atomic units without repetition across tables. This improves data consistency, reduces storage requirements, and facilitates efficient data manipulation.

Q14. What are the advantages of using stored procedures in SQL?

Answer: Stored procedures in SQL offer numerous advantages. They enhance code reusability, improve performance by reducing network traffic, provide better security control, and simplify complex queries. Additionally, stored procedures facilitate maintenance and debugging, ensuring efficient management of database operations and enhancing overall system performance.

Q15. What are the benefits of using window functions?

Answer: Window functions allow us to perform calculations on a specific set of rows within a defined window. This means we can easily calculate things like rolling averages, row ranking, etc, without the need for subqueries. With window functions, we can quickly gain insights into our data and make informed decisions with ease. 

Amazon Interview Questions Based on Functions in SQL

Understanding how to use SQL functions efficiently is key to performing data analysis and generating meaningful insights. Here are some questions based on essential SQL functions commonly covered in Amazon interviews along with sample answers:

Q16. How Will you create a function to identify orders within the past week in a specific country?

Q17. write a function to return the top n products with the highest total sales for a given date range., q18. how will you design a function to check if a customer has placed any orders in the past month.

Answer: I will design a function to check if a customer has placed any orders in the past month, by using the following SQL syntax:

Q19. Can you build a function to calculate the average rating for a specific product, excluding reviews from specific users?

Answer: I will use the following SQL syntax to build the said function:

Q20. Implement a function to find customers who purchased both product A and product B within the same order.

Q21. can you create a function to identify orders with missing shipping information, q22. design a function to calculate the discount percentage for an order based on its total amount and a promo code., q23. write a function to find the most popular product categories among customers who also purchased a specific product., questions on advanced command in sql.

Amazon interviews include advanced SQL commands to assess your ability to handle complex data scenarios. As a tech giant dealing with vast datasets, Amazon seeks individuals who are proficient in advanced SQL. Here are some advanced commands for Amazon SQL interview questions: 

Q24. How can you optimize a slow-running query?

Answer: To optimize a slow-running query, I would consider the following strategies:

  • Analyzing the query plan to identify bottlenecks.
  • Considering index relevant columns.
  • Utilizing appropriate join methods and query structures.
  • Pre-aggregating data in materialized views for frequently used calculations.
  • Partitioning large tables for efficient data retrieval.

Q25. Write a query to find the top five customers with the highest total spending in the past year, excluding orders placed on specific holidays.

Q26. can you explain the concept of window functions and give an example of how you would use one.

Answer: Window functions perform calculations on a set of rows within a defined window. You can define the aspect of the window such as previous N rows or current partition. For example, to calculate rolling average sales for each product over the past 6 months, you can use the AVG and OVER functions. The AVG function would calculate the average and the OVER function would define the window of rows (6 month period) to consider for each calculation. 

Q27. How would you handle missing data in a query?

Answer: I would use the COALESCE() function to replace NULL values with a default or placeholder value. Alternatively, I might employ conditional statements like CASE WHEN to handle missing data gracefully, provide meaningful substitutes, or handle the absence of data appropriately in the query results.

Q28. Briefly describe the ACID properties of transactions in SQL. 

Answer: ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties to ensure the reliability of database transactions. Atomicity guarantees that a transaction is treated as a single unit. Consistency maintains the database in a valid state. Isolation prevents interference between concurrent transactions. Durability ensures that committed transactions persist even in the face of system failures.

Q29. Explain the difference between CTEs and subqueries.

Answer: Common Table Expressions (CTEs) and subqueries are used for recursive and non-recursive tasks, respectively. CTEs enhance readability and can be referenced multiple times in a query. Subqueries are nested queries providing data for the main query. CTEs are more versatile for complex, reusable logic, while subqueries are simpler and often used for specific, one-time tasks.

Q30. How Will you transform row values into columns to display sales by product and month?

Answer: I would use the PIVOT clause in SQL. For example:

Q31. How Will you extract specific information from a JSON column in the ‘orders’ table?

Answer: I would use JSON functions. For example, to retrieve the product name from the ‘order_details’ JSON column:

SQL Database Design Interview Questions

Amazon’s database design interview questions are crucial as they assess a candidate’s ability to structure, organize, and optimize databases. Here are Amazon interview questions on SQL database design: 

Q32. How would you design the database to be fault-tolerant and prevent data loss?

Answer: I would follow the following strategy:

  • Back up the database regularly to Amazon S3.
  • Use Amazon Aurora for a highly available database service.
  • Implement disaster recovery plans.

Q33. How would you monitor the performance of the database?

Answer: I would use tools like Amazon CloudWatch and database-specific monitoring features. Regularly analyzing metrics such as query execution times, resource utilization, and error rates helps identify bottlenecks. I would use periodic reviews, query optimization, and adjusting database configurations to ensure optimal performance and scalability.

