Mastering Behavioral Interviews: Part 1

After going through multiple interview stages—including HR screenings, phone screens, and onsite interviews—I noticed a recurring pattern: behavioral questions were always a key part of the process. While I found many valuable discussions online, one insight stood out—most companies structure their behavioral questions, in some way, around Amazon’s 16 Leadership Principles. So we will use these principles as a framework to analyze behavioral interviews. We’ll break down each principle, highlight key evaluation criteria, provide common questions, and offer guidance on structuring effective responses.

The Three Biggest Challenges in Behavioral Interviews

1. Understanding the Leadership Principles (LPs)

One of the biggest struggles is knowing which questions correspond to which leadership principles. Many companies, particularly Amazon, structure their behavioral questions around a defined set of principles. Without a clear mapping, it's easy to feel lost.

2. Identifying Common Themes in Questions

Many questions may appear different on the surface but can actually be answered using the same story or response. However, recognizing these overlaps isn’t always intuitive.

3. Knowing How to Answer the Questions

Sometimes, when faced with a question, it’s hard to even know where to begin. For example:

What does "calculated risk" really mean in an interview context?
How do you effectively demonstrate "going above and beyond"?

My Approach to Tackling These Challenges

Over time, I collected a vast number of behavioral questions and tested different strategies through interviews. Based on this experience, I confidently conclude that most individual contributor behavioral interview questions align with the principles discussed in this article. Here’s how I addressed each challenge:

For Challenge #1: I categorized common behavioral questions under each leadership principle to make it easier to identify patterns.
For Challenge #2: I grouped questions that could be answered with the same response, helping me streamline my preparation.
For Challenge #3: I provided key evaluation criteria and response templates for different question types, which can serve as inspiration for crafting your own stories.

Structuring Your Responses: The Art of "Framing" Stories

During my Amazon interviews, I was tested on 11 out of 16 LPs. The onsite interview consisted of five rounds:

One round was entirely dedicated to behavioral questions.
The other four rounds had a mix of behavioral and technical questions, with each including at least two LP-based behavioral questions.
In total, I had to share around 20 different stories, with a single story being reused at most twice.

The Importance of the STAR Method

A structured approach to answering behavioral questions is crucial. The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) framework is an industry standard, and I strongly recommend applying it rigorously:

Situation: Describe the context and background.
Task: Outline your role and responsibilities.
Action: Explain what actions you took.
Result: Quantify the impact of your actions with concrete data.

Many candidates neglect the Result section, which is a critical mistake. Always include metrics to quantify your impact. Additionally, for negative questions (e.g., "Tell me about a time you missed a deadline"), consider adding an extra L for Learning—discussing what you took away from the experience can leave a strong impression on interviewers.

Finding the Right Stories

Initially, I found it challenging to come up with compelling stories. Work often doesn’t feel dramatic enough to create engaging anecdotes. However, if your work has been completely smooth sailing, either you’re exceptionally skilled or your scope has been limited. Most people fall somewhere in between, meaning that impactful stories exist—you just need to uncover them.

To unearth these stories, refer to the "Question Breakdown, Story Templates, and Key Evaluation Points" section later in this article. This will help guide you in structuring your responses.

The Difference Between "Fabricating" and "Framing" Stories

I am strongly against fabricating stories. Behavioral interview stories should not be made up—they should be framed effectively. The key distinction is that while the events you describe must be real, the way you present them can be structured to highlight different leadership principles.

Example of Effective "Framing"

Let’s say that Alice was assigned two features to implement. The second feature was essentially an extension of the first. In answering the question "How do you go above and beyond?", Alice could frame her story like this:

Identifying an Improvement Opportunity
- Instead of saying, "My manager assigned me these tasks," she reframes it as: "I identified an area that could be improved."
Taking Initiative and Planning
- "I researched the issue, developed a solution, and created a plan to discuss with my manager. I estimated that I could complete it in one week." (This demonstrates ownership and the ability to take calculated risks.)
Delivering Results
- "I completed the first feature on time, which reduced system latency by X%, increased user adoption by Y%, and improved CTR by Z%." (This quantifies impact.)
Customer Obsession
- "I frequently test my product to ensure it functions correctly, which led me to discover a gap in coverage for a specific scenario." (This highlights a customer-centric mindset.)
Going Above and Beyond
- "Upon investigating, I realized I could solve this issue systematically and proposed an additional plan." (This reinforces ownership and shows proactive problem-solving.)
Taking a Calculated Risk
- "I discussed the plan with my manager and determined it was feasible within a week." (This aligns with the calculated risk principle.)
Final Impact
- "Feature 2 was successfully launched, resulting in measurable improvements in A, B, and C metrics."

Key Takeaways

This example demonstrates the essence of framing—the events are real, but the way they are connected aligns with the desired leadership principles. By structuring your experiences this way, you ensure that your responses feel authentic while still showcasing the qualities interviewers are looking for.

Additionally, since everything is based on real events, you won’t have to worry about follow-up questions exposing inconsistencies. Many interviewers probe deeper to test whether candidates are fabricating stories. When your responses are genuinely based on real experiences, follow-up questions become an opportunity to further reinforce your strengths rather than a risk of being caught off guard.

Next, we will go over some common behavioral questions and leadership principles.

Why [company]

Scenario

Commonly asked in HR call, occasionally as the first question in BQ, mainly to understand your motivation for interviewing the company.

Key Points

Your understanding of the company/product, your future career planning, what you can contribute to the company, and what you hope to achieve.

