Amazon seeks a Recruiter who can 'Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit.' How do you react when you and a key business partner disagree on the quality of a candidate?

One of Amazon's Leadership Principles is 'Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit.' Amazon outlines this Leadership Principle by stating, "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."

Take your time to learn more about this principle and consider how you can apply this language in your interview response.

Each time you shortlist and present a candidate to stakeholders and decision-makers, there is a risk that they will say 'no' to your candidate. There will be times when you think you've hit the jackpot and found the best candidate possible for the role. You will excitedly present the candidate to your leadership team, and unfortunately, the hiring managers don't feel the magic.

Discuss in detail how you react when disappointments arise. Then, focus the bulk of your response on the action steps you take to pick yourself back up and move forward.

"It is ideal for all stakeholders to agree on a candidate before the company extends a job offer; however, that isn't always reality. In my current role as Recruiter for Company XYZ, if a leader disagrees with the quality of my shortlisted candidate, I am sure to remove any emotion from the equation. I respond to them with factual data from my talent marketplace analytics and other forms of benchmarking. This approach aligns with Amazon's Leadership Principle of 'Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit.' The approach I take is to respectfully challenge decisions, even if it's uncomfortable to do so. As an Amazon Recruiter, if I encounter a situation where we cannot agree on a candidate, I will respectfully push back and stand behind my recommendation. I will share all of my information and use data over opinion when making my case."