Amazon interview questions: the official process, the 16 Leadership Principles and how to answer in STAR
An Amazon interview is built differently from most: several interviewers, each scoring a different part of you, and behavioral questions drawn from the Leadership Principles. This page sticks to what Amazon publishes itself and says plainly what is official and what is not. You get the process step by step, the 16 principles with the story to prepare for each, 12 sample questions, how fulfillment-center and corporate interviews differ, and how to rehearse out loud with NELO, the AI interview coach. NELO is not affiliated with Amazon.
Amazon asks about a failure: bring one
Most interview advice says to lead with your wins. On the page where Amazon explains its interviews, the company says close to the opposite: failure is described as necessary for innovation, and candidates are encouraged to share times when things did not work out, using the STAR method.
In practice, a question like “tell me about a time you failed” is not a trap. It is planned. What gets scored is what you took from it. In NELO’s behavioral rubric, the lesson learned is worth 10% of the grade, and a failure told with no lesson, or by blaming someone else, lands at the lowest level of that criterion.
That is why the method often gets a fifth letter, the second R of STARR: Reflection. After the result, add what you would do differently, and where you have already applied it.
“My migration project ran three weeks late because I never asked the support team before launching. I told my manager the same day, rebuilt the plan with them, and we shipped one week behind. Since then, anyone who will take the calls reviews my launch plan first.”
Example written for illustration: keep the structure (fact, admission, action, lesson applied) and replace the content with your own story. STAR method
What makes a failure usable
- A real failure. A harmless mistake or a “weakness that is really a strength” sounds rehearsed, and interviewers spot it.
- Your part. Say “I”: what you decided, what you missed. Do not dilute it into “we”.
- A lesson you applied. Not “I learned to communicate”, but what you do differently now, with an example.
Fulfillment center or corporate: two interviews under one name
Amazon’s public interview pages describe the process without separating warehouse and delivery roles from corporate and technical ones. The situations are very different. Here is what is established and what is not.
| Fulfillment, warehouse or delivery role | Corporate or technical role | |
|---|---|---|
| What Amazon publishes | The general process: online assessment, phone conversation for some roles, interviews, STAR | The same process, plus the Leadership Principles and the interview loop on amazon.jobs |
| Who hires you | Depending on the posting, Amazon or a staffing agency: the format depends on who recruits | Amazon teams, through one or several interviews in a row |
| What varies | Number of steps, length, situational questions: check your invitation | Number of interviewers (2 to 5 depending on the role), a writing exercise for some roles |
| How to prepare | Reread the posting, prepare 3 stories on reliability, safety and teamwork, check the schedule | Build a bank of 5 stories tied to the principles, and practice them out loud |
Many guides online describe a “Bar Raiser” or warehouse jargon with no source. We only repeat what Amazon writes. For a fulfillment role, the only reliable source for the exact format is your invitation or the agency that interviews you.
The official process, step by step
This is what Amazon itself says about how an interview unfolds. Not every step applies to every role.
| Step | What Amazon says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Online assessment | It comes before the interviews. | Pick a quiet moment and a charged device: it is not a formality. |
| 2. Phone conversation | For some roles: it covers your past experience and the Leadership Principles. | Your first contact with the principles: have your stories ready from this step. |
| 3. The interview loop | You meet employees one by one, and each evaluates different aspects. | Do not reuse the same story with every interviewer. |
| 4. The Bar Raiser | One of the interviewers: an objective third party, usually from another team. | Usually from another team and meeting you cold: be precise about your own contribution, not only the team’s result. |
| 5. Writing exercise | For some roles. | Practice building an argument on paper, not only out loud. |
Source: Amazon Jobs, interview loop page, and About Amazon France for the number of interviewers and the Bar Raiser. Amazon does not publish the exact length of its interviews or a list of its questions.
