Hiring practices · February 2026
How Amazon hires: leadership principles, the loop interview and what other companies can borrow
How Amazon uses its 16 leadership principles in hiring, how the loop interview works, why follow-up questions matter and which practices growing tech companies can adopt.
Many companies look at Amazon as a trend-setter, hiring included. We prepared this piece with Valeria Pop, a former Amazon recruiter who was both hired by Amazon and hired on its behalf.
Hiring starts with 16 leadership principles
Amazon's first principle, customer obsession, goes back to Jeff Bezos's first letter to shareholders. Today there are 16 leadership principles that guide how employees build products, set priorities, work with customers and resolve disagreements. Recruiters use the same principles to assess candidates. Amazon publishes them openly, and candidates are encouraged to prepare examples for each.
How the interview works
After a recruiter screen, the candidate has a technical interview and then a panel, the so-called loop: a series of conversations with several interviewers, each assessing a few principles.
In my case it was four one-hour interviews in a row with 15-minute breaks. Before that the recruiter told me on a prep call which principles I would be assessed on.
Valeria Pop
Candidates usually answer in the STAR format: situation, task, action, result. The difficulty is that the candidate does not know which principle is being tested at any given moment, for example diving deep or bias for action.
Follow-up questions are the real test
A typical follow-up: "What other options did you consider?" It shows whether the candidate analysed the situation, what the decision was based on and whether it was their decision at all. Candidates are also assessed on the complexity of what they overcame, so explaining why a project was hard and important matters.
A candidate should always explain each step: why a decision was optimal, or why it wasn't. You can always talk about a failure and show your analysis and conclusions.
Valeria Pop
A red flag for an Amazon recruiter is a candidate who asks no clarifying questions. This is true across big tech: companies value people who first make sure they understand the problem.
What a growing tech company can borrow
- Write down your principles. Three to six behaviours that actually describe how your team works, used consistently in every interview.
- Split the loop. Give each interviewer one or two areas to assess so the panel does not ask the same questions.
- Ask for evidence. Behavioural questions about real situations, followed by "what else did you consider?" and "what would you do differently?".
- Prepare candidates. Tell them the format and what you assess. You get better evidence and a better candidate experience.
- Debrief with data. Each interviewer writes notes before the debrief so the loudest voice does not decide.
FAQ
How many leadership principles does Amazon have?
Sixteen, published on Amazon's website. They apply to all employees, not only managers.
What is a loop interview?
A series of back-to-back interviews with several interviewers, each assessing specific competencies, followed by a joint debrief.
Should a startup copy Amazon's process?
Copy the logic, not the length: clear principles, split responsibilities in the panel, evidence-based questions and structured debriefs.
Adapted from the original article in Russian on newhr.org. Read the Russian version.