Amazon Leadership Principles Interview: Bar Raiser + AI Copilot Guide
How to pass Amazon Leadership Principles interviews in 2026: STAR stories for all 16 LPs, what a Bar Raiser actually probes, and how to use AI for prep without violating Amazon's AI policy.
Quick answer: Amazon LP interviews
Amazon does not grade "good communicator." It grades Leadership Principles. Every behavioral question maps to one or more of the 16 LPs. A Bar Raiser sits in the loop with veto power and will Dive Deep until your story either has numbers or falls apart. The prep that actually works: two different STAR stories per LP, a short Situation, a long Action, a Result with a metric, and notes you are allowed to keep in front of you.
People type this into ChatGPT as "Amazon interview questions" and get a list. The list is not the test. The follow-up is the test. Broader FAANG context: FAANG interview AI copilot. Delivery so you do not sound generated: how not to sound like ChatGPT.
The policy line (read this before any copilot pitch)
Amazon has publicly told candidates they must not use unauthorized tools in the interview process. The overlay-on-Amazon story that built Cluely's fame ended with a rescinded internship. If a recruiter packet or acknowledgement form bans generative AI on the live call, that is the rule. Prep with AI. Mock with AI. Do not treat a stealth window as a workaround for a written ban.
If you wanted the consequence ladder, it is here: caught using AI in an interview.
What the loop actually is
Typical SDE / PM / ops path in 2026:
- Recruiter screen (sometimes already LP-flavored)
- Online assessment or technical phone screen
- Loop of ~4–6 interviews, ~55 minutes each
- One of those is the Bar Raiser
- Debrief uses written notes mapped to LPs, not vibes
Bar Raisers are not "the mean one." They are trained to protect the hiring bar for a team they do not join. They will ask for a second example when you reuse a story. They will ask for the number behind "significant impact." They will ask what you would do differently.
Amazon's own prep pages are explicit: behavioral interviewing, past actions, STAR, data where you have it, no brain teasers.
The 16 LPs, grouped the way interviewers actually probe
You do not need a speech for each. You need a story inventory that can be aimed.
| Cluster | Principles people actually get grilled on | What the follow-up sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Customer & results | Customer Obsession, Deliver Results, Earn Trust | "What did the customer say after?" "What was the number?" |
| Ownership | Ownership, Bias for Action, Invent and Simplify | "Why was this yours?" "What did you ship that week?" |
| Backbone | Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit, Earn Trust | "What did you do when they still said no?" |
| Depth | Dive Deep, Insist on the Highest Standards, Think Big | "Show me the metric. What was in the logs?" |
| People & scale | Hire and Develop the Best, Earn Trust, Strive to be Earth's Best Employer, Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility | "Who got better because you were there?" |
| Frugality & curiosity | Frugality, Learn and Be Curious, Invent and Simplify | "What did you cut?" "What did you not know on day one?" |
Dive Deep is the LP that kills AI-sounding answers. A model will say "I analyzed the data." A Bar Raiser wants the dashboard, the SQL, the false positive, the week you were wrong.
STAR the Amazon way (not the generic way)
Amazon interviewers are trained on STAR. Candidates still fail it by front-loading Situation until the Action is a footnote.
- Situation: 2–3 sentences. Company, team, constraint.
- Task: one sentence. What you owned.
- Action: most of the time. Verbs you can defend. I wrote, I escalated, I rolled back.
- Result: a number, a customer outcome, or an honest miss plus what changed.
Do not recycle one "migration story" across Ownership, Deliver Results, and Think Big. Bar Raisers compare notes.
Former Bar Raisers have said the quiet part in public: this is an open-note process. A doc with LP headings and your stories is not cheating. Reading a generated paragraph you cannot unpack is.
How to use AI for Amazon prep without sounding like a press release
High-ROI prompts (do these before the loop):
- "Map this story to the LP it actually demonstrates. Tell me which LP it is weak for."
- "Ask me five Dive Deep follow-ups a Bar Raiser would ask, then wait for my answers."
- "Strike every sentence I could not say in a standup."
- "I only have 90 seconds. Cut this STAR to the Action and one metric."
Low-ROI: "Write me an Ownership story." That is how people arrive with a tapestry of alignment and no pager.
MigMig's behavioral mode is useful as a practice overlay on mocks: it keeps STAR order in view while you talk out loud. That is a different job from generating a fake career. Run it on a recorded mock, then listen for ChatGPT diction. Setup: how to use AI during a live interview.
Technical rounds still exist
LPs are not a substitute for coding or system design if the role includes them. Use coding mode for approach + complexity, not silent paste. System design: constraints first, then boxes. Guides: LeetCode interview prep, system design interviews.
Phone screens before the loop: phone interview AI copilot.
Where MigMig fits for Amazon candidates
- Prep and mocks: STAR scaffolding, follow-up practice, reducing blank-mind time
- Live Amazon loop: default to the written policy. If unauthorized tools are banned, do not run a live copilot
- Other companies in the same season: MigMig still covers Zoom / Meet / Teams / Webex with a free Starter plan and Pro at $4.99/month
Download MigMig · Behavioral STAR guide · Pricing
FAQ: Amazon Leadership Principles and Bar Raisers
How many stories do I need?
Two per LP is the number that survives a Bar Raiser asking for another example. Sixteen times two is a lot — start with the cluster you will actually be asked (Customer Obsession, Ownership, Dive Deep, Deliver Results, Bias for Action, Have Backbone).
Are notes allowed?
Amazon behavioral interviews are widely treated as open-note. A LP doc of your stories is expected. A second screen of generated prose is how you fail Dive Deep.
What does the Bar Raiser veto?
A hire that does not raise the bar. They can sink an otherwise enthusiastic panel. Consistency across rounds matters.
Can I use ChatGPT to write LP answers?
As a coach, yes. As an author of a life you did not live, no. The second question will catch it.
Is MigMig allowed on the Amazon loop?
Follow Amazon's instructions for that interview. We will not tell you a stealth overlay overrides a stated ban.
Get started
If you searched Amazon Leadership Principles interview, build the story inventory first. Use AI to drill follow-ups. Keep the live loop honest.
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Ali Shirani
Author at MigMig
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