Landing a job at Amazon is notoriously competitive—with the tech giant known to throw out some bizarre curveball questions. But it’s not stumbling on your response to Jeff Bezos’s favorite question, “how lucky are you?” that’ll cost you the job.
Rohit Prasad, Amazon’s head of AI, exclusively told Fortune at the VivaTech conference in Paris that it’s your attitude that’s make-or-break.
“Be genuine,” he advised. “If you’re not genuine, you won’t do well in an Amazon interview.”
And Prasad, says his own 2013 interview to join the tech giant, as its director of machine learning, is a “prime example” of that.
“I did not know about the Leadership Principles and I got hired, which means you have to have it in you, that you’re really caring about making lives better for our customers; you can deliver results; you’re a trusted person.”
“The bulk of our interviewing is very behavioral, and of course, we want you to be competent, but how you work in a team is important.”
“I think it’s very easy to tell whether you’re authentic, whether you really are passionate about why you want this job or role.”
“What a great way to filter for optimists and people who manifest success,’ Rose wrote. “Sorting for optimistic people is a good proxy for leadership potential and likelihood of success. Perceiving yourself as lucky is a good proxy for optimism.”
Bezos has of course stepped down from the company he founded. But it’s clear that the culture of hiring for culture fit has remained.