The 16 Leadership Principles: which story for which one
Amazon publishes the 16 principles on amazon.jobs. Behavioral questions test whether they already show up in how you work. The right-hand column is our suggestion, not an Amazon instruction.
| Principle | In plain words | A story to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Obsession | Start from the customer and work to earn their trust | An unhappy customer you helped without being asked |
| Ownership | Act like an owner, beyond your job description | Something outside your remit that you fixed |
| Invent and Simplify | Innovate, and simplify what is complicated | A process you shortened |
| Are Right, A Lot | Good judgment, seeking out opposing views | A decision made with incomplete data, and what happened |
| Learn and Be Curious | Never stop learning | A skill you taught yourself to meet a need |
| Hire and Develop the Best | Raise the bar for every hire and promotion | Someone you coached or helped grow |
| Insist on the Highest Standards | Hold a high bar for quality | Work you refused to ship as it was |
| Think Big | Think beyond the immediate scope | An idea larger than your assignment |
| Bias for Action | Decide fast when the risk is reversible | A call you made without waiting for full sign-off |
| Frugality | Do more with less | A result achieved with few resources |
| Earn Trust | Listen, speak candidly, own your mistakes | A mistake you admitted in front of your team |
| Dive Deep | Get into the detail, check the data | A number that did not add up and that you dug into |
| Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit | Challenge respectfully, then commit to the decision | A disagreement with a manager, and how it ended |
| Deliver Results | Deliver despite obstacles | A goal met under constraints, with a number |
| Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer | Build a safe, inclusive environment | An action for the safety or well-being of a team |
| Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility | Weigh impact beyond the company | A decision where you weighed effects on others |
Official names: amazon.jobs, “Leadership Principles”. The “in plain words” descriptions and the stories are our wording.
Five stories for sixteen principles
Nobody prepares sixteen stories. One strong story serves several principles depending on the angle you take. Prepare five solid ones in STAR form, and note on the back of each the principles it can serve.
| The story | It can serve |
|---|---|
| A customer or user you helped beyond your remit | Customer Obsession, Ownership, Bias for Action |
| Something you simplified or invented with few resources | Invent and Simplify, Think Big, Frugality |
| A failure, with the lesson applied since | Learn and Be Curious, Earn Trust, Ownership |
| A disagreement with a manager or colleague | Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit, Are Right, A Lot, Earn Trust |
| A result delivered under constraints, checking the numbers | Deliver Results, Dive Deep, Insist on the Highest Standards |
Three rules for every story
- “I”, not “we”. Several interviewers each assess your contribution. Say what you decided and did, and name the team for the rest.
- One number per story. A before and after, a deadline, an amount. Without a number, the evidence-of-results criterion stays low.
- Two levels of detail. Prepare a 90-second version and the details that hold up under follow-ups: why that choice, what else could you have done.
In our view, the last three principles on the list are less likely to be the subject of a question of their own: prepare one sentence for each rather than a full story.
Download the “My story bank” worksheetOne-page PDF, to fill in by hand before the interview.
12 sample questions, with the principle they test
Amazon does not publish its question list. Here are 12 representative behavioral questions, written for illustration, with the principle they most likely test and what the interviewer is looking for.
| The question | Principle tested | What the interviewer looks for |
|---|---|---|
| “Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.” | Customer Obsession | The customer comes before your convenience, with a specific example |
| “Describe a time you took on a problem that was not yours.” | Ownership | Your reflex: you act, or you flag it and wait |
| “What is a process you simplified?” | Invent and Simplify | A measured before and after |
| “Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete information.” | Are Right, A Lot | Your judgment and how you sought other views |
| “What is a skill you taught yourself recently?” | Learn and Be Curious | Real curiosity, not a course you were told to take |
| “Tell me about a time you refused to deliver work that was not good enough.” | Insist on the Highest Standards | Your bar, and what holding it cost |
| “Describe a quick decision you made without waiting for your manager.” | Bias for Action | Your relationship to risk, how reversible the call was |
| “How did you get a result with limited resources?” | Frugality | Your resourcefulness under constraint |
| “Tell me about a mistake you made.” | Earn Trust | That you own it, and what you did next |
| “Describe a time you dug into data to understand a problem.” | Dive Deep | That you go into detail and verify |
| “Tell me about a disagreement with your manager.” | Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit | That you dare to push back, then commit |
| “What is a hard goal you achieved?” | Deliver Results | A measured result, despite an obstacle |
Questions written for illustration: they are not questions published by Amazon.