How to prepare

It's recommended to first visit the company's homepage to understand the product, browse the company's tech blog, and roughly understand the company's focus and challenges. Consider how your past work experience can help the company address these challenges and what unique value you can bring.
If the company has a to-c (consumer-oriented) business, you can start by speaking from your perspective as a consumer, expressing your love for the company’s products, then mentioning your interest in the tech behind the products and your efforts to understand them. Highlight overlaps with your past experiences, showing how this sparked your enthusiasm and passion. Express your desire to contribute your skills to help the company solve specific challenges and expand the impact of its products, thereby achieving your career goals.
If the company has a to-b (business-oriented) business, you can start from the perspective of the company’s product, describing what it is and its societal impact. Then mention your interest in the tech behind the product and your efforts to understand it, before following the same structure as above.

Common Questions	Analysis, Story Template, and Key Points
1. Why Amazon/Google/Databricks/Capital One? 2. Why do you want to make a move?	I like the product -> learn about the technology behind it -> find overlaps with my past experience -> got me interested -> understand the challenges the company is facing -> hope to solve them to create more value -> achieve my career goals
1. What are you looking for in your next role?	I like my current role and team -> however it's time to step out of my comfort zone to see the outside world -> I really like the company's product -> follow the same structure as above

Customer Obsession

Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Key Points

Whether your story demonstrates your ability to think from the customer’s perspective and solve problems.
Customers can be an end user or the team consuming your data/signals/pipelines.

How to Prepare

Reflect on your work. Have you ever solved a problem for a customer? Did you take the initiative to identify and resolve it? What was the customer’s feedback?
How do you communicate with customers, and what were the results of those communications?

Questions related to Customer Interaction	Analysis, Story Template, and Key Points
1. Tell me a time when you made a suggestion for clients. 2. When you're working with a large number of customers, it's tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. So how do you go about prioritizing your customers' needs?	Analysis: These 2 are positive questions, and you can use the STAR template. They are asking for the same thing: understand what users need and prioritize your work to fulfill their needs. Guiding Template: How did you find customers' needs? -> Come up with a plan -> What did you do to implement it? -> What was the result?
1. Describe a difficult interaction you had with your client. 2. Tell me about a time that customers told you they wanted something but you knew that’s not really what they wanted. 3. When do you think it’s ok to push back or say no to an unreasonable customer request? 4. Tell me about a project where you think the requirements are unreasonable or can’t be done. 5. When your delivery is different from your customer’s expectation. 6. Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client’s expectation. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation? 7. Who was your most challenging customer?	Analysis: These 7 questions are all negative questions, and you can use the STAR template. They are asking for the same thing as the 2 positive questions: understand how to handle difficult interactions with customers. Guiding Template: How did you find customers' needs? -> Come up with a plan -> What did you do to implement it? -> Found out that some requirements are unreasonable -> How did you communicate with the customers? -> How did the customers react? -> How did you handle the situation -> What was the feedback from customers at the end? -> What was the end result? -> What did you learn?

Questions related to Customer Interaction

Analysis, Story Template, and Key Points

1. Tell me a time when you made a suggestion for clients.
2. When you're working with a large number of customers, it's tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. So how do you go about prioritizing your customers' needs?

Analysis: These 2 are positive questions, and you can use the STAR template. They are asking for the same thing: understand what users need and prioritize your work to fulfill their needs.

Guiding Template: How did you find customers' needs? -> Come up with a plan -> What did you do to implement it? -> What was the result?

1. Describe a difficult interaction you had with your client.
2. Tell me about a time that customers told you they wanted something but you knew that’s not really what they wanted.
3. When do you think it’s ok to push back or say no to an unreasonable customer request?
4. Tell me about a project where you think the requirements are unreasonable or can’t be done.
5. When your delivery is different from your customer’s expectation.
6. Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client’s expectation. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?
7. Who was your most challenging customer?

Analysis: These 7 questions are all negative questions, and you can use the STAR template.
They are asking for the same thing as the 2 positive questions: understand how to handle difficult interactions with customers.

Guiding Template: How did you find customers' needs? -> Come up with a plan -> What did you do to implement it? -> Found out that some requirements are unreasonable -> How did you communicate with the customers? -> How did the customers react? -> How did you handle the situation -> What was the feedback from customers at the end? -> What was the end result? -> What did you learn?

Questions related to Above & Beyond	Analysis, Story Template, and Key Points
1. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a client. 2. Tell me about a time you came up with a solution that customers didn’t ask for but they ended up liking it. 3. Not only met a goal but considerably exceeded expectations.	Analysis: These 3 questions are all positive questions, and you can use the STAR template. The interviewer is trying to understand your ability to understand customers' needs and prioritize your work to fulfill their needs. The "above & beyond" questions are seeking for your ability to go beyond the customer's expectation. Guiding Template: Through what process did you find customers' needs? -> Come up with a solution -> What did you do to implement it? -> What was the result? -> What initiatives did you take to find room for improvement (e.g. communicate with customers, test your product from the customer's perspective) -> you did further research -> come up with a better solution -> what did you do to implement it? -> What was the result?

Questions related to Above & Beyond

Analysis, Story Template, and Key Points

1. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a client.
2. Tell me about a time you came up with a solution that customers didn’t ask for but they ended up liking it.
3. Not only met a goal but considerably exceeded expectations.

Analysis: These 3 questions are all positive questions, and you can use the STAR template.
The interviewer is trying to understand your ability to understand customers' needs and prioritize your work to fulfill their needs. The "above & beyond" questions are seeking for your ability to go beyond the customer's expectation.

Guiding Template: Through what process did you find customers' needs? -> Come up with a solution -> What did you do to implement it? -> What was the result? -> What initiatives did you take to find room for improvement (e.g. communicate with customers, test your product from the customer's perspective) -> you did further research -> come up with a better solution -> what did you do to implement it? -> What was the result?

That's it for part 1. Stay tuned for the next part, where we’ll break down more leadership principles and guide you in identifying stories from your own experiences.