When thinking about changing jobs to Amazon, many people tend to focus on "how to pass the interview." However, in reality, OLP (Our Leadership Principles), which Amazon emphasizes at every stage of recruitment activities, is deeply involved in career development after joining and day-to-day business operations.
If you are in your early 30s and work for a Japanese consumer goods manufacturer, and your next career goal is to work for a foreign company, especially Amazon, it is extremely important not only to appeal during the interview, but also to understand and put into practice OLP once you actually join the company to achieve results.
In this article, we will explain the background behind the creation of Amazon's unique OLP and its relationship with the strengths of employees who have worked at Japanese consumer goods manufacturers, as well as explain not only “techniques for passing the exam immediately after the interview,” but also “perspectives for continuing to be active even after joining.” Please take a look at how to build a long-term career by mastering OLP, which is difficult to talk about in existing "Amazon interview preparation" columns.
1. Why does Amazon care so much about OLP?
Amazon is known for its unique corporate culture, including its "Still Day 1" spirit and extreme customer focus. Many OLPs support this foundation. Specifically, a wide range of guidelines are set forth, including Customer Obsession, Ownership, and Invent and Simplify.
Many international companies have internal codes of conduct in the form of "mission, vision, and values," but a major feature of Amazon is that this code of conduct is deeply ingrained in everything from hiring decisions to daily operations and evaluation systems. For example, in company meetings and one-on-one meetings, it is common for employees to discuss things like “Is this in line with Customer Obsession?” and “Can't we think more from an Invent and Simplify perspective?” using OLP.
This is to “standardize work methods and improve organizational strength” and “to allow each employee to have a standard for making decisions when in doubt.” It also aims to unify a huge organization by sharing OLP with everyone from top executives to frontline staff. Therefore, during the interview, you will be asked whether you empathize with this OLP and whether you will be able to put it into practice after joining.
2. Strengths that can be utilized by people from Japanese consumer goods manufacturers
Some people in their early 30s who work for Japanese consumer goods manufacturers may feel that their English is not that good and they are worried about whether they can keep up with the speed of international companies. However, there are many cases where the unique strengths of Japanese companies are a strong fit for Amazon's OLP.
First, Japanese consumer goods manufacturers often have a culture of “quality control from the customer (consumer's) perspective,” “thorough maintenance of brand image,” and “a culture of small improvement (kaizen).” At Amazon, which practices Customer Obsession, these steady and continuous customer-focused efforts are likely to be highly appreciated.
Additionally, those who work in the marketing or product development departments of consumer goods manufacturers can tell anecdotes about how they listened to customer feedback when improving existing products or planning new products, and how they involved stakeholders inside and outside the company. These are strongly linked to Amazon's emphasis on Ownership and Invent and Simplify.
Some people may have the impression that the culture of Japanese companies and the culture of Amazon are completely opposite. However, in reality, there are many commonalities such as “attention to detail,” “emphasis on teamwork,” and “pursuit of customer satisfaction,” and how you verbalize these commonalities will determine whether you win or lose in the interview.
3. OLP appeal at the interview stage: Passing is not the only goal
(1) Demonstrate OLP with “actions” rather than “forms”
At Amazon interviews, you will almost always be asked a question to the effect of, “How have you demonstrated one of the OLP aspects?” For example, "Please tell me an example of when you put customer-centricity into practice." The important point here is that just memorizing the name and definition of OLP is meaningless. What the interviewer wants to know is, “What actions did you actually take, what results did you get, and what did you learn in the process?” Rather than repeating the word OLP over and over again, it is more persuasive to focus on the action.
(2) Talking about “prospects after joining” based on the STAR method
When communicating anecdotes related to OLP, the “STAR Method” is often recommended. By structuring your statement in the following order: Situation, Task, Action, and Result, you can provide a concise explanation that is easy for the interviewer to understand. However, instead of just talking about past successes, if you include a vision of how you want to succeed at Amazon based on that experience, your evaluation tends to be even higher. The key is to visualize a specific situation after joining, such as, “I solved the problem 〇〇 at a Japanese manufacturer and achieved this result.The improvement process at that time also applies to Invent and Simplify practices at Amazon.”
(3) Learning from “failure” is also evaluated.
Amazon is a company that highly values Learn and Be Curious. Therefore, instead of just talking about your successes during the interview, it is better to include stories about how you faced failures and challenges, learned from them, and grew. Many candidates tend to think that “experience with failure is negative,” but at Amazon, the point of evaluation is “how you analyzed the failure and what new actions you took.” Rather than hiding your failures, being honest and emphasizing your learnings and changes is more likely to result in success.
4. Reality after joining: How to turn OLP into your weapon
Passing the interview and getting a job at Amazon is not the goal. In fact, that's where the real battle begins. In order to continue producing results while utilizing OLP within a large organization, it is necessary to keep the following points in mind.
(1) “OLP literacy” that makes a difference at the onboarding stage
Amazon has an onboarding program for new employees, but during the onboarding program, they come into contact with the reality that senior employees are using OLP as a matter of course. OLP terminology is thrown around on a daily basis, with people saying, “This is completely Customer Obsession, isn't it?” during meetings. At this stage, whether or not you can understand early on, “Oh, this is how OLP is linked to practical work” will have a big impact on your success after joining. If you pretended to have learned OLP just to prepare for interviews, you may have a hard time here. If you absorb OLP as “your own language” in advance, you will be able to integrate into the organization smoothly.
