Amazon Interview Questions
Prepare for 54 Amazon interview questions covering Leadership Principles and bar-raising scenarios.
Question 14 of 54
We want to hire people at Amazon with the desire to lead others. How many people did you supervise in your last position?
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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
Discuss with the interviewer your level of responsibility in your current position. Explore the avenues for growth within Amazon that interest you most and if you are interested in leading and mentoring others as your tenure deepens. If you have managed larger teams in the past than you currently do, take this opportunity to share those experiences highlighting what that part of your work history would lend to you in this role.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"Although I did not officially supervise anyone in my most recent position, I always had my eye out for opportunities to lead or mentor the more junior staff. I am a good example to others and would uphold Amazon's Leadership Principles every day."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I supervise 12 employees with an overall portfolio responsibility of 2M. In a role I held before this one, I managed 23 employees but with a smaller portfolio of 600,000. I can handle a large range of employees and would be very interested in leading others as my tenure with Amazon grows."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"At university, I led a few teams. The largest group was ten, but I preferred that the least. I identify with Jeff Bezos' two-pizza rule. The smaller the group, the greater and more effective the collaboration."
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Anonymous Answer
I haven't supervised anyone in my most recent position, but I was always helping my junior staff to understand their task.
Rachelle's Feedback
I think I understand what you're saying, but it's a bit contradictory since you begin by saying that you do not supervise anyone and then refer to 'my junior staff.' If you are helping, leading, and mentoring others in an unofficial leadership role, that's great! In that case, I suggest rewording your response so it's clear that you're going above your role's expectations to help others. I have provided an example for you below.
"Although my current role is not an official leadership position, I regularly go above and beyond to help less experienced teammates to understand their tasks. For instance, I recently helped a colleague...(tell a brief story, using the STAR framework, to describe your natural leadership tendencies)."
Anonymous Answer
I was working as a product and production merchandiser at the company I last worked for and this means that I had to manage the product manufacturing team as well as my customer and the logistics team.
I was working with a total of 4 manufacturers outside of my own company and I was in contact with 20 people from these 4 manufacturers in total. I was also leading the fabric purchasing team of 3 people, an accessory purchasing team of 2 people, a sample sewing team of 10 people, a quality control team of 3 people, and a logistics team of 2 people in my own company.
Amanda's Feedback
You have strong experience in managing others. Consider expanding your response to talk about the tools, strategies, or methods you used to manage others across multiple locations or teams. Because the company wants to hire those that enjoy leading others, you can also share what you enjoy most about supervising others or what you feel your strengths are when it comes to leading such as integrity, empathy, humility, strategic planning, influencing, etc.
Anonymous Answer
For the past 6 years or so. I have had a team of technicians that range anywhere from 5 to about 11, based on the project needs at the time.
Amanda's Feedback
Your answer reflects several years of team leadership experience, but you can improve it by sharing how you feel about being in a leadership role and explaining what you do to ensure your team works effectively.
Anonymous Answer
I don't have anyone report to me in my current position, I am mentoring new junior team members.
Chad's Feedback
Good answer! You do well to mention you are mentoring new junior team members in your current role, as it highlights your leadership capabilities. To strengthen this response, conclude by indicating you would be interested in leading and mentoring others at Amazon, as you gain experience with the organization.
Anonymous Answer
At _______, I built the customer-facing data science team in APAC from zero to 20 people reporting to me. But leadership is more than supervision. I've also been influential with the marketing, product, and teams in other geographies, building their trust to the point where I became their go-to person when they needed mentoring, advice, or assistance with blocker scenarios.
Marcie's Feedback
Wow! You clearly have solid experience in building teams and being a leader. It's great too that you've gone beyond just your team to become so involved with other departments as well. It sounds like you're more than just a supervisor - instead, you're a true leader who people want to follow. This will undoubtedly impress the interviewer.
Anonymous Answer
In my last 2 roles, the North American executive committee had me build successful teams. In my current role, I am responsible for driving 65% of the NA business or 900M in revenue. My current team was formed 6 months ago and has 5 people. It consists of new talent - hired and develop the best. Where I created a 30/60/90-day onboarding plan to fast-track their onboarding process.
I believe in a combination of learning by doing and learning by design. Meaning that some of what a person can do be can self-taught and the rest can be learned through the help of others.
Marcie's Feedback
Wow! It's great that you have experience supervising a team of five people. All the stats you provide in your answer are impactful and will impress the interviewer. Can you talk a bit more about the skills and qualities you possess that make you an effective supervisor?
Anonymous Answer
Although I was not a supervisor, I was a member of a consulting team that spanned the world. As a team, we would have each other's back helping each other as needed. On a particular occasion, I had a colleague approach me saying that he admired my integrity and heart for the job and that I inspired him. I had similar feedback from other colleagues saying my forthrightness was courageous and inspirational.
I think part of a leader's role is to inspire others to be better versions of themselves by living by example. I'm humbled that my colleagues held such a high opinion of me, and I knew that when I spoke my mind at team meetings I was doing so for the team because others were too afraid to do so. So, I may not have officially supervised anyone in my past role, but at the same time, I would say that I lead by example.
Marcie's Feedback
Your answer shows that you are a true leader who inspires others, even if you didn't previously have the title of supervisor. This is what the interviewer wants to hear. Don't forget to end your response by reminding them that you are excited to potentially lead/manage people within their company in the future. Excellent job!
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