First of all, Amazon is an American technology company, they specialize in eCommerce. It is the biggest online retailer in the world and one of the biggest companies in the world, they are also involved in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital streaming. As we all know it was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, he is the Executive Chairman while the CEO and president as of now are Andy Jassy. Amazon is known to have a lot of subsidiaries and lots of products. Here are some Frugality Amazon Interview Questions.
What is frugality?
For a clear and better understanding, we will be taking things bit by bit, now frugality or frugal means not wasting resources or avoiding unnecessary expenditure. While a frugal person does not spend unnecessarily and tries to save money. This is a very important survival and living skill. This skill not only helps in basic living but also in business.
Businesses who use the frugality principle tend to spend more efficiently, they spend on only things that matter to their customers. The importance of frugality in business cannot be overlooked no matter how big the firm has gone or how large it has become. This Principle is strictly adopted by Jeff Bezos’s Amazon, the reason why it overlooked all the luxurious interior decorations, putting just chairs and doors to save cost.
Benefits of applying frugality in business
1. Common Market Pricing:
It is easier to take over the market with cost advantages, you see, when the company spends less on irrelevant things and channels all their spending to the benefit of the customers, the cost price will be relatively low because they didn’t have to spend much. This will give the company an advantage over their competitors because their cost price will be lower causing their price to be cheaper, this can help dominate the market in this space.
2. Greater Profit:
We all know that it is profitable to spend less and earn more, this is what you enjoy as a frugal businessman or woman. Why? Well because they are frugal and careful in their spendings. Comparing the company to its competitors, you are earning more because you have a higher profit margin because of the huge difference in cost.
3. Expenses Saved:
As a businessman or woman being frugal in your spendings enables you to save more and therefore apply for bigger investments and opportunities. It is nothing but the principle of spending less, saving more and investing later, and of course earning more.
How to develop frugal skills
1. Learn to use free Supply:
You’ll have to be able to manage what you have around you with free supply even if you work like there is no supply at all. Use the free stuff you see around you to work, do it like there is no supply but the job has to be done no matter what. This will help you manage your money well, it will help you channel it to the right source or saving it to use for something more pressing and important. We all know that the importance of saving in a business is numerous and therefore can’t be overlooked.
2. Invest properly:
We all know how investment affects a firm either negatively or positively, as important as investments are to the company but it must be well articulated to make nothing but the right decision. Now a frugal businessman will have a lot of money to spare or save therefore has a lot to invest with and await returns because he doesn’t spend much or at all on irrelevant things. Investing in your business here is putting this money you saved in use in a way that will benefit the customers, if you are going to employ more hands, buy materials, advertise, etc. It makes you know what works for your business and invest in it.
3. Control your spending abilities:
This will help you put your spendings on the check, it will help you spend on the right things. , spending only on things that will affect or be of use to the customers. Spending on the right marketing strategy and not just throwing in money for whatever works. This makes you very meticulous in spending and of course, make proper research, make sure what you are spending on will be of benefit to the customers. This helps you not to waste resources.
4. Good Accounting:
Keeping a good account is something easy for a frugal businessman or woman because they know from start to finish what they spend on and how it was profitable to the firm. They weigh their gains and losses to help them decide the next move, they check if there is a hike or reduction in taxes, this will help save more money and also invest it later.
5. Proper funding:
This will help you make the right funding decisions, take up loans with low-interest rates, find good investors even sometimes try the traditional method because using bank loans with high interest and short time intervals will keep the firm on the edges, this is one thing being a frugal business person doesn’t want as he or she is all about the comfort of the customers.
What Amazon means by using frugality leadership principles
“Accomplishing more with fewer constraints brings about resourcefulness and sufficiency and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcounts, budget size or fixed expenses”.
Now, Amazon has frugality as a core principle, you would have to be self-sufficient, you would be expected to spend less and achieve more. Do not try to spend on things that do not benefit the customers. Now, the whole concept of frugality does not center around saving money alone. Most of the time, it is about saving time and resources.
Amazon believes that the frugality concept and principle help drive creativity and innovations. It is one of the 16 Amazon leadership principles, therefore questions about frugality should be highly expected in an Amazon interview.
Frugality Amazon Interview Questions
How do you answer Amazon interview questions on frugality?
1. Be serious:
Lots of principles might just sound funny to you but you should pay keen interest and attention to them. The interviewer is very technical, the reason why he wouldn’t sound technical at all times, they might just act casual most of the time to determine if you are serious with them and if you want the job.
2. Study the leadership principles:
Amazon as a highly placed company may ask their questions around their leadership principles, so you have to study and read the leadership principles so that you wouldn’t have issues during the interview.
3. Memorize the leadership principles:
As we stated earlier, the amazon interviewer will most likely center his or her questions on the leadership principle, judging by how technical they are, what will you do if a question is fired at you based on the principles and you can’t recall? You would be stranded so memorize it and let it stick with you. You could use acronyms to memorize the principles before the interview date. Your memory should be familiar with the acronyms to make things easier for you.
4. You must have a clear understanding of interview evaluations:
You should know that you have to refer to the principles while answering your question because your evaluation is based on your response and you are rated based on your performance by the leadership principle.
Although technical behavioral questions will be thrown at you too, you should know how to navigate through referring to the leadership principle.
5. Give a short and straight answer:
You must make your answer short and precise in order not to bore your interviewer, keep it short, keep it between two and four minutes. Learn to time your answers so you don’t talk and go off the radar because if you do the interviewer will surely be bored and the interview would be a boring one, so know when to start, when to hit your points while answering the question, and most especially know when to stop. Go straight to the point, you are being interviewed by some of the most technical people and you sure want to impress them. Then get to your point fast, keep your answers short and precise. There’s no need to make your answers bulky. The interviewer has other people to interview and other things to do also.
Summary
Amazon is very strict on frugality principles. In an interview, this is one of the things they look out for. Even after the interview and you get the job, learn to be frugal to keep the job. It is one thing to get it and another thing to keep. You can also apply frugality as a basic life skill; it helps to navigate through savings and investments.
Please do not forget the leadership principles and skills Amazon uses. This is what would take you many steps closer to getting your dream job.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is Frugality?
Frugality is the ability to accomplish more with less constraint and more resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention.
2. What should I expect from Amazon interview questions?
Expect simple and technical questions.
Expect Amazon leadership questions.
Expect questions centered on frugality.
