We’re going to talk today about something that many candidates wonder about when they go for an interview at Amazon – Amazon Onsite Interview Questions.
Amazon onsite interview (or we mainly call it “the loop interview”) is a stressful part of the interview series for most of the candidates.
In this article, we will share commonly asked onsite interview questions and some crucial tips which will help you to crack the interview. These are the best practices that every candidate should follow before going for it.
Interviews can be nerve-wracking, especially when you feel underprepared, or unsure of the questions asked.
Fortunately, a particular format can tame your nerves and make you shine during an interview – before the interview happens.
There are two things you should know before you go to an interview: What the company will expect you to know and what the interview will be like. These two aspects go hand in hand.
If you don’t find out what question you can expect, how can you know which information you should prepare? Which questions will be asked? What will be their format? And what should you know about the company, its policies, and its work culture?
That’s where the job interview prep (see the top 25 Amazon interview questions article) comes in. If you don’t prepare for the kinds of questions you’ll be asked, you might end up looking not qualified for the role.
Plus, you need to understand how your personality is interpreted during an interview. This is why it‘s important to be familiar with the interview process.
Ok, enough for the intro. Let’s dive into the process!
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Table of Contents
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions: What Should You Know About The Company Before the Interview?
Before you start preparing for an Amazon interview and studying the Amazon onsite interview questions, you should learn more about the company. It helps you to get a better understanding of the entire company and its culture.
The first thing you should do before applying for any position at Amazon is to read the company’s hiring guidelines. Then study the job description carefully. It contains all the details about the responsibilities, skills required, and qualifications needed for the role.
After that, it’s time to do thorough research on the company itself. You should learn more about the history, the products, and the services offered by Amazon.
When you go through these three steps, you should have a good understanding of the company and its culture. Now, you’ll move on to the next step – the Amazon interview process. Make sure to also read our Amazon Interview Cheat Sheet for your preparations as well.
All Stages of the Amazon Interview Process
After you apply, there are several interview stages that you need to pass through. Each stage has different requirements and expectations from the applicants. So, it’s essential to pay attention to each one of them.
Now let’s discuss each stage of the Amazon interview process. Each stage has different types of questions. So, if you want to ace the interview, you must be prepared for them.
1- Phone Screening
Phone screening is one of the easiest stages of the Amazon interview process because there are no physical tests involved here.
Interviews start with the phone interview (You’ll get a call from Amazon and they’ll ask you several questions about yourself). They usually last around 15 – 30 minutes.
During this phase, you’ll be asked general questions related to your experience, education, and skill set and what it’s like working at Amazon, and try to learn more about your background.
2- Video Interview
Next, you’ll receive a second round of interviews via video chat. This part lasts 30 minutes to 1 hour. During this part, you’ll be asked technical and/or behavioral questions related to the job description.
You need to prepare yourself for video interviews because this is when you show off your best qualities. Otherwise, you never reach the onsite interview.
Video interviews are conducted via Amazon’s video conferencing tool called Amazon Chime. Here you’ll be asked behavioral-based questions. These include things such as:
- Explain a situation where you had to deal with conflict.
- How would you handle a difficult situation?
- Describe a time when you had to overcome a problem or obstacle.
3- Amazon Onsite Interview
Finally, after passing all the previous stages, you’ll be invited to the onsite interview. This is the most challenging part of the whole process. In this part, you’ll be interviewed by Amazonians depending on the position you applied for, there will be 4 – 8 interviews waiting for you all day.
By the way, we have a separate Amazon interview process guide for those who want to learn more about the process in detail.
We’ve kept this article separate because we think it would be best if you could focus on the specifics of the onsite interview without having to read too much background information.
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions: Preparation Tips
Let’s start with the basics and then move on to the important tips.
If your interview is done by video conference, use a computer or laptop for the best results. Also, have your phone nearby so you can answer any questions from the interviewer in case there is a technical problem.
Sometimes interviews happen via video conference, but sometimes they don’t. If the location is available, you might be able to conduct an interview in person at one of Amazon’s offices.
In this case, you need to read the Amazon dress code requirements provided by your interviewer.
You’ll meet with four to eight interviewers for approximately 45 minutes to an hour per person and each interviewer will ask you specific questions related to their role.
You’ll be given a combination of two to three different leadership principle questions and/or technical questions to assess your specific unique skills and qualifications.
Keep in mind these loop interviews are designed to test your ability to work well under pressure and solve problems quickly.
By the way, there is one special rule at Amazon followed by all interviewers that make the onsite interview quite different from other tech companies.
This rule is “The talent should be better the %50 of the people currently performing in the same role at Amazon” so you should impress them one by one to be accepted as exceptional talent at the Debrief stage.
That means, your answers to this list of questions matter (I mean REALLY) and determine your future at the company.
No need to worry tho, as long as you study the Amazon leadership principles and the star method for your answers, you’ll be fine.
If you want to learn more about how you can prepare for all of the interview sessions, you can also read our Amazon Interview Preparation Guide after this one.
Alright, let’s move on to the important step – Onsite Interview Questions and Answers.
Sample Amazon Onsite Interview Questions and Answers
In this section of our article, we’ll deep dive into some of the most commonly asked onsite interview questions and give some answer examples.
Before we start with the questions, let’s briefly go over what you need to do to answer these questions using the STAR Method.
The STAR method is a structured way of answering behavioral interview questions that will help you tell stories about your past experiences in a way that is relevant to the job you’re interviewing for.
