Amazon Interview Questions

Tell me about a time you faced a crisis at work. How did you handle it?

During the fall of 2019, one of our team members didn't show up to a video shoot for a client due to some miscommunication. Our client was not sending timely responses and we had several different points of contact that wanted different things. This resulted in some miscommunication about what she needed from our organization. To solve this, I arranged a meeting with all of our points of contact and our whole team to clarify our goals and led a discussion to see where everyone was coming from. I drafted an updated project proposal and we all learned about how we could better serve each other. I then was in constant communication with our client via email and she began expressing her needs with each project in a much clearer way with set deadlines. Our team also learned how to communicate with her in a more concise way that allowed us to meet her goals in a timely manner. We provided a one-minute edited video, over 200 edited photos, and a very successful social media campaign that engaged with her audience on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Throughout this experience I was able to resolve a conflict, create a successful outcome, and foster a wonderful client relationship. In the end, our client was completely satisfied with our solution and we still provide communication services for her business.

Tell me about a time when you influenced a change by only asking questions.

I always ask graphic design clients why they want promotional materials to be designed or written a certain way. I believe that every pixel, every word, and every element of a design should have purpose and tell a story. During my time working with TALC, I was creating their website through Wix and they wanted me to include every piece of information from their old site. It ended up looking very cluttered, so I asked "What message does that element send across?" During a meeting we went through every section of text and every photo included on the website to see what the purpose of each one was. In this process we eliminated all of the unnecessary text and created a much more legible and engaging design that has been successful. They were very happy with the result and have referred our services to more clients.

When given an unfamiliar task, how do you ensure you handle it properly?

I am a good self learner and am very dedicated to providing quality work. In the past when I have been assigned to projects where I felt unprepared, I utilized online resources in addition to asking leaders I respect for help. For instance, I wrote the grant applications for three different travel grants for the film project Eyes Above with MediaLab. I had never previously written a grant, so I made sure to do a lot of research and reach out to past MediaLab general managers for their advice on how to create the strongest application. I also delegated certain roles of the writing process to other MediaLab members. In the end we wrote a very strong grant proposal with the combined efforts of research and the advice of past MediaLab leaders. It was a success and we received a Wang Center grant for $3,000

When have you used your fact finding skills to solve a problem?

I have used my fact-finding to solve the

Tell me about a time when you had a group conflict, and how did you overcome this conflict?

I once had a group conflict in the Documentary Team for MediaLab. We had a film that was over an hour long that we needed to significantly cut down in order to be able to enter in festivals. this resulted in several team members being very upset about elements of the film they felt were so important that they couldn't be cut. With these conflicting viewpoints, we held a group meeting and I asked what the ultimate purpose of our film was. If we were so attached to certain elements, we needed to have a "why". We ended up narrowing down the story in our film in order to make each element serve the purpose of telling our story. Our final project was 24 minutes long and was submitted to 7 festivals, and showcased in 4! We were even nominated for a student Emmy award.

Which leadership principle of Amazon's do you connect with most?

I really connect with the principle of customer obsession. In my previous role at MediaLab, my primary focus was always on creating good relationships and quality service to clients. I worked with 13 clients and was in constant communication with them via email and in-person meetings. I would always would strive for the highest standard on each project.

If you are given two conflicting priorities from two separate managers, how do you figure out how to proceed?

I would assess the situation and see if I could become clear on what takes priority by doing a little critical thinking. I would figure out how long each task would take, see if it would be possible to delegate any pieces of a project, and assess which deadline is most urgent. Also I would make sure to analyze which priority is worth the most money to the company. If it was still unclear at this point, I would ask for the judgment of leaders I respected and utilize the knowledge of others to make the decision. Then, depending on which project was the priority, I would begin with that one first.

Do you know who the Amazon CEO is? How do you pronounce his name?

Jeff Bezos is an American internet entrepreneur, industrialist, media proprietor, and investor. He is best known as the founder, CEO, and president of the multi-national technology company Amazon.

Tell me about your proudest professional achievement.

My proudest professional achievement was the success of the recruitment efforts from 2019-2020 when I led the Recruitment Team for MediaLab. Our team expanded from 5 members to 17. I did a lot of marketing on campus including tabling events, handing out flyers, talking with students individually, sending out department emails, and designing posters, flyers, save the date cards, and tv advertisements to be shown around campus. We were going through a period of extreme transition where over half of our team graduated and we weren't going to have enough members to keep all of our client projects going. We also were in the process of moving to a larger location and our faculty advisor was changing which created a lot of confusion within our organization. I was able to successfully market MediaLab and we had large teams to work on each client project for the following year.

Why Amazon?

This is an amazing opportunity for someone looking to broaden their experience and work in a top recruiting organization. Amazon is incredibly innovative and is always finding new ways to thrive and grow. Even during the pandemic, the company has brought on more than 175,000 new associates. I would love to bring my drive to succeed and attention to detail to Amazon. I led the Recruitment Team for MediaLab for 9 months where I spearheaded our recruitment efforts and expanded our organization by 340% during a period of extreme transition. I thrive on connecting with others and know the Recruiting Coordinator role would be an amazing opportunity. I would love the chance to work with intelligent people in a fast-paced environment that promotes learning and growth.

Can you tell me about a time you had to make a fast customer service decision without any guidance? How did you decide what to do?

When I worked with Friendly Water for the World they asked our organization to create a marketing plan with no clear instructions. They ended up not being happy with the result because they wanted it to include a list of all local radio stations and newspapers in the Olympia and Seattle area. This was the very first client I had ever worked with so I had little experience and little guidance. To solve this, I ended up creating an updated version of the guide with a list of local publications and radio stations and had a meeting with the company to hear out all of their concerns. In the end, I also wrote them a press release and sent that to each of the publications and radio stations I had researched. They were very happy with the end result.

Give me an example of when you received criticism. How did you respond to the information?

When I worked with Tacoma Area Literacy Council, I was assigned the task of creating a brochure. For the first few drafts they did not like design that I had created. However, I know how to not take constructive criticism personally and separate from my work. My priority is always to make the client happy and so I worked with them to make sure I fixed all the elements they didn't love. I held a meeting with them and referred to their previous design. I asked them which elements they liked and what they wanted to be altered. They really appreciated that I took the time to meet with them in-person to clarify their goals. I then made two versions of an updated brochure -one with a more modern design I thought would be effective and one with a design closer to their previous style. They were very happy to have the comparison of the two brochures and ended up content with the design they chose. I also really broadened my skills by taking their constructive criticism into account and learning to design in a style I don't typically follow.