(2) Utilization of OLP, which is directly linked to the evaluation system
Amazon's evaluation system is said to focus on results, but it also places importance on how those results were achieved. In other words, rather than “any method is OK as long as the result is good,” the ideal is to achieve results that increase customer value while maintaining OLP. For example, even if you increase sales, if you "forced customers to do their best" or if you acted selfishly at the expense of your team, it will be difficult for you to be evaluated. On the other hand, if you can achieve simple reforms by involving those around you while improving customer satisfaction, you will be highly evaluated. The key is how to incorporate the "teamwork" and "detailed customer service" that we have cultivated at Japanese companies into OLP.
(3) Habit of continuous self-transformation
As the phrase "Day 1" suggests, Amazon has a culture that always encourages new challenges. Therefore, it is important to maintain the attitude that “I still have room to learn” even after joining. Especially if you are in your early 30s, you are still in the middle of your career. Specifically, by being conscious of "Learn and Be Curious" and continuing to learn and engage in trial and error, such as “expanding your work area,” “participating in study sessions in other departments,” and “further improving your English and data analysis skills,” you will ultimately increase your chances of demonstrating leadership.
5. Specific techniques for “long-term success on Amazon”
(1) Acquire “OLP explanation ability” to those around you
OLP is the common language of Amazon employees, but they are not always the only stakeholders in a project. Sometimes you will need to collaborate with someone new to OLP, such as an external partner or agency. At that time, if you have a solid understanding of OLP yourself, you will be able to explain to people you are working with for the first time, “This is what Amazon does with this intention” and “We have adopted this process because we have this principle of action.” This is very useful to remember as it is directly connected to project management skills.
(2) In addition to quantitative results, “visualize” the voices of customers and teams
When promoting results, numerical values such as sales and cost reductions are important, but qualitative factors such as customer feedback and team member feedback also play a large role in OLP evaluation. In particular, for Customer Obsession and Earn Trust, questions are asked about how the customer actually felt and how smooth the collaboration with team members was. It is a good idea to get in the habit of using work progress management tools and internal communication tools, and always keeping evidence in logs. If you can present these voices together with the data at the time of evaluation, your persuasive power will greatly increase.
(3) Regularly reconfirm “OLP x your strengths”
After joining the company and getting used to the work, there are cases where employees let their guard down and think of OLP as just "everyday phrases." However, if you are in your early 30s, there is a good chance that you can step up to a leadership position from here. Therefore, every six months to a year, conduct a self-analysis such as “How can I evaluate my recent actions in light of OLP?” and “How can I combine newly acquired skills and experience with OLP?” For example, if you work for a consumer goods manufacturer, you should be able to find an opportunity to further deepen your customer obsession while absorbing customer trends and global standards that are updated daily. This “regular review” supports long-term career growth and leads to opportunities for promotions and being assigned to lead new projects.
6. Summary and free interview information
As you can see, Amazon's OLP is not a "memorize term for interviews". They function as the backbone of the entire organization, from work to evaluation and promotion after joining, and are constantly questioned about how you act, what results you produce, and how you can improve them.
In particular, those in their early 30s who have worked for Japanese consumer goods manufacturers often have strengths such as a customer-oriented mindset and a quality control perspective that are likely to match the culture that Amazon values. To prepare for the interview, use the STAR method and organize specific examples of OLP such as “learning from failure,” “contributing to the entire team,” and “ensuring customer satisfaction.” After joining the company, employees are required to hone their "OLP literacy" and continue self-growth while putting it into practice in their daily work.
If you are worried that you are not confident that you can successfully link your experience to OLP, or that you want to not only prepare for the interview, but also clarify your career plan after joining, our GCAP AMAZON service can help. We will provide one-on-one support from experts (former Amazon employees, foreign HR managers, and career advisors specializing in international companies) who have a wealth of experience in changing jobs at international companies, including document correction, mock interviews, and post-employment follow-up.
First, please take advantage of our free consultation. We will carefully listen to your past career, strengths, and future aspirations, and advise you on the best approach to demonstrate your capabilities at Amazon, a global company. Let's aim together for a future in which we not only pass the interview, but also steadily accumulate results after joining and grow as global leaders.
Be prepared to make Amazon's OLP your own and lead your career move and career advancement to success. What awaits us is an overwhelming sense of speed and a global perspective that is different from that of a consumer goods manufacturer. What kind of synergistic effect will your experience and OLP create in a new field? Why not take the first step now with excitement?
Author
Global Career Incubator Co., Ltd. CEO Shinichi Ikawa
Biography: Entered the business world after working for the Ministry of Defense (National Class I) and the Australian Ministry of Defence. After working at a major real estate company, he started a real estate venture and experienced management and recruitment at a domestic fund, domestic business company, and overseas tech company before founding our company.
Developed a career accelerator program based on my experience as a corporate manager and hiring manager. We specialize in foreign-affiliated, bilingual, and senior talent, and support individual career advancement and corporate organizational strength and efficiency.