STAR for Behavioral (read Amazon) doesn’t apply to every situation but!

Nov 12, 2021 15 Comments

Just what’s the deal and STAR obsession of Amazon with its behavioral rounds?

My thought process just doesn’t conform to this. Just how many stories can one pre empt and prepare for in this format? There’s always a behavioral question that one hasn’t prepared for. At that moment the focus is on answering the question well not to try to fit it into a STAR framework!

Or maybe it’s just me! How do I program myself to ONLY think and speak in STAR?

I’m unable to get past the HM phone screen despite answering product sense questions well!

Something’s off

I am so determined to now get an offer at Amazon because it’s irritating the hell out of me that I am unable to speak like a STAR programmed bot

PS- my interview was half behavioral and have product sense contrary to what the recruiter told me. How normal is this now?

YOE 6
Tc 120

Amazon
15

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  • Amazon
    blind monk

    Go to company page Amazon

    blind monk
    The key is to not rehearse your answers. Try coming up with 5 core stories and adapt them to the questions. If you sound like a robot you will get rejected.
    Nov 12, 2021 5
    • OP
      I can’t bluff to even save my life. And I can’t speak with conviction if I haven’t done that thing before and it’ll show if I attempt to.

      Good to know I can simply say the truth instead
      Nov 12, 2021
    • Amazon
      NOT-bezos

      Go to company page Amazon

      NOT-bezos
      Really bad advice for most people. I’ve coached over 50 people to prep for the AWS loop and the number one thing I tell people is to spend 80% of their prep for behavioral interviews on practicing their examples. For a full loop you need 12-20 examples, not 5
      Nov 13, 2021
  • Amazon
    $peedBird1

    Go to company page Amazon

    $peedBird1
    I think most companies prefer STAR responses to behavioral interview questions. Why you singling out Amazon at least they tell you in advance what to prepare for yes.

    Yes you have to think ahead and prepare multiple examples and in different dimensions depending on the role?

    Missing why this is off or a bother...
    Nov 12, 2021 1
    • OP
      I try to use star wherever it’s possible but sometimes the answer of follow up questions just don’t fit in STAR. This is where I get disoriented because in my head I feel I failed at Starring this out given that Amazon stresses so much on this

      Agree to the point of using star as a best practice but other companies don’t have this rigorous behavioral questions. They switch to product based case questions pretty quickly but at Amazon it’s a fail scene because everything’s star dependent
      Nov 12, 2021
  • Amazon
    Tiger King

    Go to company page Amazon

    Tiger King
    STAR is just a way to make sure you don’t ramble incoherently. Makes it easier for the interviewer to follow.
    Nov 12, 2021 0
  • Amazon
    sideshobob

    Go to company page Amazon

    sideshobob
    The key thing with the LP (behavioral) questions at Amazon is we really want to know what YOU did. Background and what the rest of your team did is all context but your individual actions are the important part and it's what we're using to evaluate you.

    Similarly "generally what i like to do in that type of situation" means nothing at Amazon, we want specifics. I think there is value in using this with other companies too, but they don't come right out and say it like Amazon does.
    Nov 12, 2021 0
  • Amazon
    IMentorU

    Go to company page Amazon

    IMentorU
    Every story you tell has a situation, a presented challenge, something you did, and a result.
    Nov 12, 2021 0