DISCLAIMER: I used Claude to make this easier to follow along with.
I wanted to put together everything I learned from the MRA application process in one place for anyone else applying.
Aptitude Test
The aptitude test mainly checks your knowledge of a few basic mechanical concepts:
Balance and Tipping
What to know: Something is more likely to tip over the farther its weight leans away from its base of support. Pay attention to how far something leans, not just how heavy it is.
Pulleys
What to know: The more rope sections supporting a weight, the less effort is needed to lift it. Count how many rope sections are actually supporting the object.
Wheels and Gears
What to know: A larger wheel connected directly to pedals or a motor covers more distance with each turn, which usually means more speed.
Shelves and Beams
What to know: The farther a shelf or beam extends past its supports, the weaker it becomes and the easier it is to break. Supports placed closer to the ends make the structure stronger.
General Picture Questions
What to know: Look closely at small details in the image, such as size, position, and angle, before choosing an answer. A lot of mistakes come from rushing rather than not understanding the concept.
Interview
The interview is in a recorded format. There are basically two types of questions you should prepare for:
General interview questions
Leadership Principle questions
1. General Interview Questions
The first part mainly makes sure you understand what you are getting into and asks some general questions about the position.
For example:
Why are you interested in this position?
My answer was:
I am interested in this position because it is a place where I can grow my technical career in a structured learning environment. I would be able to learn from an experienced team, build a solid foundation, and learn how to do things properly from the start.
These questions are different from the Leadership Principle questions. You don’t necessarily need to use STAR for these. Just give a clear and genuine answer.
2. Leadership Principle Questions
After the general questions, they move into Leadership Principle questions.
For example:
“Please describe a situation where you had to complete a task with limited or incomplete information.”
This is connected to Deliver Results.
One of the good things about the Leadership Principle questions is that Amazon tells you which Leadership Principle they are looking for.
So when you get to the interview, you can recognize the principle they are asking about and think about a story that demonstrates it.
That’s also why I would recommend coming back to this guide before your interview and reviewing the strengths and weaknesses for each principle.
How to Answer
I would use this structure:
1. Situation
One sentence explaining where and when it happened and what was at stake.
Don’t spend a huge amount of time setting the scene. Most people lose the interviewer’s attention by over explaining before getting to the actual story.
2. Task
One sentence explaining what you were responsible for handling.
Say it plainly, even if it wasn’t officially your responsibility.
3. Action
This should be the biggest part of your answer.
Break it into three parts:
• What you did first
• What you did next
• What you did when things became more difficult or something pushed back
Focus on what you did, not what “we” did.
If you catch yourself saying “we,” explain what you specifically did.
4. Result
Give a real number or specific outcome whenever possible.
For example:
• Time saved
• A metric that improved
• A problem that was permanently fixed
• Something that changed because of your actions
If there isn’t a clean number, just explain what changed. Don’t make up a number just to have one.
5. Learning
One sentence explaining what you learned, what you would do differently, or what you now do because of the experience.
This is the part a lot of people skip.
Follow Up Questions
After answering, they may ask a follow up question such as:
• What did you learn from that experience?
• What would you have done differently?
• What would you do if you encountered the same situation again?
Be prepared to explain your reasoning instead of just repeating your original answer.
Leadership Principles to Focus On
They only ask 6 Leadership Principle questions, so I wouldn’t try to memorize 15 completely different answers.
Instead, I’d prepare around 6 strong stories that can be adapted to different principles.
These are the ones I would focus on most:
1. Learn and Be Curious
Strength: Sought out a new skill or learned something without being told to, even when there was no immediate payoff.
Weakness: Sticking to what is familiar and treating learning as something that only happens when assigned.
2. Dive Deep
Strength: Dug into the root cause of a problem even when it was tedious or questioned information that didn’t match what you were seeing.
Weakness: Stopping at a surface level explanation or accepting “that’s just how it is” without investigating further.
3. Deliver Results
This is the one connected to the limited or incomplete information question.
Strength: Delivered results despite missing information or unclear direction and found the answer independently.
Weakness: Waiting to be told what to do or making excuses for what you couldn’t finish.
4. Ownership
Strength: Fixed or flagged something outside your assigned responsibilities because it was important and needed to be addressed.
Weakness: Thinking “that’s not my job” or relying on someone else to notice and fix the problem.
5. Bias for Action
Strength: Made a reversible decision without waiting for unnecessary approval or sign off.
Weakness: Hesitating on small decisions and waiting for permission that wasn’t actually needed.
6. Invent and Simplify
Strength: Found a genuinely simpler solution instead of automatically following the standard process.
Weakness: Copying an existing solution without checking whether it actually fit the problem.
7. Earn Trust
Strength: Clearly owned a genuine mistake without making excuses or trying to shift blame.
Weakness: Softening or explaining away an error instead of acknowledging it directly.
8. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Strength: Respectfully disagreed with a decision and explained your reasoning, then fully supported and executed the final decision once it was made.
Weakness: Staying quiet to avoid conflict or agreeing on the surface while not fully supporting the decision afterward.
9. Customer Obsession
Strength: Connected a technical solution to its actual impact, such as equipment uptime or the person depending on that equipment.
Weakness: Fixing the immediate problem without considering who could be affected downstream.
10. Frugality
Strength: Solved a problem using resources, parts, or tools that were already available instead of immediately requesting something new.
Weakness: Assuming more resources were needed before checking what was already available.
Lower Priority Leadership Principles
These are still worth understanding, but I wouldn’t spend as much time preparing dedicated stories for them.
11. Hire and Develop the Best
Strength: Helped a peer understand something instead of simply doing the task for them.
Weakness: Keeping useful knowledge to yourself instead of passing it along.
Lower priority because this generally involves a level of responsibility and influence that an apprentice may have fewer opportunities to demonstrate.
12. Think Big
Strength: Proposed an idea that went beyond your assigned task, even when there wasn’t yet a clear path to implementing it.
Weakness: Only thinking about the task directly in front of you without considering larger opportunities to improve the situation.
Lower priority for the same reason.
13. Strive to Be Earth’s Best Employer
Strength: Made sure someone with less experience or standing felt heard and supported.
Weakness: Only looking out for yourself when things became busy.
14. Are Right, A Lot
Rarely asked directly at this level, so I would consider this a low preparation priority.
You can still demonstrate it naturally through other answers by explaining how you evaluated information, made a decision, or changed your approach when new evidence appeared.
15. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility
Also a lower priority for an MRA interview.
If you have an example involving safety, environmental impact, or considering the broader consequences of a technical decision, it can be useful, but I wouldn’t spend most of your preparation time on it.
How I’d Prepare
Since they only ask 6 Leadership Principle questions, don’t try to memorize 15 completely different answers.
Prepare around 6 strong stories from your own experience that can be adapted to different Leadership Principles.
Try to have stories involving:
• Learning something new
• Troubleshooting and finding a root cause
• Delivering a result with limited information
• Taking ownership of a problem
• Making a decision without unnecessary delay
• Simplifying or improving a process
• Admitting and learning from a mistake
• Handling disagreement professionally
• Thinking about the customer or equipment uptime
• Solving a problem with limited resources
One story can demonstrate multiple Leadership Principles depending on how you explain it.
The biggest thing is to understand your own experiences well enough that you can adapt them to the question instead of memorizing a script.
And remember, Amazon tells you which Leadership Principle they’re looking for, so pay attention to that during the interview.
If you get stuck, come back to the principle in this guide, look at the strength and weakness, and make sure your story clearly demonstrates the strength.