20 Best Amazon Manager Interview Tips with Practice Questions and Answers

Hoping to have an interview for an Amazon manager position? If yes, then we have provided detailed information to effectively prepare you for the interview with useful tips and practice questions and answers.

Please, read on:

As an Amazon manager, your major focus will be motivating, mentoring, and managing your team.

These are the areas to expect questions from at the interview.

The CEO of Amazon said “I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person”

This would show you that Amazon does not just hire anyone even for its ground level positions, let alone for the office of the manager.

So, they have to be certain that you are prepared for the responsibility of a manager with the company.

20 Best Amazon Manager Interview Tips

Here are some valuable tips you can use in your preparation for an interview for the position of a manager with Amazon:

1. Do not interview before you are ready

You might just have one shot at it. If you flop, there is a long term of not having any more chances at it again.

2. Practice thinking on your feet.
3. Understand the company’s value and the responsibilities of an Amazon manager.
4. Have decent soft skills

You need to have good communication skills, etc. The interviewer most likely checks your behavioral attitude and not just words and answers. You have to keep that in mind.

5. Dress comfortably and casually

Amazon is more concerned about what you have to say and do than what you wear when it comes to higher offices.

6. Having an MBA gives you an edge.
7. If you are applying for an operations manager job, then you have to be quite good at math.
8. Research and know the leadership principles at Amazon.
9. Prepare for different questions

Before the physical interview, candidates are usually expected to go through an online and phone screening sessions.

The interviewer can ask behavioral and functional questions.

Keep an open mind while preparing for the Amazon manager interview.

10. Always remember when answering a question to focus on giving specific situations you have been in previously.

Try not to use the future tense.

11. Be detailed

Give details, include examples.

This will go a long way in scoring you a few points.

One-word answers will not cut it, express yourself well, but be concise and specific.

12. Be yourself

The interviewer wants to know what you would do in a given situation. They should see your strengths; however, do not deny your weaknesses.

13. Talk about when your actions didn’t exactly give the best and expected result, and how you’ve grown over time.
14. Avoid using “we” as much as possible.
15. Have an open mind

Do not limit your mind to a particular kind of interview.

16. Keep practicing, the more you practice the more comfortable you will get, but do not go for the interview until you are ready.

Make sure to practice possible questions in your preparation.

17. Work on your managerial skills, communication skills, and teamwork.
18. Confidence is the best clothing, stay confident.
19. Focus on your strengths.
20. Ask questions, especially when you need clarity on a particular thing to avoid shooting yourself on the foot.

20 Top Amazon Manager Interview Practice Questions and Answers

Here are some highly recommended practice questions and answers you can use in your preparation for Amazon manager job interview:

1. Tell me about yourself?

Answer: “I’m talented and also goal-oriented with the ability to work effectively in a team.

I can make people see the goal I have and work together to achieve it.

I have developed transferable skills and experience over the years that align with management responsibilities and Amazon leadership principles.

For example, I have at previous times brought fresh ideas to my team.

Bringing up new ways to save the business money yet accomplishing the task effectively.

I always employ a professional approach in my work.

2. Why do you think you’d make a great manager for Amazon?

Answer: “I believe I’ll make a great manager at Amazon because I have good record and experience in leading a team through difficult situations to achieving set goals.

I have been managing a team for five years now and I’ve led the team through some challenging situations to success.

For example, I was managing for a client from a certain small group from different departments across the organization.

We had roughly two weeks before the project completion when the client contacted me with the urgent change in the project specification.

The changes would have a significant impact on the team’s ability to complete the project on time, and it would also affect our project budget negatively.

I had little or no time to form a choice; however, I decided to comply with the changes, primarily because two of our core values were flexibility and customer focus.

The client had been with us for an extended time, and that I saw their business as valuable for the long-term health of the organization.”

3. Tell me about a time you found a simple solution to a complex problem.

Answer: “Some time ago in the company I worked with previously, we had issues with our sales figures.

Though the figures were healthy, the company’s management was quite concerned about the profitability not being good as it should be, due to the expenses from the marketing department.

I tried looking for a possible solution. I met with the marketing team, and they explained to me the bulk of expenses coming from ADs on social media.

After some investigations, I found out that the team was not using Facebook’s tracking pixels that are designed to measure the performance of the Ad expense.

I informed them of the findings made and the organization was now able to check and measure with a degree of accuracy the marketing return on investment.

This helped to stop ADs that gave no returns, which in turn increased profitability”.

4. What would you do if a colleague stole an item from the organization?

Answer: “I will report and even sanction the fellow involved according to the company’s policy on theft if it is in my jurisdiction to do so because stealing is illegal and a crime and is against the organization’s policy.”

5. What are the different skills and attributes that will help you become a competent manager for Amazon that you possess?

Answer: “I have good communication skills that enable me to make my team see the goals of the organization the way I see them, and to push towards achieving them”.

6. What is your leadership style?

Answer: “Pragmatist leadership style, where I unapologetically set high standards and expect everyone to meet them”.

7. How would you handle difficult members of your team who are unproductive as their manager?

Answer: “I’d call them to figure out what the step back is about. For example, in the previous organization I worked with my teammates had issues completing a group of the task given to them.

When I asked them, I found out it was due to a little challenge a few of them had. We sorted out the issue and things fell in place.

So, I would call them and know what is going on, but if nothing is going on I would penalize them.”

8. What do you know about Amazon’s leadership principles?

Answer: “Amazon Leaders start with the customers and work backwards. They work very hard to earn and keep customer trust”.

9. As our manager, how would you make or persuade people to do what you want?

Answer: “Subtle method of psychology, speaking in their language, repetition, and simplifying the instructions.

For example, in the previous place I worked in we needed to complete a project, which was shared into 4 objectives with two members of the team handling one objective.

We had to arrange meetings every other week and kept repeating and emphasizing how important it is to finish the project.

Before the third meeting, everyone was true, and we beat the time set for achieving the target.”

10. As a manager of Amazon, how would you monitor the performance of your team?

Answer: “Continuous feedback and annual meetings”.

11. Describe a time when you have worked with people to complete a tough project?
12. Explain the time you had to deal with ambiguity?
13. When have you had to make a difficult decision with only limited information?
14. Describe a situation when you took a risk and it didn’t work out?
15. As our manager, difficult decisions would be made regularly. What is the decision-making process you utilize whilst making important decisions?
16. Describe a time you managed a difficult team?
17. What did you learn from the situation when you failed whilst working as a manager?
18. What difficult and time-sensitive task have you completed whilst under pressure?
19. At what time did you demonstrate one of the Amazon leadership principles in a previous role.
20. Explain a time you handled a difficult situation?

10 Good Questions Candidates can ask in Amazon Manager Interviewer

Asking questions in an interview as noted earlier is good, but also asking the right questions is better.

Here are good questions you can ask the interviewer during an Amazon manager job interview:

1. Can you give me examples of projects I’d be working on if hired?
2. What kind of skills and experiences do you look for in an ideal candidate?
3. What attributes does someone get to need to achieve success during this position?
4. What are the most important challenges that somebody during this position would face?
5. What do you expect in terms of the performance of this position over the first year?
6. What is the performance review process like here? How often would I be formally reviewed?
7. What goals will my performance be evaluated against?
8. What are the current goals that the company is focused on, and how does this teamwork support hitting the target?
9. Who will I report directly to?
10. Can you tell me the kind of team I’ll be working with?

Conclusion

Amazon manager interview isn’t exactly easy, but with the tips and questions and suggested answers provided on this page, you can be sure of good preparation and success.