STAR stands for:
S – Situation
T – Task
A – Action
R – Result
Here’s an example of how you would use the STAR method to answer a behavioral interview question:
Question: Tell me about a time when you had to deal with conflict.
Answer using the STAR Method:
S – I was working on a team project with a colleague with whom I didn’t get along very well.
T – Our team had to present our findings to the rest of the company and we were responsible for different parts of the presentation.
A – I tried to stay calm and focused on the task at hand, but it was difficult. I made sure to communicate with my team members and made sure that we were on the same page.
R – In the end, our team presentation went well and we received positive feedback from our manager.
Now that you know how to answer behavioral questions using the STAR method, let’s move on to some specific Amazon onsite interview questions. For not-Amazon-specific common interview questions, you can see our Top 136 Common Interview Questions article as well.
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions 1: Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer.
I was working as a customer service representative for a company that sold home appliances. One day, I received a call from a customer who was angry about the delay in his order.
S – He was angry and made that very clear to me.
T – The obvious task was to make the customer happy. I sat down and listened to him, attempting to see things from his perspective.
A – I sat down and listened to him, attempting to see things from his perspective. I was truly sorry for the wait and offered to give him his money back as a form of compensation.
R – He graciously accepted my apology and we were able to move past the issue. (Bonus point: After realizing these types of complaints are offered frequently, I came up with a process to help alleviate the issue for the larger customer base and after it was implemented, we saw a 15% reduction in monthly complaint numbers that arose due to this issue.)
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions 2: Tell me about a time when you had to solve a difficult problem.
One time, I had to figure out how to fix an issue with our internal accounting system.
S – The system wasn’t working correctly and it caused problems with our accounting reports.
T – The task was to solve it ASAP as it was causing problems in reconciliations.
A – I researched the issue and tried various solutions until I found one that worked (add details of your process that led to the solution). I implemented the solution and tested it until I was sure it was working correctly.
R – The system was fixed and it didn’t cause any more problems with our accounting reports. (Bonus, due to my process of approaching this issue, it was solved 20% faster than typical problems we have with accounting.)
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions 3: Tell me about a time when you had to lead a team and launch a successful campaign.
I was leading a team of data analysts for a marketing company. Our task was to come up with a data-driven hypothesis for the upcoming marketing campaign and then track the results to see if those hypotheses were correct.
S – The campaign was set to launch in two weeks and we had a lot of work to do.
T – The task was to make data analysis and come up with a plan for the marketing campaign.
A – I divided the team into smaller groups and assigned tasks to each group. I also made myself available to answer any questions and help with any issues. We worked around the clock and were able to launch the campaign on time.
R – The campaign was a success (bonus: add metrics here) and we were able to learn a lot about our target market.
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions 4: Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get the job done.
I was working as a project manager for a construction company. One of our projects was behind schedule and we were at risk of not being able to meet the deadline.
S – A lagging project has the potential to cause missing deadlines.
T – Find a solution to alleviate the lagging issue.
A – I knew that we had to work overtime and weekends to get the job done. I bounced some ideas off of my team and we generated a plan to see the project through (bonus: add the creative ideas you came up with here). We worked long hours and weekends, and we were able to meet the deadline.
R – The project was a success and we received positive feedback from the client.
These are just a few examples of behavioral questions that you may be asked during your Amazon onsite interview. Remember to use the STAR method to answer these questions.
Also, there are other types of Amazon onsite interview questions that you don’t need to use this method such as ” Tell me about yourself” or “Why do you want to work for Amazon“. So let’s give answers to them too below:
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions 5: Tell me about yourself
I am a hard-working individual who is always looking for new challenges. I have a lot of experience working in customer service and I am very patient with people. I also have a background in data analysis, so I am comfortable working with numbers. I am excited to work for Amazon because it is such a forward-thinking company and I know that I will be able to learn a lot.
Also read; How to answer “Tell me about yourself” question during an Amazon interview?
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions 6: Why do you want to work for Amazon?
(These types of Amazon onsite interview questions are similar to the “Why are you interested in this position?” question, so make sure to read that post as well.)
I want to work for Amazon because it is such a forward-thinking company and I know that I will be able to learn a lot.
Amazon is always innovating and introducing new products and services, and I want to be a part of that. I also admire the way Amazon treats its employees. The company is committed to providing a great work environment and offering its employees opportunities for growth.
Amazon Onsite Interview Questions: Final Words
As you know, preparing for your Amazon interview can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that every single person who interviews has to go through the same process.
And, the best way to prepare for the Amazon onsite interview questions is by knowing what kinds of questions you might be asked and practicing your answers ahead of time. With that in mind, we hope this list of common Amazon onsite interview questions will help you get one step closer to landing your dream job!
While we can’t guarantee that you’ll be asked any of these specific questions, preparing for them will give you a good foundation on which to build your interview strategy.
You can find more information about how to answer Amazon behavioral interview questions in our other blog posts. For a more general but crucial interview questions prep resource, see our 150 Common Interview Questions guide:
Have the questions and answers handy in one place.
Our 150 Common Interview Questions and Answers Guide provides expert answers to all the common questions, as well as useful tips that make a difference, all in one easily accessible guide.
That’s it for this Amazon Onsite Interview Questions post! We hope you found it helpful and please feel free to share it with anyone who might benefit from it.
Best of luck with your Amazon interview!