Q34. How would you secure the database?

Answer: I would employ security measures like encryption at rest and in transit, access controls using IAM roles, and regularly rotating credentials. By Implementing network security protocols, such as VPCs and security groups, and conducting regular security audits, I would enhance the database’s resilience against potential threats.

Q35. How would you Migrate data from an existing database to the new Amazon database?

Answer: I would use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) for seamless replication. I’d plan the migration, create a replication instance, and configure endpoints. During the migration, I would monitor progress and validate data consistency, ensuring a smooth transition while minimizing downtime.

Q36. How would you keep the database schema up-to-date as the requirements of the marketplace feature change?

Answer: I would keep the database schema up-to-date as the requirements of the marketplace feature change by using version control for the database schema. Then I would implement a migration plan for rolling out schema changes.

Q37. How would you measure the success of the database design? 

Answer: I would monitor key performance indicators like query execution time, database uptime, and user satisfaction. I would also regularly review the database design and make changes as needed.

Amazon Interview Questions Based on Advanced Queries in SQL

These questions will reveal your understanding of advanced concepts like window functions, materialized views, and data warehousing. Here are some advanced SQL query interview questions :

Q38. Find the top 3 customers with the highest total spending in the past year, excluding orders placed during specific promotional periods.

Answer: I would use a query similar to the following (assuming a table structure with orders and customers):

Q39. Calculate the rolling average of daily sales for each product over the past 30 days, using window functions.

Q40. write a recursive cte to find all descendants of a specific category in a hierarchical category table., q41. design a materialized view to improve performance for frequently used aggregate calculations on a large table..

Answer: I would begin by choosing a table and identifying its frequently used aggregate queries. Then, I would create a materialized view that pre-calculates these aggregates on a specific refresh schedule, optimizing subsequent queries that rely on them.

Q42. Explain the benefits and trade-offs of using partitioning on large tables.

Answer: Its benefits include faster query execution, improved storage efficiency, and easier data management. However, it adds complexity and requires careful planning for optimal performance.

Q43. How would you design a data warehouse schema for a specific business need like analytics or reporting?

Answer: I would design a star schema for the data warehouse, with a central fact table storing key business metrics and dimension tables providing context. This ensures efficient analytics and reporting, allowing users to easily navigate and analyze data.

Q44. How would you calculate the rolling average of daily sales for each product over the past month?

Answer: I would use a window function and specify a window of the past month. Assuming a table structure with sales_data:

Q45. How will you identify customers who purchased both product a and product b within the same order, excluding promotions?

Answer: I would use a query like the following (assuming a table structure with orders and order_details):

Preparing for an SQL interview at Amazon requires a strong understanding of SQL concepts, functions, advanced commands, database design, and advanced queries. By mastering these topics with the help of Amazon SQL interview questions , you can demonstrate your expertise and increase your chances of success.

Did we answer all of your questions? Do let us know in the comments section below.

You can also check out our online SQL course to practice writing SQL queries, familiarize yourself with different functions and commands, and gain hands-on experience with database design tools.

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problem solving questions for amazon interview

Shailja Kaushik has been an Editor with Internshala since March 2023. She loves creative writing and experimenting with different forms of writing. She has explored different genres by working with journals and radio stations. She has also published her poems and nano tales in various anthologies. She graduated at the top of her class with Bachelor's in English and recently completed her Master's in English from the University of Delhi. Her experiments with writing continue on her literary blog.

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‘A nightmare’: Special counsel’s assessment of Biden’s mental fitness triggers Democratic panic

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sidestepped any criminal charges as the investigation into his handling of classified documents concluded, but the political blowback from the special counsel’s report Thursday could prove even more devastating, reinforcing impressions that he is too old and impaired to hold the highest office.

Special counsel Robert Hur’s portrait of a man who couldn’t remember when he served as Barack Obama’s vice president, or the year when his beloved son Beau died, dealt a blow to Biden’s argument that he is still sharp and fit enough to serve another four-year term.

In deciding not to charge Biden with any crimes, the special counsel wrote that in a potential trial, “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

It was tough enough for Biden to reassure voters about his health before Hur’s report hit like a thunderclap Thursday afternoon, prompting members of his own party to question whether he could remain the nominee in November.

“It’s a nightmare,” said a Democratic House member who asked to speak anonymously to provide a frank assessment, adding that “it weakens President Biden electorally, and Donald Trump would be a disaster and an authoritarian.”

“For Democrats, we’re in a grim situation.”

Biden wasted little time before attempting to minimize the fallout. He held an unexpected exchange with reporters in the White House on Thursday night, in which he disputed Hur's assessment of his mental acuity.

