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Amazon Interview Prep Guide

1. Prepare for Behavioral Questions

  • Expect behavioral-based questions tied to Amazon’s Leadership Principles.

2. Use the STAR Method

  • Structure responses around Situation, Task, Action, Result.
  • Prepare detailed examples ahead of time and rehearse them to sound natural.
  • Include specifics: who was involved, what actions you took, and what measurable outcomes resulted.

3. Provide Detailed, Data-Backed Examples

  • Go deep: one clear, specific example per question.
  • Use numbers, metrics, and concrete results to show impact.

4. Focus on “I,” Not “We”. 

  • Emphasize your personal contributions.
  • Explain exactly what you did and how you added value, even in team contexts.

Amazon's 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.

  • Ownership

    Leaders are owners. They think long term and do not 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.”

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 organisation. 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.

  • 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 driving 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.

  • 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.

  • Bias for Action

    Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Dive Deep

    Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are sceptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

    We 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's Leadership Principles - About Amazon India

Using STAR Method​

Nugget. “Sure, let me tell you about the time that I…” This focuses you and your interviewer on what you're about to say.

Situation. Explain just the basics. The interviewer only needs enough details to understand what you did. Don't spend too much time here!

Task. Explain the challenge and expectations. What needed to be done and why.

Tips​

  1. Clearly and concisely define the situation or challenge. Provide just enough context for the listener to understand what was happening — avoid unnecessary backstory or technical deep dives.
  2. Clarify your specific role and scope. Make it clear what you were responsible for and highlight the complexity, scale, or urgency of the task.
  3. Ensure clarity and accessibility. Briefly explain any technical terms, acronyms, or organizational references unfamiliar to the interviewer.
  4. Include both focused and broad examples. Have stories that show how you handled a specific task as well as those that demonstrate how you approached larger problems or ambiguous situations. Tailor which you use depending on the behavioral question.

Approach(s)​

Detail what actions you took. “First I …, then I …, and finally I …” This is where you should spend most of your time. Speak in bullets

  1. Describe the specific actions you took to complete the task, solve the problem, or improve the situation. Focus on what you did.
  2. Show your thought process. Explain how you approached the challenge — your reasoning, priorities, and decision-making.
  3. Highlight relevant skills and competencies. Mention key technical, leadership, or interpersonal abilities that were critical to your success.
  4. Clarify your individual contribution. It’s fine to reference “we” for team efforts, but ensure the interviewer clearly understands your role and actions.
  5. Keep it focused and structured. This will typically be the longest part of your story, but avoid unnecessary details or tangents.
  6. Be concise and intentional. Emphasize only the most impactful elements of your approach that demonstrate how you think and operate.

Result​

Succinctly explain the results of your efforts. Prove the impact was good with numbers or a clear success metric

  1. End with impact. Every great story has a resolution — describe how your actions led to a successful outcome or meaningful change.
  2. Quantify results whenever possible. Highlight measurable outcomes such as revenue generated, costs reduced, time saved, efficiency gained, or recognition received.
  3. Share feedback and validation. Include input from customers, managers, or peers that reinforces the value of your contribution.
  4. Don’t skip the ending. Many candidates overfocus on the “how” and forget the “so what.” Interviewers want to see the results you deliver.
  5. Acknowledge growth in setbacks. If the story involves a failure or challenge, emphasize what you learned and how you’ve applied those lessons since.

Story 1: Real Example From a Customer​

1. Situation​

  • In 2020, AoA sought to drive adoption of AWS serverless compute platforms (e.g., Fargate, Lambda) by demonstrating benefits like scalability and reduced overhead compared to EC2.
  • AoA engineers, however, rarely used these newer platforms because they lacked tools to calculate and compare total cost of ownership (TCO) versus EC2.
  • This gap limited informed decision-making and slowed cloud modernization efforts.

2. Task​

  • Identify why engineers avoided modern AWS compute services.
  • Build a solution that enabled engineers, managers, and finance partners to easily estimate and visualize cost differences—including both infrastructure and operational costs.
  • Validate the solution’s impact and secure adoption across AoA and AWS stakeholders.

3. Action(s)​

  • Conceived and developed the SDO AWS Expense Estimator (SAWSEE) tool to calculate TCO for AWS services such as Lambda, Fargate, and EC2.
  • Spent one month mastering core AWS tools (Pipelines, Midway, CloudFront Signer, SuperNova, CRUX) and the CloudScape design system to independently prototype and build SAWSEE.
  • Designed a sophisticated Next.js Single-Page Application (SPA) with React, featuring:
    • A 5-step TCO wizard to model compute transitions (e.g., EC2 → Serverless or Self-managed AI/ML → SageMaker).
    • Inputs for performance metrics (TPS, CPU/RAM, host counts), OpEx modeling, and visual financial reporting (graphs, 3-year savings forecasts).
    • Integration with AoA’s Internal Market Rate (IMR) for accurate, organization-specific projections.
    • A pricing calculator mirroring AWS’s external version but tailored for internal cost modeling.
  • Partnered with Stores Tech Finance (STF) to pilot the tool.
  • Collaborated with AWS Optics team to identify top 100 Lambda/Fargate customers for beta testing.
  • Conducted a targeted customer survey (8% engagement), gathering feedback to refine the intake flow and TCO logic.
  • Iterated the product based on feedback to align with AoA’s operational and financial requirements.
  • Engaged leadership and presented SAWSEE at AWSI AoA TechTalk to demonstrate its value for internal and external AWS customers.
  • Initiated collaboration with the AWS Pricing Calculator team to explore integration of SAWSEE’s TCO capabilities post-GA.

4. Result​

  • Beta testing showed >$1M in forecasted savings (as of 09/2023).
  • Reduced time to perform TCO analysis from weeks to minutes, empowering teams to make faster, data-driven decisions.
  • Gained endorsements from key AoA and STF leaders for its accuracy, usability, and scalability.
  • Positioned for General Availability (GA) in Q3 2024, with roadmap support from AWS Finance and Compute teams.
  • Sparked internal and external collaboration opportunities with AWS Pricing Calculator and broader cloud cost optimization initiatives.
  • Recognized for innovation and impact—instrumental in Ovi’s promotion.