The follow-up that decides the score
In a structured interview, the first answer is only a starting point. The interviewer follows up: “What did you do, you specifically?”, “Why that choice over another?”, “What number told you it worked?”. That is where personal ownership (20% of the grade in NELO’s behavioral rubric) and evidence of results (another 20%) are decided.
“I decided to ship in two stages: the customer-facing part first, the internal part after. I took it to my manager with a costed plan, and she approved it the next day.”
Fulfillment roles: what to check before you go
Amazon does not publish a separate process for fulfillment roles. Instead of repeating stories nobody can verify, here is what you can check yourself, and which stories to prepare.
- Who is hiring you. The posting says whether you go through Amazon or a staffing agency. The format and the steps depend on that recruiter: ask in your invitation.
- Schedule and pace. Fulfillment shifts have set hours. Reread the posting, spot the time slots that are a problem for you, and be honest about your availability.
- Physical requirements. They are in the posting: standing, walking, lifting. A question about your ability to do the work is fair, so answer it precisely.
- The commute. Check the travel time and transport to the site before saying yes to everything.
Three stories to prepare for a fulfillment role
- Reliability. A time you showed up when it was hard, or kept a commitment despite an obstacle.
- Safety. A situation where you flagged a risk or followed a rule when nobody was watching.
- Teamwork. A moment you helped a colleague or switched tasks to cover for someone.
For the phone or video call many agencies run first, see our guide. Read the phone and video interview guide
Practice out loud with the Amazon job posting
Writing five stories is not enough: on the day, you have to say them out loud, to someone who follows up. NELO is an iPhone app that runs a spoken interview with an AI recruiter, then hands you a scored report.
In NELO, import the job posting (as text, PDF, Word or a link) and your resume, anonymized on your iPhone before anything is sent. Diego Alvarez then runs a 10 or 15-minute behavioral interview on that posting: he asks for real situations, pushes back when you say “we”, and makes you put a number on the result.
The report scores each criterion of the behavioral rubric from 1 to 4 (complete story, personal ownership, evidence of results, fit with the competency, lesson, structure, clarity), and every comment quotes a sentence you said. You then redo the weakest question in two minutes with the same recruiter.
What NELO does not do. NELO is not affiliated with Amazon, has no Amazon question bank and no mode built around the 16 principles. The behavioral interview applies to your posting as it is, and the report describes what you said without predicting whether you will be hired.
What is free, what is Premium. The two-minute “Tell me about yourself” is free once, with its report. The behavioral interview with Diego is part of Premium, from €7.99 a week.
Amazon interview FAQ
How long is an Amazon interview?
Amazon does not publish a length. It does say you meet between 2 and 5 interviewers depending on the role, after an online assessment and, for some roles, a phone conversation. For a fulfillment role hired through an agency, the invitation spells out the steps.
Is there a test before the interview?
Yes, Amazon describes an online assessment before the interviews. Some roles also include a writing exercise. The content varies by role, so read your invitation carefully.
What is a Bar Raiser?
According to Amazon, it is one of your interviewers, an objective third party who usually comes from another team. Do not turn that into a monster: prepare stories where your own contribution is clear and measured, as you would for every other interviewer.
Do I need to memorize the 16 Leadership Principles?
No. It is better to understand each one and have five strong stories that cover several of them than to recite the names. Reread the list on amazon.jobs before the interview and spot the ones that sound like you.
Is the STAR method required?
Amazon recommends it when you describe past situations. Situation, Task, Action, Result, plus what you learned. NELO’s STAR guide has the scoring grid and annotated examples.
How do I answer “why Amazon?”
Cite two specific facts from the posting and tie them to your background, instead of praising the size of the company. Say what you want to learn or achieve in this exact role, and why this is the place to do it.