Are you preparing for a job interview with Amazon?
To prepare we’ll explore two Amazon Leadership Principles: “Think big” and “Dive deep”. Previously, we went and discussed “Customer obsession”.
We will be using the STAR method framework to structure your answers and stand out from heavy competition. There are thousands of other professionals applying for the same role. To stand out, one needs to be prepared and confident.
THINK BIG
Amazon Definition:
“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 their customers.”
Example questions:
- Can you share a time where you went above and beyond to deliver for the customers?
- Tell me about a time you were working on an initiative or goal and saw an opportunity to do something much bigger than initial focus.
- Tell me about a time you took a big risk – what was the risk, how did you decide to do it and what was the outcome?
DIVE DEEP
Amazon Definition:
“Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics differ.”
Leaders stay on top of the data and will question when things don’t make sense. Dive deep resonates most with customer obsessions. A leader will inherently dive into a problem and learn every facet about it.
Leaders think outside of the box with unconventional ways to identify the problems of the customers and end users. Once problems have been found, leaders will create a plan, action the plan and then produce results which solve the issue.
Amazon cares deeply that their leaders keep a careful eye on what they own and manage. They must know ways to audit their space and if interested, are able to dive in and figure out what’s going on.
Interviewers love it when they ask questions and the interviewee goes four or five levels deep while getting more excited answering the question. The details are actually interesting to them. As you’re answering the questions in front of the interviewers, you have to also show some type of excitement that you care about the problems that you’re solving.
STAR METHOD
It doesn’t matter what job you’re interviewing for, what industry you’re in Or what behavioural question you’re answering. The star method is structured to help you answer and ace behavioural questions.
Follow these steps and try and create some example STAR method answers to some THINK BIG and DEEP DIVE questions.
SITUATION (S): Identify the situation.
- What is your goal?
- What is the content of the story that you’re trying to share with the interviewer?
- What is the problem that needs to be focused on?
- Why do you believe you need to dive deeper?
TASK (T) Creating a plan which needs to be actioned to solve the problem.
- What goal are you working toward?
Action (A): Develop and showcase a plan of action.
- What actions did YOU take and what was YOUR contribution to solving the problem?
RESULT (R): Describe the outcome of your actions.
- What happened?
- How did it all come together?
- What did you accomplish for your company?
Holly Lee’s STAR Interview Accelerator
Are you feeling stuck on how to prepare for your job interview with Amazon, Google, or Apple? Are you confused on how to use the STAR method to better prepare yourself for an interview? Holly can help you accelerate your preparation for your job interview with her 20 years of industry experience.
You will gain confidence and clarity on landing the right role using the STAR method.
Find out more about Holly Lee’s STAR Accelerator!
What questions will the interviewer ask me?
There are so many potential interviewer questions and it is impossible to cover all of them so I highly suggest you join my weekly broadcast to ask me directly.
On my broadcast I help you get a better understanding on where to start, how to use glassdoor to find potential interview questions from the company that you are applying for and how to deep dive into research to get better prepared for your interview.