Biden grew emotional when invoking the part of the report addressing the date of his son's death.

"How in the hell dare you raise that?" Biden said. "Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself, 'It wasn't any of their damn business.' "

‘Beyond devastating’

Polling has long shown that age looms as Biden’s greatest liability in his expected rematch with Trump. A January poll by NBC News found that 76% of voters have major or moderate concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health.

“It’s been a problem since way before this ever happened,” said a longtime Democratic operative who noted that when focus groups are asked to apply one word to Biden, it is often “old.”

Just this week, Biden twice referred to conversations he’s had as president with foreign leaders who’ve long since died. In his remarks Thursday night defending his competency, while talking about the war in Gaza, he referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as being the head of Mexico. White House press aides have downplayed such lapses as the sort of mistake anyone in public life can make.

The Hur report strips away the defenses that Biden’s press operation has used to protect him and raises fresh doubts about whether Biden is up to the rigors of the presidency, Democratic strategists said in interviews.

“This is beyond devastating,” said another Democratic operative, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about Biden’s shortcomings. “It confirms every doubt and concern that voters have. If the only reason they didn’t charge him is because he’s too old to be charged, then how can he be president of the United States?”

Asked if Hur’s report changes the calculus for Democrats who expect Biden to be the party’s nominee, this person said: “How the f--- does it not?”

Another Biden ally called it “the worst day of his presidency.”

“I think he needs to show us this is a demonstrably false characterization of him and that he has what it takes to win and govern.”

Biden has overwhelmingly won the first primary contests — notching victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. It would be virtually impossible for anyone else to challenge him at this point; the deadline has passed in more than 30 states to get on primary ballots.

Some of the president’s allies were quick to defend him. They pointed to the timing of the interview with the special counsel — days after Hamas’ attack on Israel, which had captured much of the president’s focus. Others said that in their own dealings with Biden, he shows no sign of infirmity.

“He did so well in this discussion with members,” Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., told NBC News after seeing the president on Thursday. “He’s very sharp, no memory issues, and his only stumbling is when he trips over words consistent with his lifelong speech impediment.”

‘Prejudicial language’

Though Biden was fortunate to escape indictment, the special counsel report may give Trump additional fodder as he fights charges for allegedly mishandling classified records at his Mar-a-Lago social club. Republicans are already accusing Biden of benefiting from a double standard . Trump will likely brandish the Hur report as proof that Biden has “weaponized” the Justice Department for political advantage.

What’s more, Democrats will now be hard-pressed to capitalize on Trump’s indictment over retaining classified records. Before Hur’s report came out, Democrats argued that the two cases were very different. Whereas Trump failed to turn over classified records even after he was asked to do so, Biden willingly cooperated with authorities and relinquished all the material he had, Biden allies had argued.

“The public understands the essential difference between presidents or vice presidents like Joe Biden who occasionally behaved in sloppy ways with respect to where they were taking documents, and a president like Trump, who deliberately makes off with hundreds of classified government documents and then hides them and refuses to return them,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said on Wednesday, before the report was released. (Trump has denied any wrongdoing.)

Now, the distinctions may be harder for Biden allies to draw, given that Hur wrote that there was evidence Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified material after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

The report mentions an instance in February 2017, when he was no longer vice president, when Biden read notes containing classified information “nearly verbatim” to a ghostwriter helping him with his book, “Promise Me, Dad.”

Storage of sensitive government secrets was haphazard. The report describes certain classified records involving the war in Afghanistan in Biden’s Delaware garage inside a “badly damaged box surrounded by household detritus.”

Before the report was released, Biden aides had been bracing for a finding that he had simply been careless in his treatment of classified records, a person familiar with the White House’s thinking said.

The political fallout from the report, though, is likely to be “worse,” this person said. What will stick in people’s minds is what Hur said about Biden’s memory, the person added.

Biden’s lawyers disputed the report’s description of Biden’s forgetfulness.

“We do not believe that the report’s treatment of President Biden’s memory is accurate or appropriate,” two of his lawyers wrote in a letter to Hur. “The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events.”

In the hours after the report was released, people close to the Biden campaign rolled out a different rebuttal. Jim Messina, who ran Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that Hur is a Republican who “knew exactly how his swipes could hurt Biden politically.”

That’s a familiar argument. Trump has also claimed that law enforcement is trying to sway the election, meaning both sides are now claiming victimization at the hands of partisan prosecutors.

“Hur knew exactly what he was doing here,” Stephanie Cutter, a veteran Democratic operative, wrote on X. “To provide political cover for himself for not prosecuting, he gratuitously leveled a personal (not legal) charge against the president that he absolutely knows is a gift to Trump. And, guess what we are all talking about?”

problem solving questions for amazon interview

Peter Nicholas is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

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