How to Answer: At Amazon, we seek to hire leaders. Tell me about a time you took the initiative to improve work-related procedures.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Amazon job interview.
49. At Amazon, we seek to hire leaders. Tell me about a time you took the initiative to improve work-related procedures.
What You Need to Know
One of their leadership principles is "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." Another of Amazon's Leadership Principles is to 'Insist on the Highest Standards.' Amazon believes leaders continually raise the bar, driving their teams to deliver high-quality services, products, and processes.
Written by Kevin Downey on January 25th, 2023
How to Answer
Determining how to properly suggest changes requires leadership, creative thinking, and emotional intelligence. Before suggesting change, it is important to understand why things are done the way they are and establish what has been attempted previously. If you have ever taken the opportunity to present your employer with potential change or suggest improvements, describe your experience. Talk to the hiring manager about when you showed such initiative, how you went about it, and how it improved work-related procedures.
Written by Kevin Downey on January 25th, 2023
1st Entry Level Example
"I closely examined why our staff kept taking particular shortcuts and roundabout ways of doing their jobs, which frequently resulted in greater discrepancies. I then realized that the training materials were dated and incomplete. So I decided to revamp the methods by which people navigated how to follow the proper procedures, which were faster and easier than the shortcuts they'd implemented. I also created a weekly bulletin informing our staff of these improvements. This increased productivity and reduced the amount of rework substantially."
Written by Kevin Downey on January 25th, 2023
1st Answer Example
"I was able to present and implement one specific change in the office this past year. It was a recycling program that I felt was very important, even for our small office. We had significantly less waste after my initiative was implemented, and I enjoyed seeing others take pride in helping our environment."
Written by Rachelle Enns on September 27th, 2021
2nd Answer Example
"I recently made suggestions to my manager about the team messaging application we were using. I found a team-based app that offered a lower monthly cost with added features. He took the suggestion, and it has worked well for our team! The company was happy with the cost savings as well."
Written by Rachelle Enns on September 27th, 2021
Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Rachelle's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Rachelle's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Rachelle's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Stephanie's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Amanda's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Marcie's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
learn by doing
learn by design"
Marcie's Feedback