- Question: Provide an example of when you personally demonstrated ownership. …
- Question: Tell me about a time you went above and beyond. …
- Question: Tell me about a time when you took on something significant outside your area of responsibility.
It isnt surprising that getting a job at one of the big tech companies like Amazon, Google, or Facebook can present quite a challenge. The interviews for these companies have become almost as famous as the companies themselves.
One of the most significant differences between interviewing at Amazon and other FAANG companies lies in their approach to behavioral interview questions. Namely, Amazon has created the following 14 Amazon Leadership Principles.
These principles and the associated questions are designed to investigate your professional background and your ability to handle workplace situations. At Levels.fyi, we know how these may be difficult to improvise on the spot, so it is wise to prepare for them ahead of time. Read on for some of Amazon Leadership Principles questions, sample answers to them, and interview tips.
LinkedinLive – How to answer Ownership Interview Questions & Answers | Amazon Leadership Principles
Amazon Leadership: Ownership
This Leadership Principal number two talks about ownership, which will in-depth cover the importance of preparing storytelling, and answering behavioral questions.
The reason I consider ownership as the second most important Leadership Principle is that employers want to know if you have the right aptitude to impact the organization and not just a team.
If you’re being interviewed for a leadership position, here are the two questions you’re most likely to be asked the following:
Are you able to make business decisions for the long term gain by scaling the company across the team?
This applies to all the leaders and people managers out there. As you answer this question, think about a few key factors using the STAR method. People who follow me on YouTube will know that I’m a big fan of the STAR method.
STAR method stands for Situation. Tasks. Action. Results.
It’s a framework that allows you to tell your story more confidently. By curating the situation of your story, identifying what needs to be done as your task to accomplish, how to create an action plan around that task. And finally, what was your result?
These are things that you need to build your story around.
Sample answers for the top five ownership leadership principle questions
Question 1. Provide an example of when you personally demonstrated ownership.
Here’s a Senior Product Manager’s answer:
“When we were trying to penetrate the academic markets, it required a new way of interacting with the customer. No one was clear on what this method was. It wasn’t my job to create the marketing plan, but I could see that no one was having success with it so I did research and figured it out myself. At our next meeting, I presented my method and we implemented it. As a result of this initiative, we’ve made millions of dollars in this market, and I believe my marketing plan contributed to that success.”
This answer would be better if he said where he was working when this happened, what product they were trying to introduce into the academic market, why it required a new way of interacting with the customer, and what his approach was to entering that market. As it is it’s pretty light on the specific details that will make the story more interesting and make it seem more believable.
Question 2. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond.
Going “above and beyond” is an idiom that means you do more than you’re required to do.
Here’s one software developer’s answer:
“While working on my most recent project, our customer asked to add a new feature to the product. While it was a reasonable request, it went beyond the scope of the project we had worked out, and there was no time built in to the schedule for it. My manager decided that we couldn’t refuse and insisted that we rework the schedule. This change increased my workload about 25 percent in the same timeframe. I did my best to complete the extra work in the time given by working later at night and also working some of the weekends. Although it wasn’t an ideal situation, we managed to pull it off and the customer was satisfied with our work.”
This developer should add details about the type of product, the feature, and the work she was doing to make for a stronger answer. Why did the manager insist on doing the work? Details help make the story sound more real.
Also, “above and beyond” means “extra,” so in other words if you do something extra it will be something that isn’t already in your job description. Weren’t the things she’s talking about here just her normal everyday job? How are they outside her normal work? I don’t think they actually are, so I don’t think this would be a good choice to answer this particular question. She could use this as an example of doing something quickly or helping a customer.
Question 3. Tell me about a time when you took on something significant outside your area of responsibility. Why was it important? What was the outcome?
This is an Operations Manager’s answer:
“We were moving our site from the old domain to the new domain. The old site generated trials worth $4.50 each and we were getting 1000 per day. The key was to migrate the content pages and have Google re-index the site quickly enough so that organic search results didn’t fall. I didn’t see anyone treating this project with the sense of urgency or risk mitigation that I thought it deserved, so I took over coordinating it, although it should have been the marketing team leading this effort. We completed the migration in the first quarter, and as a result we made our B2C budget numbers.”
This answer should give more details about the Problem step, explaining where this person was working and what kind of site it was and why they were migrating, and also about the Action step, saying what steps this person took to coordinate the project.
This is a similar question to the “above and beyond” one, but this is something that is clearly outside of this person’s normal area of work and so it answers the question better than the developer did.
Question 4. Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Digital Marketing Manager’s answer:
“Last year we weren’t getting high enough conversion rates on some of our pages for our newest product. They were well below our goal. I was managing the team whose goal was to fix this. I coordinated our landing page optimization efforts and we updated the user interface on 10+ landing pages in less than three months. We saw conversion lifts between 25 and 45 percent.”
The structure of the answer is solid but it’s missing details and so is too short. This person could add explanation for what the products were, what the pages that weren’t converting were, why they weren’t converting, and more details about how she fixed the problem.
What skills should a person in this role have? Add details that show you have those skills in particular when expanding your story.
Question 5. Give an example of when you saw a peer struggling and decided to step in and help. What was the situation and what actions did you take? What was the outcome?
Senior Business Development Manager’s answer:
“At my current job, there was an opportunity to enter into a new marketplace. I had a colleague who was preparing the plan to do this. I saw that he was missing some of the key players in the space and so probably wouldn’t be successful. I knew the right people to talk to from my work at a past job. Even though it wasn’t my project, I wanted to help him because ultimately his deal would help us all, so I made some introductions to the right people. It worked out and he was able to close the deal.”
This answer is strong but he could add more details about the marketplace and the new plan. The interviewee demonstrates ownership by speaking up and helping the person on his team. He didn’t have to do that. Also, note that his reason for helping his teammate was about helping the business as a whole.
Jennifer Scupi is the founder of Interview Genie, where the Amazon recruiters refer their candidates. She’s an interview coach who’s worked with thousands of clients preparing for job interviews. They appreciated her honest feedback and say it’s obvious she used to be a teacher because she’s good at explaining the best way to approach answers. Her clients have landed roles at FAANG companies like Amazon, Fortune 500 companies, startups, and more.
For more advice about Amazon interviews, visit her Amazon resources page or read her book about Amazon behavioral interviews.
If you need to prepare for your interview, let’s get started. See the Interview Genie services or schedule a consultation.
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Examples of Amazon Leadership Principles Questions
Here are some examples of Leadership Principles questions you can expect:
FAQ
How do you respond to taking ownership?
- Remind yourself why you chose your job. …
- Be proactive instead of reactive. …
- Practice managing up. …
- Balance expressing your ideas with supporting others’ ideas. …
- Communicate with your employer about your career goals. …
- Ask for constructive feedback.
How do you demonstrate ownership in a job interview?
What does ownership mean interview?
What does ownership mean at Amazon?
